The following is an excerpt from the New Jersey Lawyers Assistance Program's newsletter.
July is Disability Pride Month, created to celebrate the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26, 1990. In 2013, Chicago’s Disability Pride parade created this mission, which helps us understand what this month is about:
-To change the way people think about and define “disability”;
-To break down and end the internalized shame among people with Disabilities; and
-To promote the belief in society that Disability is a natural and beautiful part of human diversity in which people living with Disabilities can take pride.
For lawyers with disabilities, the ABA’s Commission on Disability Rights has been advocating for “diversity, specifically disability diversity,” recognizing that “diversity is in the best interest of the profession [and] those the profession serves …” They created “Disability Diversity in the Legal Profession: A Pledge for Change,” to address what was noted as “the lack of lawyers with disabilities in the profession.” Since 2009, the Pledge has been amended several times to expand the groups, organizations and individuals who could be included as signatories.
Here in New Jersey, a number of law firms and individual lawyers have signed the pledge, along with the New Jersey State Bar Association, The Essex County Bar Association and Rutgers Law School. By signing, they have pledged to “enhance opportunity in the legal profession, and maintain a “commitment to diversity in the legal profession, including with respect to individuals with mental, physical, and sensory disabilities.” Signatories further pledge to encourage others in law to also make this commitment.
If you, or your law firm has already taken this pledge, or will be doing so, NJLAP would like to hear from you.
The ABA Pledge & List of SignatoriesABA Video: Why Hire Lawyers With Disabilities?ABA- Technological Accommodations for Lawyers With DisabilitiesEliminating stigmas around disabilities in the highly competitive world of Big Law.Supporting Law Students & Lawyers With DisabilitiesDefinitions of Disability & Other Information About the Americans With Disabilities ActGreat Article on Accessibility Features Built into Tech You Already Own