Why We Should Ask; Why We Should Tell: Disability Diversity in the Legal Profession

When we talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) in the legal profession, we include disability diversity, but we tend not to do a lot about it. Indeed, too few of us know who qualifies as having a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”)! Instead, we remain in blissful ignorance, failing to take meaningful actions to increase disability diversity for a variety of excuses, including:

• The numbers of people with disabilities in the legal profession seem too small. (Untrue)
• Accommodating the needs of people with disabilities is cost prohibitive. (Untrue)
• We want to support people with disabilities, but we don’t truly believe that they can perform up to the same levels as others in our profession. (SO untrue)

As a result, employment opportunities for people with disabilities are unduly limited. Many people with invisible disabilities avoid disclosing their disabilities or asking for reasonable accommodations for fear of triggering anti-disability biases, both explicit and implicit, that will inhibit their opportunities for employment, advancement and promotion.

Much of this inaction is compounded by people’s fears about diversity etiquette. What may I ask a person with a disability about their disability? When is it appropriate to offer assistance? These fears, combined with ignorance about the kinds of tools and resources available to people with disabilities that allows them to perform their jobs just as well, if not better, than their peers, stifle disability diversity in the profession.

The bottom line is that society generally, and the legal profession specifically, suffer when we fail to embrace disability diversity. Employers miss out on talented employees, lawyers with disabilities lose opportunities and the legal profession suffers.

In honor of Disability Employment Awareness Month, the Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession (“IILP”) is pleased to present this webinar in which we will explore:

• Who is protected under the ADA (it may be you!)
• Disability etiquette and how to avoid being insensitive or offensive to people with disabilities.
• The tools and resources that enable people with disabilities to perform their jobs within the legal profession.
• The ways in which employers in the legal profession are addressing disability diversity to gain competitive advantages.

If you’ve ever wanted to be a better ally to or upstander for colleagues and co-workers with disabilities but weren’t sure how, this is the program for you!

Panelists:

• Ben Lumicao, Director, Business Law & Compliance, Allstate Insurance Company (Moderator)
• Andrés Gallegos, Partner, Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd.
• Joseph Milowic III, Director of Well-Being and Of Counsel, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP and Co-Founder Lawyers Depression Project
  
• Angela Winfield, Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Law School Admission Council