WCAG 2.1 (and now 2.2) Released; LFLegal.com Part of the Process

On June 5, 2018 the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) announced a major update to the internationally recognized Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). WCAG 2.1 is the first update to the guidelines since 2008. The Law Office of Lainey Feingold is happy to have played a tiny part in the birth of WCAG 2.1 by updating this site to meet the Triple A (AAA) success criteria of the new standard. Lainey salutes her wonderful WordPress developer, Natalie MacLees of Purple Pen Production who did the work!  Read more… WCAG 2.1 (and now 2.2) Released; LFLegal.com Part of the Process

Kiosk Accessibility: The Law is Paying Attention

[Latest UpdateJune 28, 2022] Digital accessibility is not just about websites, and the law is taking notice. This post, updated with new developments, highlights cases about kiosk accessibility. I use the term “kiosk” broadly to include tablets and any piece of technology offering services, products, and information. Who will use that technology? People — and that means disabled people. Read more… Kiosk Accessibility: The Law is Paying Attention

First Accessibility Agreement in U.S. to Use WCAG 2.1: Reached With Structured Negotiation

On November 2, 2018 Alameda County California, three blind residents, and the National Federation of the Blind announced a settlement designed to protect the rights of blind voters to participate fully in the county’s voting program. It is the first agreement in the United States to include WCAG 2.1 as the accessibility standard. The parties used Structured… Read more… First Accessibility Agreement in U.S. to Use WCAG 2.1: Reached With Structured Negotiation

Marlaina Lieberg and Ken Metz: Advocates Extraordinaire

The past two months have seen too much loss in the blind advocacy community in the United States. In April I wrote about the death of Sue Ammeter, the blind activist behind a successful Structured Negotiation with the American Cancer Society. Then in May came news that Marlaina Lieberg and Ken Metz had died within days of each other. Both were committed advocates and Structured Negotiation champions. Read more… Marlaina Lieberg and Ken Metz: Advocates Extraordinaire

Forget the Shark and Be a Dolphin Instead: Structured Negotiation Skills for Practitioners

The article posted here, written by Lainey Feingold, first appeared in the November 2018 issue of Just Resolutions, a publication of the Dispute Resolution Section of the American Bar Association. The November issue was organized by Women in Dispute Resolution (WIDR). WIDR is a “committee of professionals within the Dispute Resolution Section committed to ensuring… Read more… Forget the Shark and Be a Dolphin Instead: Structured Negotiation Skills for Practitioners

Recipe for Staying Ahead of the Legal Curve: Bake Accessibility into Your Organization

At the 2018 CSUN Assistive Technology Conference last month I had the wonderful opportunity to present with Microsoft lawyer Sue Boyd. Our session was titled Beyond Compliance: Staying Out in Front of Digital Accessibility Legal Trends. Our talk focused on the ingredients needed to bake accessibility into an organization. The audience even got homemade chocolate chip cookies to drive home the theme. Check out this post for the full recipe! Read more… Recipe for Staying Ahead of the Legal Curve: Bake Accessibility into Your Organization

Potholes of Discrimination: A Post-CSUN Legal Update Wrap-Up

For the eighteenth year, last week I joined thousands of people committed to digital accessibility at the annual CSUN Assistive Technology Conference.  And as has been the case for the past many years, there was a growing interest in the digital accessibility legal landscape. This post offers more detailed information about some of the topics covered in the CSUN 2018 legal updates, which this year were repeated three times. Read more… Potholes of Discrimination: A Post-CSUN Legal Update Wrap-Up

Structured Negotiation Helps Parties Focus on Accessible Tabletop Kiosks

In January, 2018 the Applebee’s restaurant chain, kiosk maker E la Carte, Inc., and the National Federation of the Blind and LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired announced a partnership. The collaboration worked to make E la Carte’s table-top ordering and payment kiosk accessible to blind people. The system is used in Applebee’s restaurants… Read more… Structured Negotiation Helps Parties Focus on Accessible Tabletop Kiosks

Computer Science Ethics Must Include Accessibility (my rejected NYT letter to the editor)

On February 12, 2018, the New York Times ran a piece in the business section titled Tech’s Ethical ‘Dark Side’: Harvard, Stanford and Others Want to Address It. The article explained that top computer science programs are starting to embed ethics courses in the curriculum. I was glad to see that Stanford’s course would include… Read more… Computer Science Ethics Must Include Accessibility (my rejected NYT letter to the editor)

Lawyers Need Soft Skills: A Book Review

Chapter 16 of Structured Negotiation, A Winning Alternative to Lawsuits is about traits like patience, trust, and optimism that lawyers need to resolve problems without litigation. I have now discovered Soft Skills for the Effective Lawyer – a book that is like my Chapter 16 on steroids plus so much more. It should be mandatory reading for every lawyer, law student, law professor, and CLE provider. Read more… Lawyers Need Soft Skills: A Book Review