Articles
This page has short summaries of every article posted on Lainey Feingold's website with links to the full articles. Visit the Writings Page to read Lainey's articles that were first posted in other publications. Visit the Topics Page for all 300 plus articles on this website organized into 38 topics including web accessibility settlements and Talking ATM press releases.
This press release was issued as a result of a settlement that Lainey and Linda Dardarian negotiated 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. As stated in the release, First Union, since purchased by Wachovia, installed the first Talking ATMs in several states.
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This release was issued after Bank of America expanded its commitment to provide accessible services by signing a national Talking ATM agreement in which it agreed to install Talking ATMs at 85% of its locations. The agreement, negotiated in the year following first Bank of America Settlement Agreement was negotiated by Lainey and co-counsel Linda Dardarian using Structured Negotiations. In early 2008, Bank of America has over 11,0000 Talking ATMs.
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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.
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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.
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The Citibank New York Press Release, announcing New York City’s first Talking ATMs, was issued as a result of the final Citibank settlement agreement. That agreement was negotiated by Lainey and co-counsel Linda Dardarian using Structured Negotiations on behalf of the California Council of the Blind and blind advocates Steven Mendelsohn and Kathy Martinez. The Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF) also represented the Claimants.
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The Bank One Press Release posted here was issued as a result of an initial settlement agreement that Bank One signed with Chicago blind activists Kelly Pierce and Anna Byrne using Structured Negotiations instead of litigation. In the 2001 Bank One Preliminary Settlement Agreement, the bank agreed to install Talking ATMs at 130 locations, making it the first bank with Talking ATMs in Illinois and Ohio. Two years later, the bank signed a comprehensive agreement providing for additional Talking ATMs, an alternative format policy, and an accessible web site.
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The Talking ATMs installed pursuant to the Bank One preliminary agreement were the first in Illinois. The agreement was negotiated by Lainey Feingold and Linda Dardarian using Structured Negotiations on behalf of Chicago blind activists Kelly Pierce and Anna Byrne. The final Bank One Agreement, which also addressed web access and alternative formats, is posted in the Settlement Agreement Category. As of early 2008, Chase Bank, which purchased Bank One and continued its accessibility services, had over 9,000 Talking ATMs.
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The Citibank national Talking ATM agreement expanded on the first agreement with that bank by setting forth Citibank’s commitment to install Talking ATMs at all of its United States branch locations. The agreement was negotiated using Structured Negotiations, by Lainey and co-counsel Linda Dardarian on behalf of the California Council of the Blind and individual members of the blind community. The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) also represented the Claimants.
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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.
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The press release posted below was issued as a result of a 2001 Settlement Agreement negotiated using Structured Negotiations. In the Agreement, Fleet agreed to make its web site accessible, install over one thousand Talking ATMs, and implement a comprehensive alternative format policy. Lainey was co-counsel with Stan Eichner of the Disability Law Center in Boston, Massachusetts. Claimants in the case included the Bay State Council of the Blind (BSCB), the American Council of the Blind’s Massachusetts affiliate.
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