[blindlaw] Blind paralegals
ckrugman at sbcglobal.net
ckrugman at sbcglobal.net
Fri May 30 00:38:47 CDT 2008
Yes, I am a blind paralegal and I freelance for different attorneys. Much of
the work that I have done has involved summarizing of depositions, drafting
various types of documents such as contracts and leases and on-line research
for attorneys. In addition as I also have a degree in social work I will
advocate for clients in administrative law hearings such as Social Security
appeals. Most of the attorneys that I work with send assignments and work
product back and forth by email as I will work out of my house unless I am
needed to consult with a client which is done at the attorney's office. At
times I think that I probably should have gone to law school which was one
of my goals when I graduated from college in the mid-70's. However, I became
more interested in social work and counseling after an undergraduate
internship with the probation department of a court in Michigan. At my age I
am a bit hesitant to incur the financial debt of attending law school. In
addition to paralegal work I consult for new non-profit agencies that are
establishing themselves advising them on structures such as compositions of
boards, drafting by-laws that most effectively meet their needs and
incorporating and obtaining 501(C)3 status with the IRS. I find that my job
varies from day-to-day and each client's needs are different. When I was
first attending the local paralegal program the head was initially not sure
how well I would do as I needed to hire a reader/research assistant to
assist with hands-on legal research. I had already been trained in legal
research as an undergrad at University of Michigan so this was more of a
refresher course and a means to become familiar with California law. Some of
the routine duties that paralegals perform in large firms can potentially
cause some difficulties for a blind person especially due to the
lack of clear boundaries between what a paralegal does and what a legal
secretary or office assistant does. I have found that generally these
details can be adequately addressed.
Chuck Krugman, Paralegal
559-266-9237
P.S. for those of you who are attorneys as I am a freelancer I am always
interested in assignments.----- Original Message -----
From: "Nightingale, Noel" <Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov>
To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2008 12:13 PM
Subject: [blindlaw] Blind paralegals
> Chuck:
>
> Welcome to the blind law list!
>
> Are you a blind paralegal? If so, would you tell us what techniques you
> use to do your job? Blind paralegals, I believe, are much rarer than
> blind lawyers.
>
> Noel Nightingale
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindlaw-bounces+noel.nightingale=ed.gov at nfbnet.org
> [mailto:blindlaw-bounces+noel.nightingale=ed.gov at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of ckrugman at sbcglobal.net
> Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2008 4:57 AM
> To: NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List
> Subject: Re:
> [blindlaw]ThecurrencyIDcase:an"IF"proposalfordiscussiontokill2bir...
>
> I am a new member to the list and wholeheartedly agree. The issue of
> Internet accessibility and standard web accessibility design is much
> more crucial.
> Chuck Krugman, M.S.W., Paralegal,
> Fresno ca
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Russell J. Thomas, Jr" <rjtlawfirm at yahoo.com>
> To: "'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, May 27, 2008 12:53 PM
> Subject: Re:
> [blindlaw]ThecurrencyIDcase:an"IF"proposalfordiscussiontokill2bir...
>
>
>> Indeed, that is one of the problems with the Court
>> decision--emphasizing the dependence, rather than the independence of
>> blind people.
>>
>> Another point that is being missed is the question of priorities. I
>> have dealt with the paper money issue for several years; at the
>> present time, may I suggest that the excessive use of CAPTCHA on the
>> internet presents a far more significant real world problem for us
>> than does paper money.
>>
>>
>>
>> Respectfully,
>>
>>
>>
>> Russell J. Thomas, Jr.
>>
>> THOMAS & ASSOCIATES
>>
>> Orange County Office
>>
>> 4121 Westerly Place, Suite 101
>>
>> Newport Beach, California 92660
>>
>> T: (949) 752-0101
>>
>> F: (949) 257-4756
>>
>> M: (949) 466-7238
>>
>> Beverly Hills Office
>>
>> 9107 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 450
>>
>> Beverly Hills, California 90210
>>
>> T: (310) 461-3561
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: blindlaw-bounces+rjtlawfirm=yahoo.com at nfbnet.org
>> [mailto:blindlaw-bounces+rjtlawfirm=yahoo.com at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
>
>> Nightingale, Noel
>> Sent: Tuesday, May 27, 2008 11:32 AM
>> To: NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List
>> Subject: Re:
>> [blindlaw]ThecurrencyIDcase:an"IF"proposalfordiscussiontokill2bir...
>>
>>
>> The currency appellate decision repeated over and over the concern
>> that the blind have to rely on the kindness of strangers. When I ask
>> for a store clerk to identify the bills he or she has just handed me,
>> I do not consider it relying on the kindness of strangers, rather it
>> is akin to asking for a waiter or waitress to read the menu. It is a
>> way of obtaining access to the information and also a matter of
>> courtesy and good customer service. To me, the belief that we must
>> rely on the kindness of strangers connotes blind beggars on the street
>
>> with their tin cups.
