You’re an artist who holds a BFA in Sculpture from Virginia Commonwealth University and an MFA in Curatorial Practice from MICA. Why did you decide to pursue a career in law? What does bridging the professional spheres of art and law look like in practice?
My whole life, I had a passion for law and fine arts. I chose art because it was the environment that accepted me as a human, before I knew I was autistic but knew I was different. In 2017, I took a class titled Arte Util with Stephanie Smith, which focused on looking at art as a tool for social practice. I learned about artists like Laurie Jo Reynolds and Núria Güell who used the law as a medium in their art to create sustainable and impactful change. It was then that I realized I could pursue art and law. I wanted to create a legal practice that centers impacted people as the expert and the user as the beneficiary.
I decided to test my “art law” idea with the Baltimore Action Legal Team (BALT) by launching a #Right2Access campaign, which emerged alongside litigation against the Maryland State’s Attorney’s Office (SAO) for violations under the Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA). The litigation emphasized the public interest aspect of police accountability records. To ensure that the public has meaningful access to the information, I created a billboard that brought awareness to the MPIA and pressured the SAO to disclose documents related to police misconduct. The website included a step-by-step guide for the public to file MPIA requests on their own and informed the public why this information is useful. It thought about the user, as the public.
You’re autistic and nonbinary. How have your multiple identities shaped your experience as a law student? Can you tell me how an intersectional lens is important to disability advocacy?
In addition to being autistic and nonbinary, I am Russian and first-generation American. My identity becomes inherent in the access I have to education and the way I look at the world. It is also the reason why I was not diagnosed as a child; I did not have access to health care in the U.S.; and my mother was fired for discriminatory reasons as a lawyer. Effective lawyering requires thinking from an intersectional lens that is not assuming the reasons a person’s experience exists but instead listening, asking questions, and accepting that experience as a truth in its own.
You’re in your final year at the University of Baltimore School of Law. Have you encountered challenges or barriers as a student with a disability?
My school has a part-time program and is known to be a commuter school, which I believe attracts a lot of disabled students. We have a robust DLSA and our disability coordinator is incredibly supportive.
Even with these supports I encountered challenges. In addition to being autistic, I have chronic illnesses. In law school, I had to jump through hoops to take days in light of strict attendance policies. Also, I felt the law school culture emphasizes individual survival rather than collective care and success.
The challenges I faced had more to do with how law schools impose a certain set of rules for students to behave and “look” to succeed as a lawyer. The culture continues to remind me “you do not belong here.” “You do not look like a lawyer.”
Most challenges I encountered because of my autism. I always had to explain the way my autism works to professors and peers.
My hand raising in class and speech caused my peers to feel uncomfortable and threatened. Administrators interpreted my style of communication as hostile or unprofessional. And I was bullied.
What advice would you give to law schools about creating a welcoming, inclusive, and accessible environment for law students with disabilities? To prospective law students with disabilities?
I would tell law schools that the best way to create a welcoming, inclusive, and accessible environment is to address what makes students feel like they do not belong. What part of this is from the culture of the legal profession and how are the schools re-enforcing these norms? Also, even if law schools have a diverse student body, are these students assimilating for survival or have we created an environment where they can bring all their identities to school?
To change law schools, we must first change the ABA regulations which govern the operations of these schools. In turn, this will change legal culture.
You have stated that the “expert” is not always the one with the degree, but rather the one impacted by the issue. What does this mean for attorneys in the profession?
As a lawyer, I may become an expert in the law. However, how I apply the law depends on my ability to listen to my client and look outside the legal profession. Whether gender dysphoria is a covered disability under the ADA required the Fourth Circuit to examine the DSM-5 and look at how the plaintiff experienced her identity in the prison setting and substantially limited a major life activity.
Is there anything you would like to add?
If anyone wants to learn more about the theoretical approaches I am developing to address changing the legal profession through education, reach out to me. I am also happy to chat with any students or prospective students. Email: [email protected].
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