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Luck of Birth, Assumed Privilege, and the Lack of Disability Inclusion in the Legal Industry

January 05, 2021

disability inclusion disability disability discrimination disability in legal disabilities disability rights lawyers with disabilities

One of the few positive outcomes of the tumult of 2020 is how it has raised our collective awareness of the need for keeping alive the conversation about Diversity & Inclusion. This very short post’s title is simply to acknowledge what I see as a huge gap in the conversation.

I challenge myself to think of Diversity & Inclusion daily; of late, I have been reading a lot of articles and learning of initiatives focused on Disability Inclusion in the Legal Profession. But I have seen a relatively limited focus on Persons with Disabilities as an underrepresented community.

There is chapter-and-verse on the BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other groups that face oppression and exclusion, as well as a growing number of initiatives to try and change the status quo – in both society at large as well as the legal profession. Yet, the disability community gets little airtime.

Luck of birth and assumed privilege (more on these phrases in subsequent posts) are what have created an industry largely comprised of people without disabilities. I’d like to see this change. Any and all comments are welcomed and encouraged.

“At some point in their lives, most people will either have a disability or know some who has one,” said Coleen Boyle, Ph.D., director of CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.

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