Speaking Testimonials

Lainey with sign advertising Baruch College event

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The page includes comments from people who have heard Lainey Feingold speak or have participated in her trainings. One person who enjoyed Lainey’s talk said they were surprised that a legal session could be fun. Lainey often speaks about how to resolve claims without lawsuits with the dispute resolution method she has pioneered called Structured Negotiation. The second edition of Lainey’s book about Structured Negotiation, Structured Negotiation, a Winning Alternative to Lawsuits was published in 2021. Lainey also talks to audiences about digital accessibility and the civil rights of disabled people. She also speaks to law students. Lainey has offered talks and trainings across the United States and in several other countries.

Lainey Feingold is a highly respected speaker and trainer on the subjects of digital accessibility and Structured Negotiation. On this page you can read what people say about Lainey as a speaker. Lainey tailors her presentations to match the needs and skill level of her audiences and the goals of the organizers. Visit the main Speaking Page for more information about bringing Lainey to your organization or conference.

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Digital Accessibility Talks and Trainings

The Massachusetts Office on Disability was honored to have Lainey Feingold as our keynote speaker for our 2022 Disability Summit: Accessibility in a Digital World. Lainey’s genuine nature, sense of humor, and expertise came together to create an engaging and accessible presentation style. Our audience was quite large and represented people with varying levels of experience with digital accessibility concepts, and Lainey worked with us to tailor the presentation and make it valuable and interesting for everyone. Our guests loved it!

Mary Mahon McCauley, Executive Director Massachusetts Office on Disability

We were delighted to have Lainey come and talk to our legal team. It was an inspiring session and invaluable to hear Lainey’s insights on how to create systemic change for people with disability and discuss how it can apply in the Australian context.

Jonathon Hunyor, Chief Executive Officer, Public Interest Advocacy Centre Ltd Sydney

Lainey is a truly phenomenal presenter. She recently led a session at Google during our internal Global Accessibility & Disability Inclusion Week, all about different tactics for persuasion when making the case for accessibility. She is a clear expert in digital accessibility and Structured Negotiation, and shared her years of valuable insights in such a vibrant and astute, yet highly relatable way. Lainey brings an excellent energy to the audience when she presents, inspiring so many — from newbies to experts — to get excited, expand their knowledge and understanding, and even rethink their approach to drive greater impact. She is an incredible leader in this field, and we were so grateful to have her join our event.

Laura Allen, Google Head of Strategy & Programs, Accessibility & Disability Inclusion

We asked Lainey to be our Keynote Speaker at a Company Kickoff this year. We gave her a bit of information about our conference theme and the type of information our employees may find valuable in a speech. Lainey went above and beyond our expectations. She not only conducted her own research to understand our company values and mission to help personalize her talk, she also incorporated personal stories and made a real connection with our audience. Lainey is a passionate speaker as well as a genuinely kind human being and an absolute delight to work with. I would highly recommend her for a speaking engagement.

Sarah Schaidt, Sr. Manager, Learning & Development at Level Access

We were delighted to have Lainey chat with one of LinkedIn’s co-founders on the disability hiring landscape. In an engaging conversation rich with insight and best practices, Lainey demonstrates that she is once again a master communicator, exuding her passion, commitment and honesty. We left inspired, in awe and knowing that all of us can do more to make our world a better place for people with disabilities.

Oliver Tse, LinkedIn's Staff Technical Program Manager

For more than five years, the Digital Accessibility Legal Update provided by Lainey Feingold at AccessU, Knowbility’s annual accessibility skills training has been one of the most sought after sessions to attend. These are some of the comments from our attendee evaluations.

  • For me the most valuable session was the Legal Update from Lainey Feingold. Unlike many legal discussions, it was clear, engaging and deeply informative.
  • I am so glad I attended the legal brief from Lainey Feingold. I am usually intimidated by legal jargon, but this gave me just what I needed in terms I could understand and use.
  • I would not have believed that a legal session could be fun before I met Lainey. I learned a lot – and enjoyed the heck out of it!
Participant at Knowbility’s AccessU conference

Lainey made it easy for our audience to see how legal rights are civil rights. We came away from her talk energized and ready to put the information she shared into practice.

Josh Hetrick, Portland Accessibility & User Experience Meetup, co-organizer

I have seen Lainey speak a few different times and every time I learn something new and gain new insight. “Recently, Lainey spoke to Salesforce during Disability Employment Awareness Month (DEAM) about how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has advanced accessible technology over the past 3 decades. Her approach is very human, with collaboration and trust front and center. She recognizes and teaches that we must go beyond compliance to be successful in our accessibility efforts.

