The disability community lost a tremendous advocate when Andrés Gallegos died on December 1st, a few days shy of his 63rd birthday. Along with hundreds (and based on the outpouring since he died maybe thousands) of people across the United States, I lost a close colleague and friend. I write this article to honor his memory.

Who was Andrés Gallegos?

Andrés, who became a quadriplegic in 1996, was a disability rights lawyer, national disability community leader, mentor, friend, husband, father, and grandfather with a (very) long list of accomplishments to his name. I invite readers to learn more about his work and contributions. Here are some places to start:

• Press release announcing Andrés’s 2021 appointment by President Biden as Chair of the National Council on Disability
• Before his NCD appointment Andrés was immediate past president of Access Living, the nationally recognized center for independent living in Chicago.
• In 2015 Andrés received the prestigious Paul G. Hearne award from the American Association of People with Disabilities
• Andrés’ biography on the website of the law firm where he was a partner
• 2021 article in Andrés’ law school magazine about him
  

  How Andrés did his work

  The older I get the more I have come to understand that the legacy we leave is more than the work that we do. How we do the work and how we treat the people we work with matters too. A lot.

  Andrés Gallegos did his disability work with heart, love, caring, kindness, and passion, leaving scores of people bereft at his passing.

  Tributes poured in when his family announced his untimely death on December 2nd showing just what kind of person Andrés was:

  A legend in his own right

  His vision, determination and heart-led leadership were deeply felt

  A friend, a mentor, a confidante, and a genuinely sweet human

  An extraordinary and highly-impactful advocate, but maintained a deeply respectful manner

  I will just miss him so terribly. The best human being.

  I am so fortunate to have learned so much, laughed so hard, and thought so deeply, in my times working with Andres. The world benefited so much by his life and his work and his passing is such a loss.

  Finally, I was touched by this message from Ariel Cutts, who gave me permission to share this with her name:

  Like so many others, I consider Andrés a mentor and friend. Even as a law student he always called me “Ms Cutts” and made me feel like his equal. One of his most valuable lessons which I will never forget was when he called me and sternly told me “Ms Cutts, I am so mad at you. Never downplay your advice or ideas. What you’re saying is correct, make yourself heard.”Ariel Cutts on LinkedIn

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  Andrés’ Structured Negotiation work

  Andrés was a well-respected ethical disability rights lawyer, focusing much of his tremendous skills, energy, and passion on improving health outcomes and eliminating healthcare access barriers for people with disabilities. The United States Department of Health and Human Services posted a statement after his death acknowledging that

  Andrés was a critical partner in HHS’ work to end disability discrimination in medical care and to address the health disparities experienced by people with disabilities.

  Andrés did his healthcare advocacy work in many ways: in traditional litigation, through informal advocacy, through advising government agencies, through formulating policies in his NCD role. He also worked in the collaborative process of Structured Negotiation, which was how I got to know him.

  Structured Negotiation is a strategy for resolving legal claims without the run-away costs, reputation damage, stress and conflict of traditional litigation. Andrés was a strong supporter of this process, which I developed along with clients and co-counsel and have practiced for more than a quarter of a century.

  The image accompanying this article is a picture of Andrés during a Structured Negotiation talk we did together in 2017 at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. We titled that talk “The Power of Persuasion – 20 Years of Civil Rights Successes Without Lawsuits.” The slide behind Andrés in the image lists some of the cases he or I or others handled in Structured Negotiation after the strategy’s initial success with the financial industry on Talking ATMs and accessible websites and mobile apps.

  Andrés and his clients and co-counsel used the method to improve access to hospital services, medical equipment, private sector dental services and more.

  He also improved the process in service of his disabled clients. Here’s how:

  In Structured Negotiation, instead of starting with a legal complaint and following court rules, the case begins with an opening letter (an invitation to negotiate) and ground rules. Before knowing Andrés, the ground rules I used were open ended, allowing the negotiations to continue until settlement or until one of the parties wanted to end the process.

  Andrés contributed to the strength of Structured Negotiation by putting a time frame on the ground rules so the negotiations would not drag on forever. I included this important idea in my book about the process, where I wrote:

  Andrés Gallegos is a disability rights and healthcare law attorney in Chicago who both litigates and practices Structured Negotiation. Gallegos finds it helpful to include a set expiration date of 9 to 18 months in the ground rules document. “It keeps the parties focused, and you know quickly if parties are negotiating in good faith,” he says. “Especially when addressing disability-based discrimination in healthcare, the sooner we’re able to get to ‘yes,’ the better for our clients, who overwhelmingly desire to continue their relationships with their providers.” Structured Negotiation, a Winning Alternative to Lawsuits, 2d Ed. (2021)

  I am honored that Andrés saw Structured Negotiation as one of the many tools he used to advance disability rights and inclusion.

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  Andrés as a law partner

  I find you can get real insight about a person from people who work closely with them on a day-to-day basis. This can be especially true when the daily work is sometimes the pressure-cooker environment of a law office.

  Jennifer Sender, a Chicago disability rights lawyer, is a long-time law partner and close friend of Andrés. I asked her to share her thoughts for this article:

  I had the absolute honor and privilege to work side-by-side with Andrés for the past decade. To me, his passion for his life’s purpose of disability advocacy was rooted in a sense of duty. He was driven by the belief that to whom much is given, much is required.

  Andrés truly appreciated all the good in his life: his beautiful family, his multitude of friends, his brilliant legal career, his charisma, (and he would give me the side eye if I didn’t say) his good looks—and he mindfully, tenaciously, and unceasingly used his platform to make the world more equitable, respectful, and welcoming for people with disabilities and for all.

  Andrés took the time to truly listen and care, treated everyone with respect, enlightened (in many instances, shattered) people’s perspectives on disability and inclusivity, and sent everyone away informed and inspired to make the world a better place. To me, Andrés’ message was always that if you sow respect, you will grow equity and inclusivity.

  And don’t ever, ever mess with the guy wearing the dapper bow tie.

  How to donate in Andrés’ memory

  Andrés’ family posted on social media about how those in a position to make a financial contribution can honor his memory. They wrote:

  If you would like to honor Andrés and help continue his life’s work of advocating for the disability community, please donate in his name to Access Living, the American Association of People with Disabilities, or your local Center for Independent Living (national list here).Gallegos family on LinkedIn