Embodying the Spirit of NDEAM: Moving Beyond Compliance?

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), which celebrates the contributions of disabled workers. During this month, disabled lawyers’ calendars are fully booked with speaking engagements for law firms, legal employers, non-profit organizations, and legal industry leaders. Indeed, NDEAM is one of two months of the year—the other being Disability Pride Month in July—when employers provide disabled employees with a platform to discuss their experiences. Unfortunately, these programs are often more about good optics than a concerted effort toward progress. If progress were the goal, employers would incorporate the feedback of disabled employees by ensuring that their workplace is accessible and inclusive in all respects, they are represented in leadership, and they have a seat at the table.

Creating a truly inclusive workplace where disabled employees can be their authentic selves requires much more than merely complying with the law. As disabled lawyers and legal professionals say, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is the ceiling—not the floor. Even with the ADA simply serving as the floor, many employers still fail to meet these minimum standards 32 years after the legislation’s passage.

Real change can only occur when employers understand not only their legal obligations but also the broader goals and spirit of the ADA, the benefits of universal access and disability inclusion, and ways to build inclusive workplaces that extend beyond simply granting reasonable accommodations. The “accommodations” granted under ADA obligations imply that employers are making an exception to a rule. By contrast, “access” implies an accepted norm in your workplace. Disabled lawyers and legal professionals need to be accepted as our whole selves, included in all aspects of the workplace, and recognized and celebrated for our talents, contributions, and achievements. That is true access and inclusion. 

Disabled lawyers and legal professionals are at a defining moment. We are breaking physical, systemic, and attitudinal barriers, as well as countering ableism and the biases, stereotypes, and stigma often associated with disability. Our narrative—that disability is a strength—is beginning to take hold. We are embracing our disabilities as integral parts of who we are, demanding visibility in the legal profession, and making our perspectives heard.

Several years ago, disabled law students across the country came together to create the National Disabled Law Students Association to advocate for change and empower one another. These students created a movement—a new collective consciousness that had not yet existed. This year disabled legal professionals founded the National Disabled Legal Professionals Association (NDLPA), a national association comprised of disabled lawyers, judges, policy experts, legislators, academics, and other legal workers, professionals, and organizers. NDLPA strives to promote professional growth and opportunity for disabled attorneys and legal professionals; provide community service; improve access and inclusion in the profession; and ensure access to justice for all. We hope NDLPA can be a catalyst for important conversations and changes within the legal profession.

Here are some concluding thoughts for all legal employers looking for guidance on cultivating an equitable and inclusive workplace. When NDEAM ends, continue engaging with disabled lawyers and legal professionals. Have conversations that address accessibility, inclusion, equity, and other topics essential to ensuring that your workplace is accessible and inclusive, and, most importantly, include disabled lawyers and legal professionals in those conversations.

*Marissa Ditkowsky is a disabled attorney and activist. She is currently a Staff Attorney at Tzedek DC, where she leads its Disabilities Community Project. Marissa's work on disability rights, workers’ rights, and reproductive justice have been published in the American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law; the National Lawyers Guild Review; and the UCLA Women’s Law Review. Marissa is an organizer of the National Disabled Legal Professionals Association and the former Executive Director of the National Disabled Law Students Association.