Catherine Nichols, Salesforce Senior Director of Accessibility Programs, Office of Accessibility

HighEdWeb recently had the honor of attending Lainey Feingold’s keynote address, and it was truly a remarkable experience. Lainey has a unique talent for breaking down complex ideas and presenting them in an approachable manner that resonates with everyone in the audience. Her talk struck the perfect balance between education and inspiration, leaving us all with a newfound understanding and a sense of motivation. Lainey’s professionalism and ease to work with throughout the entire process also stood out to me. Despite the challenges of a fully virtual event, she navigated the virtual platform seamlessly, maintaining her characteristic poise and expertise. Lainey Feingold’s keynote address was undoubtedly a highlight of the event, and I wholeheartedly recommend her as a speaker.

Lindsey Sneed, HigherEd Accessibility Summit Program Committee

For the second year in a row, Lainey Zoomed into my Disability Access seminar to speak with my students about the ethical issues in the web accessibility space. The students loved their time together. She was clear and engaging, and facilitated a great discussion which continued for an hour after she left the class. Would highly recommend her to others for speaking engagements!

Ruth Colker Distinguished University Professor and Heck-Faust Memorial Chair in Constitutional Law Moritz College of Law The Ohio State University

To me, Lainey has always been something of a heroine in accessibility. Gentle and witty, she makes the audience listen carefully to her engaging presentations on often complex topics. Accessibility regulations differ a lot between Europe and the U.S. Nevertheless, the participants at our conference in Sweden were clearly impressed by this knowledgable lawyer who is obviously passionate about the people and issues affected by legislation.

Susanna Laurin, Chief Research and Innovation Officer, Funka

Lainey met with the TetraLogical team in London to give us a briefing on the current legal landscape in the US. As ever, Lainey was knowledgeable, engaging, and an absolute treasure trove of relevant and useful information. Our entire team came away better informed about the legal environment many of our customers operate in.

Léonie Watson, Director at TetraLogical

Lainey Feingold’s visit to the Disability Studies Program at Ohio State drew a large audience, and we were immediately captivated by her breadth of knowledge, funny anecdotes, and sharp, up-to-the-minute examples from popular culture and national news. I was especially pleased that students who are working at the intersections of digital media studies and disability studies could attend–this workshop was nuanced, practical, informational, and thought-provoking all at the same time.

A few minutes into the workshop, an architect attendee leaned over to me and said, “Her energy rocks!” That sums up our experience working with Lainey: energetic, knowledgeable, proactive, and collaborative.

Margaret Price, Associate Professor, Department of English Director, Disability Studies Program, The Ohio State University

Lainey’s passion, dedication, and knowledge provided our attendees with foundational information critical to moving forward with inclusion at the forefront of our minds. Her session gave us several concepts to think about – how we define law (dolphin instead of shark), how we define accessibility (accessibility is about people), how accessibility impacts privacy and security, and so much more.

Kelsey Hall, Digital Accessibility Manager & Advocate

Lainey’s AccessGA webinar was packed with a plethora of timely updates, invaluable resources, and meaningful metaphors that tied it all together into a narrative that almost anyone could understand. Nothing short of outstanding.

John Rempel, UX/ICT Quality Assurance Manager, CIDI at Georgia Tech

With an approachable style, Lainey has an exceptional ability to make law and digital accessibility, accessible to any audience, balancing an unquestioned passion for the subject with her proven expertise in the field. There’s a reason why she draws at capacity audiences.

Jennison Asuncion, Co-Founder, Global Accessibility Awareness Day

Lainey is a leader in her field and her passion for and knowledge of the legal environment related to accessibility is unmatched. Lainey’s support of IAAP through webinars and presentations makes her an invaluable asset, not only to IAAP, but to our members and the entire accessibility community.

Dr. Christopher Lee, Managing Director, International Association of Accessibility Professionals

Lainey’s engaging and motivational style educated attendees, while inspiring them how to make a greater impact with their work and advocacy.

Dennis Deacon, Organizer, Chicago Digital Accessibility & Inclusive Design Meetup

There aren’t many people who know more about the disability and digital accessibility landscape than Lainey Feingold — so we were thrilled when she joined a fireside chat with LinkedIn’s Co-Founder to talk about the future of work. Lainey has a true talent to speak to both accessibility experts and novices alike and keep both audiences engaged and eager to learn more. The conversation was filled with rich insights, great answers to our burning questions, and a truly safe space for our employees to share their thoughts.

Rae Hinton, LinkedIn's Sr. Lead Accessibility Manager

Lainey is a prolific speaker in the digital access space. She consistently delivers engaging and informative presentations that humanize accessibility law and remind us why digital accessibility is a major civil rights issue of our time. Our webinar audiences frequently remark that her sessions are among the best they have attended.  Lainey’s presentation was one of 3Play Media’s top 3 webinars in 2021. Attendees wrote, “Lainey was amazing,” and “the information was immediately applicable.”

