[blindlaw] Law School in 3 Years Question

[Scott C. LaBarre]

My response to all of this is that it depends.  My experience is that if you 
have mastery over the alternative techniques of blindness, you can get 
through the course work just as fast as your sighted peers and in the same 
quality, or lack thereof.  In fact, this  computer age makes it even more 
possible because efficient use of screen reading software allows one to read 
faster than the average sighted guy.  Even in the stone ages when I 
graduated law school, I was very comfortably  able to get through undergrad 
and law school with the use of readers, Braille, books on tape, and the 
screen reading software in the good old DOS days.  When I say very 
comfortably, I mean that I experienced the same amount of discomfort as my 
sighted class mates.

Carrie has some excellent points.  There is a great deal to be said about 
getting on the job type experience.  If taking less course work allows such 
experience, then I recommend it highly.

The bottom-line is that you must demonstrate to an employer that you're 
competitive.  Carrie is a prime example.  Although she took more than three 
years to go through law school, she does her legal work in an excellent 
fashion.  I have worked with her on a few cases and went through a major 
federal jury trial and her work was timely and top knotch.  She employs a 
variety of alternative techniques that allow her to be an extremely 
competent attorney.

To do my job, I use every trick in the book.  I use Braille, JFW, scanning 
software, a reader, and whatever else I need.  All of them are important and 
must have's.
  There is a great deal more  I could say on the topic, but time does not 
permit.  Good luck in law school and let us know how we can help.
Scott C. LaBarre, Esq.

LaBarre Law Offices P.C.
1660 South Albion Street, Ste. 918
Denver, Colorado 80222
Voice:  303 504-5979
Fax:  303 757-3640
E-mail:  slabarre at labarrelaw.com
Website:  www.labarrelaw.com
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Carrie Ann Lucas" <clucas at disabilitypride.com>
To: "'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, February 19, 2007 3:13 PM
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Law School in 3 Years Question


>I will respectfully dissent.   I did law school in 4 years.  My school had 
>a
> part-time evening division.  Attending part-time allowed me to continue
> working at my legal assistant job while attending law school.
>
> If attending part time allows you to have more opportunities to pursue
> things like internships, clnical education, volunteer lawyering
> opportunities, and the like, take that chance because those actual work
> experiences will give you a leg up on employment.
>
> It may be too much to manage disability related school needs, and do these
> extracurricular activities at the same time.  Don't sacrifice those
> opportunities to gain actual lawyering experience because your school work
> is consuming all of your time and energy if you have the opportunity to 
> take
> a less-than-full-load of classes.
>
> Carrie
>
> Carrie Ann Lucas
> Attorney/Equal Justice Works Fellow
> Center for Rights of Parents with Disabilities Colorado Cross-Disability
> Coalition
> 655 Broadway, Suite 775
> Denver, CO 80203
> 303.839.1775 (voice
> 303.839.0015 (TTY and CapTel)
> 303.839.1782 (facsimile)
> 800.817.1435 (voice)
> 877.267.1621(TTY and CapTel)
> www.ccdconline.org
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> Your first instinct is correct.  Do it in three!  Your prospective 
> employer
> is not going to want to give you extra time to complete work assignments.
> Surely some things take longer, but if you think you are spending
> significantly more time than your sighted peers getting school work done,
> you may want to work on your blindness skills, that is, Braille, use of
> technology, and use of readers, to name a few.  If you need improvement in
> these areas you may want to delay law school and get training at one of 
> our
> centers.  I am sure there a lot of people on this list who did this, or 
> who
> wish they had.  Law school is tough, and you should enter it with all of 
> the
> possible tools at your disposal.
> Ray Wayne
>
>
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