Reasonable accommodations for attorneys with disabilities.

• Author: Dietz, Matthew W.

Four years ago, The Florida Bar embarked on a mission to increase diversity in the legal profession so the Bar reflects the racial, ethnic, and gender makeup of society. (1) At that time, we discovered that over 20 percent of the population of the state of Florida are people with disabilities; however, this segment of the population was vastly underrepresented to the extent that no statistics were kept by any entity in Florida as to the numbers of attorneys with disabilities, law schools that recruit students with disabilities, or law firms that hire or promote persons with disabilities. Since the diversity initiative has been in place, the Bar, the Equal Opportunities Section, and the Disability Independence Group (DIG) have taken steps to educate Florida lawyers about the needs of their colleagues with disabilities and to ensure that attorneys with disabilities are included in the definitions of "minority" and "diversity." (2)

On May 23, 2006, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) published a fact sheet to provide guidance for attorneys with disabilities and their employers on the application of the reasonable accommodation obligation under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.3 According to the EEOC, one goal of this fact sheet is to dispel the myth that attorneys with disabilities who need reasonable accommodation are less competent or less productive than attorneys without disabilities. Reasonable accommodation refers to any change in the work environment or in the way things are customarily done that enables an applicant or employee with a disability to enjoy equal employment opportunities. (4) "Many legal employers recognize the importance of flexibility to remain competitive in hiring the best attorneys. Providing reasonable accommodation is an extension of this successful strategy," said EEOC Chair Cari M. Dominquez. "With employers competing fiercely for talent, those who win use recruitment strategies that reach out to attorneys with disabilities." (5)

The purpose of this article is to provide a basic overview of the benefits of hiring a lawyer with a disability as well as to summarize the new EEOC fact sheet and the Americans with Disabilities Act as it pertains to attorneys and those public and private facilities used by attorneys in their practices.

Why Consider a Lawyer with a Disability?

It should be as easy as saying it's the law and that one should consider hiring a lawyer with a disability as they would consider any other lawyer. Unfortunately, there are many stereotypes involving persons with disabilities: concerns as to whether an attorney with a disability can handle a busy caseload, the reactions of clients, or the cost of accommodations. This reasoning harks back to a time when law firms were considering the impact of hiring their first female or African-American attorneys. These myths are equally inapplicable to the disabled. In fact, out of most jobs or professions, the legal profession is best suited for persons with a wide range of disabilities, as most legal jobs do not require strenuous physical activity; fixed hours are not required; and technological advances have made information management and productivity accessible to all. The costs of most accommodations, if they cost anything at all, are less than $600. (6)

There are many bonuses for hiring or retaining an attorney with a disability. Primarily, the 20 percent of our population who have disabilities are consumers of services, jurors of our cases, or family members of our consumers or jurors. A lawyer with a disability has the life experience to empathize with clients and the public with regard to the difficulties they face. (7)

Further, overcoming barriers and adversity in their own lives inures to the benefit of their clients. More likely than not, a person with a disability faced a multitude of challenges in obtaining his or her law license. In order to achieve this level of success, the student must be an effective self advocate through high school, college, and law school; obtain testing and classroom accommodations; as well as battle with vocational rehabilitation to obtain funding for education. In order to maximize his or her academic potential, the student must have necessarily acquired intense and direct knowledge of disability-related needs and technology available to accommodate these needs. In addition to the natural barriers faced by the student with a disability, he or she must also complete all educational requirements in the face of others' doubts regarding the student's abilities. (8)

As to attorneys that develop a disability while in their...