>>
>> Noel
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: blindlaw-bounces+noel.nightingale=ed.gov at nfbnet.org
>> [mailto:blindlaw-bounces+noel.nightingale=ed.gov at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
>
>> Of Chris Danielsen
>> Sent: Monday, May 26, 2008 3:21 PM
>> To: 'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'
>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw]
>> ThecurrencyIDcase:an"IF"proposalfordiscussiontokill2bir...
>>
>> My apologies for misinterpreting what you said. I still disagree with
>
>> your underlying assumption, which is that any time you (and I use that
>
>> term generally, not personally referring to you), must ask for
>> assistance, you are contributing to the misperceptions of others about
>
>> your blindness.
>> If
>> we all had electronic paper money identifiers, we would still be
>> relying on "assistance" to handle our cash--it would just be
>> technological assistance rather than human assistance. If the money
>> is made tactually identifiable, that too is a form of "assistance"
>> specifically provided for the benefit of the blind, and for no other
>> reason. Blind people will always have to do things
>> differently--whether it is by using different senses, tools like
>> Braille or the white cane, technoological aids, modifications to the
> existing world, or assistance from others.
>> Society doesn't think we're incompetent because we sometimes have to
>> ask for assistance; it views us that way because it assumes that all
>> of the tools and techniques we use--whether they involve human
>> assistance or not--must be inferior to having sight. Our task is to
>> convince society that "different" does not equal "inferior."
>>
>> Chris
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: blindlaw-bounces+cdanielsen8=aol.com at nfbnet.org
>> [mailto:blindlaw-bounces+cdanielsen8=aol.com at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
>> Mark BurningHawk
>> Sent: Monday, May 26, 2008 6:02 PM
>> To: NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] The
>> currencyIDcase:an"IF"proposalfordiscussiontokill2bir...
>>
>> First off: With all respect, please excuse me but you have
>> incorrectly misinterpreted something I wrote to mean that I view
>> blindness as a weakness. Rather, I feel that blindness is a
>> *POTENTIAL* vulnerability, or presents scenarios in which
>> vulnerability is greater in its potential than for a person with
>> sight. I, myself, am in no wise weak--however, I have, at least five
>> times in my life, been cheated out of money by the very "sleight of
>> hand," which would not have been nearly as easy to do, had I known
>> what bills I was getting. I am not, in any way, ashamed of myself or
> my blindness.
>>
>> While you might be at ease relying on strangers to be honest, it is
>> not something that sighted people have to do *IN THIS PARTICULAR
> SITUATION*.
>> It presents a potential vulnerability, therefore. No, I don't "mind,"
>> having to ask what bills are what, when I'm handed a wad of cash; I
>> don't blush, or stammer, or duck my head. It is, however, a question
>> of image perception; someone seeing me to appear otherwise strong
>> would have a moment of cognitive dissonance when I have to ask what
>> money I've just been handed.
>> It disrupts the normal flow of social interchange, and it calls
>> attention to the fact that I'm blind. Calling attention to something
>> which people instinctively fear and mistrust is the issue--*THEY*
>> think I'm weak, or vulnerable, and that conviction is bolstered every
>> time I have to ask which bill is which. This is not about how
>> accomplished blind people are; no one is arguing that a blind person
>> who has to ask for currency help is stupid or a dolt. This is about
>> the perceptions and misperceptions of the sighted, and how those
>> misperceptions are given substance by such routinely obvious
>> vulnerabilities as money assistance. Unless the NFB is going to give
>> out free identifiers to everyone, I cannot in all conscience
>> understand how an organizations that purports to liberate the blind
>> can turn around and say it's okay to have sighted assistance with
>> *ANYTHING*, whether it be money or crossing a street or whatever. I
>> will only truly be happy when everything is accessible by me without
>> the need to rely on another human for that access.
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Chris Danielsen" <cdanielsen8 at aol.com>
>> To: "'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Monday, May 26, 2008 2:17 PM
>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] The
>> currencyIDcase:an"IF"proposalfordiscussiontokill
>> 2bir...
>>
>>
>>>I think where we disagree is when you say that blindness is a
>>>weakness,
>>
>>>and that you make yourself vulnerable by letting other people know
>>>that you are blind. Blindness is a characteristic that some people
>>>have and most people do not; it isn't a badge that marks us out as
>>>weaker or more vulnerable than anybody else. It is merely part of
>>>what and who we are. Asking for assistance is just one of many
>>>techniques we might employ to get something done. In this particular
>
>>>situation, it only makes us "vulnerable" if we believe that other
>>>people are out to cheat us. Some people are out to cheat us (they
>>>would probably also cheat sighted people given the opportunity), but
>>>most are not. I do not believe that people are fundamentally hostile
>>>and waiting to take advantage of me--mostly because I have not found
>>>that to be the case. Others may have different experiences, but I
>>>suspect if we all had the experience of being cheated on a routine
>>>basis, there would be very little disagreement on this issue. The
>>>fact that blind people disagree on this issue is not, I think, just a
>
>>>matter of parroting a philosophy; it is partly because some of us
>>>believe that our experience tells us that changes to the money are
>>>not entirely necessary. I can only speak for myself, but I do not
>>>find the occasional need to ask a clerk which bills he or she is
>>>handing me to be embarrassing, frightening, or threatening. Sure, it
>>>calls attention to the fact that I'm blind, but that's not something
>>>I
>>
>>>am trying to hide. If I'm standing in line at a store and dealing
>>>with the clerk, chances are I have money to spend, so I'm not really
>>>revealing anything to anyone that they didn't already know or could
>>>not have guessed. At worst, dealing with a silent clerk and having
>>>to
>>
>>>ask about the bills is annoying.
