Talking ATMs

The Law Office of Lainey Feingold first began working on Talking ATMs in 1995. Lainey and her clients and co-counsel negotiated the first Talking ATM settlements in the United States. Beginning in 1999, Lainey negotiated 20 Talking ATM settlements with the country's largest financial institutions. Stories of many of these negotiations are included in Lainey's book, Structured Negotiation, A Winning Alternative to Lawsuits. This topic includes articles about those settlements, related press releases, Talking ATM regulations, international Talking ATM installations and more.

Union Bank of California Press Release

Posted on Updated on May 20, 2018
The Union Bank press release was issued as a result of the Union Bank settlement agreement negotiated by Lainey using Structured Negotiations on behalf of California blind advocate Margie Donovan. In the agreement, the bank agreed to install Talking ATMs at all its locations and implement a comprehensive alternative format policy. Subsequently, the bank also committed to make its website accessible. Read more… Union Bank of California Press Release

Sovereign Bank Settlement Agreement

Posted on Updated on May 6, 2018
The Sovereign Bank Settlement Agreement was negotiated by Lainey Feingold and co-counsel Stan Eichner of the Disability Law Center in Boston, Massachusetts, using Structured Negotiations on behalf of the Bay State Council of the Blind and other Massachusetts advocates. In the Agreement, the bank agreed to install Talking ATMs at all its locations, institute a comprehensive alternative format policy and make its website accessible. Read more… Sovereign Bank Settlement Agreement

Bank of America Interim National Agreement

Posted on Updated on May 6, 2018
The Bank of America Interim National Agreement expanded on the historic initial Bank of America agreement by confirming the Bank’s commitment to install Talking ATMs at 85% of its locations nationwide. The second agreement illustrates the flexibility allowed by Structured Negotiations, and underscores the positive relationships that develop as a result of the collaborative process. Read more… Bank of America Interim National Agreement

TCF Bank Talking ATM and Alternative Formats Settlement

Posted on Updated on April 3, 2018
The TCF Bank Settlement Agreement was negotiated by Lainey Feingold and co-counsel Amy Peterson of the Chicago-based Equip for Equality using Structured Negotiations on behalf of the Illinois Council of the Blind, an affiliate of the American Council of the Blind and a blind TCF customer. In the Agreement, TCF began a Talking ATM and alternative format program in all states in which it does business. The bank will install over 300 Talking ATMs by the end of 2009. Read more… TCF Bank Talking ATM and Alternative Formats Settlement

Wells Fargo Iowa and Utah Agreement

Posted on Updated on April 3, 2018
This is the second agreement that Wells Fargo signed with the blind community about Talking ATMs as a result of Structured Negotiations. This agreement was negotiated by Lainey and Linda Dardarian on behalf of the Utah Council of the Blind and the Iowa Council of the Blind. Wells Fargo installed the first Talking ATMs in Iowa and Utah, and now has over 7,000 Talking ATMs throughout the United States. Read more… Wells Fargo Iowa and Utah Agreement

Union Bank of California Agreement

Posted on Updated on April 3, 2018
The Union Bank settlement agreement was negotiated by Lainey using Structured Negotiations on behalf of California blind advocate Margie Donovan. In the agreement, the bank agreed to install Talking ATMs at all its locations and implement a comprehensive alternative format policy. Union Bank of California had the first Talking ATMs in Washington State and Oregon. Subsequently, the bank also committed to make its website accessible. Read more… Union Bank of California Agreement

La Salle Final Agreement

Posted on Updated on April 3, 2018
The LaSalle Final Settlement Agreement was negotiated by Lainey Feingold and co-counsel Amy Peterson of the Chicago-based Equip for Equality using Structured Negotiations on behalf of the Metropolitan Chicago affiliate of the American Council of the Blind. In the Agreement, LaSalle institute a Talking ATM and alternative format program in all states in which it operated and agreed to upgrade its website to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) promulgated by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium. Read more… La Salle Final Agreement

Fleet Bank Initial Settlement Agreement

Posted on Updated on April 3, 2018
The Fleet Bank initial settlement agreement was negotiated by Lainey Feingold and co-counsel Stan Eichner of the Disability Law Center in Boston, Massachusetts, using Structured Negotiations on behalf of the Bay State Council of the Blind and other Massachusetts advocates. Fleet, which was subsequently purchased by Bank of America, agreed in this document to install Talking ATMs, adopt a comprehensive alternative formats policy, and make its website accessible. Structured Negotiations offers the flexibility to have multiple agreements when all parties agree. In the final Fleet settlement agreement, the bank agreed to install Talking ATMs at 100% of its ATM locations. Read more… Fleet Bank Initial Settlement Agreement

First Union Final ATM, Web and Alternative Format Agreement

Posted on Updated on April 3, 2018
This settlement agreement is the second First Union agreement negotiated by Lainey and Linda Dardarian using Structured Negotiations on behalf of representatives of the blind community in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Tom Earle, formerly with the Disabilities Law Project in Philadelphia, now known as the Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania, also represented the Claimants. In the initial First Union agreement, the bank began its Talking ATM roll-out. In this agreement, First Union, subsequently purchased by Wachovia, expanded its Talking ATM commitment, agreed to make its website accessible, and adopted a comprehensive alternative format policy. As of early 2008, Wachovia has thousands of Talking ATMs throughout the United States. Read more… First Union Final ATM, Web and Alternative Format Agreement

First Union Preliminary Talking ATM Agreement

Posted on Updated on April 3, 2018
This settlement agreement was negotiated by Lainey and Linda Dardarian using Structured Negotiations on behalf of representatives of the blind community in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Tom Earle, formerly with the Disabilities Law Project in Philadelphia, now known as the Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania, also represented the Claimants. This was the first of two agreements that First Union, subsequently purchased by Wachovia, negotiated with the blind community. In this agreement, the bank agreed to install the first Talking ATMs in North Carolina, Maryland, and New Jersey. As of early 2008, Wachovia has thousands of Talking ATMs. Read more… First Union Preliminary Talking ATM Agreement