>>> It is nothing more and nothing less. And an annoyance on my part
>>>doesn't necessarily constitute discrimination on someone else's.
>>>
>>> Chris
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: blindlaw-bounces+cdanielsen8=aol.com at nfbnet.org
>>> [mailto:blindlaw-bounces+cdanielsen8=aol.com at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
>
>>> Mark BurningHawk
>>> Sent: Monday, May 26, 2008 3:36 PM
>>> To: NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List
>>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] The currency
>>> IDcase:an"IF"proposalfordiscussiontokill 2bir...
>>>
>>> I respectfully disagree. Most clerks these days rarely speak to
>>> their
>>
>>> customers; the total amount is run up, appears on a display both
>>> clerk
>>
>>> and customer can read, money is handed over silently and change is
>>> returned, also silently. If I have to speak up and go "Which one's
>>> the five, please?"
>>>
>>> then someone who might not have been paying attention before might
>>> pay
>>
>>> attention now; they might hear the clerk tell me "this one's the
>>> five,
>>
>>> three ones and 18 cents." Or whatever. This draws attention to the
>>> fact that
>>> 1)
>>> I am carrying around money, and 2) that I am blind and displaying
>>> that
>>
>>> blindness as a weakness, not knowing what money I have. It's like
>>> throwing chum on the water for shark bait.
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Chris Danielsen" <cdanielsen8 at aol.com>
>>> To: "'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Monday, May 26, 2008 6:40 AM
>>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] The currency ID
>>> case:an"IF"proposalfordiscussiontokill 2bir...
>>>
>>>
>>>> When you are using an ATM, you expect and want privacy in the
>>>> transaction; you do not want other people to know how much you have
>>>> withdrawn, or what your current balance is. When you are accepting
>>>> change at the 7Eleven, the transaction is not private--whether the
>>>> clerk identifies the bills or not.
>>>> At least two people, you and the clerk, know what bill you gave as
>>>> payment and what you are receiving as change. People standing in
>>>> line behind you may also know what is happening. In one case you
>>>> have a privacy interest that can only be met if the ATM allows you
>>>> to
>>
>>>> withdraw funds without the assistance of others; in the other you do
>
>>>> not have such a privacy interest, and your privacy is not violated
>>>> by
>>
>>>> the assistance of someone else.
>>>>
>>>> Chris
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: blindlaw-bounces+cdanielsen8=aol.com at nfbnet.org
>>>> [mailto:blindlaw-bounces+cdanielsen8=aol.com at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
>>>> Of
>>
>>>> Carrie Ann Lucas
>>>> Sent: Monday, May 26, 2008 8:41 AM
>>>> To: 'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'
>>>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] The currency ID case:an"IF"
>>>> proposalfordiscussiontokill 2bir...
>>>>
>>>> In the end, please explain to me the difference between the 7-11
>>>> clerk telling you which is a $10, $20, and asking someone what the
>>>> ATM screen says? I am really mystified as to the difference. With
>>>> all due respect to Scott, I think his first post focused some on the
>
>>>> financial results of the currency decision. I really don't
>>>> understand the difference between the government paying millions to
>>>> make currency accessible, and forcing private businesses to spend
>>>> millions to make ATMs accessible.
>>>>
>>>> Putting aside whatever beef the NFB has with the specific facts, the
>
>>>> currency decision is a fabulous Section 504 decision. I sincerely
>>>> hope that the NFB can look at the macro, rather than focus on the
>>>> micro, and not participate as amici for the government if this
>>>> decision is appealed.
>>>>
>>>> Carrie Ann Lucas
>>>> Director Center for Rights of Parents with Disabilities Colorado
>>>> Cross-Disability Coalition
>>>> 655 Broadway, Suite 775
>>>> Denver, CO 80203
>>>> 303.839.1775 (main and messages)
>>>> 303.839.0015 (direct and TTY)
>>>> 303.839.1782 (facsimile)
>>>> 800.817.1435 (main and messages)
>>>> 877.267.1621 (direct and TTY)
>>>> www.ccdconline.org
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> The NFB does not disagree with the decision because it opposes
>>>> different-sized money; rather, the foundation our organization is
>>>> built upon is that the world need not change for the blind; rather,
>
>>>> the blind need to take proactive, positive steps toward learning
>>>> alternative techniques in order to live in what is and will always
>>>> be
>>
>>>> a sighted world.
>>>> We
>>>> don't want people doing for us what we can do for ourselves, if we
>>>> can avoid it.
>>>> The only time when we should actively fight to change the
>>>> environment
>>
>>>> is when we're shut out of a place or activity, when no alternative
>>>> techniques, no creativity, no accommodations will give us
>> access.
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
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>>>
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>>
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