Lily Bond, Vice President of Marketing 3Play Media

Thank you for coming to Microsoft. The response to your session has been overwhelmingly positive. A non-lawyer told me yesterday how valuable your session was for her understanding of the current climate of accessibility in our country. As I mentioned in the introduction, “Lainey is an educator at heart. She has shared her expertise with us generously and has contributed to the way we define and implement accessibility at Microsoft. And we have so much more to learn from Lainey.

Jessica Rafuse, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Policy, Microsoft

Lainey led an engaging and illuminating session for my Disability Law class at Columbia University. It was especially impressive that she could command the room so effectively through a videoconference presentation.

Elizabeth F. Emens, Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law, Columbia Law School

Thank you SO much for presenting! I learned so much. The presentation was clear, engaging, thorough, inspiring, detailed, and extremely helpful. I’m looking forward to hearing more from you! Thanks for all you do!

Kelsey Wirtzfeld, attendee at 'Accessibility as a Human Right' presentation for Portland A11y and UX Meetup

I appreciated the way you validated the heavy work and encouraged us to continue. I will certainly be reviewing the works that you shared with us. . . and I really loved the quote from Ghandi, “The future depends on what you do today.” Thank you for your time, words of affirmation, and encouragement.

Lainey Feingold is a gifted presenter and artful negotiator. At her core, she brings heart, passion and a winning approach to the challenges of accessibility.

There is nothing like experiencing a key note speaker where the connection feels real. Lainey speaks on digital accessibility from her heart and that is evident in her presentations. Her speaking provides all that work in the disability profession a sense of relief that there are others out there that understand the work we do and the passion we have.

Audience feedback after keynote, Florida Association of Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD)

Lainey was a guest lecturer in my disability rights class at Hastings Law School for at least five years. I invited her back every year because the students really respond to her. Her topic is completely current and she presents her material in an engaging and entertaining way. Lainey is an expert in both the legal side of digital accessibility and in the dispute resolution process she has pioneered called Structured Negotiation. Even though I have written a case book on disability rights, I always come away from Lainey’s presentations with new ideas and information.

Paul Grossman, Chief Civil Rights Attorney, US Dept. of Ed., Office for Civil Rights, San Francisco (ret.)

Structured Negotiation Talks and Trainings

The National ADA Symposium is the premier training event in the country on the ADA. We seek the best presenters to enlighten our 1,000 participants. In 2018 the ADA Symposium was held in Pittsburgh, Pa and we were fortunate to have Lainey Feingold join us presenting “Structured Negotiation” and “Legal Updates in Healthcare.” After experiencing her presentations and reviewing participant comments, I know we will have Lainey back for all future National ADA Symposia as her knowledge and presentation style was enjoyable while being highly informative! The participants gave Lainey one of the highest ratings of our 84 presenters.

Jim de Jong P.I., E.D. Great Plains ADA Center, 2018 National ADA Symposium Host and Sponsor

Lainey packed the bookstore at Baruch College at a book signing event for Structured Negotiations, a Winning Alternative to Lawsuits. A diverse crowd of some 60 people sat in rapt silence as she described the Structured Negotiation process and told just enough individual stories to make it real! She presented with ease, passion, humor and charm. Everyone went away having learned a lot and feeling hopeful and energized about the future of digital technology.

Karen Luxton Gourgey, Ed.D. Director, CCVIP, Baruch College, City University of New York (ret.)

Lainey focused her presentation on digital accessibility and innovations in both Canada and the United States. Her approach to negotiating outcomes echoed the challenges and successes that we face in digital accessibility. Her commanding presence and uplifting tone was inspiring to the entire room.

Oskar Westin, Organizer, Accessibility Toronto Meetup

Lainey is an engaging speaker with vast knowledge of digital accessibility law and years of experience using Structured Negotiation to resolve technology access issues on behalf of the disabled community. As websites and mobile apps have become ubiquitous in our society, it is critical that attorneys, technology professionals, business owners, and the public understand digital accessibility issues, and their legal obligations to the disabled community. Lainey literally “wrote the book” on this dynamic area of law. Highly recommended!

Emily Bergfeld, Alameda County Law Library

JP Morgan Chase and Equip for Equality co-sponsored “Structured Negotiation: A Winning Alternative to Lawsuits”  for attorneys in corporate law departments and law firms in the Chicago area.  Lainey Feingold’s program was excellent.  It was well-attended and participants were actively engaged, asking frequent questions and sharing their own experiences.  Participants evaluating the program gave it very high marks; Other companies should take advantage of this opportunity to host a CLE program for their in-house attorneys and law firm partners as they explore ways to resolve disputes outside the courtroom.

Zena Naiditch, Founder/President & CEO, Equip for Equality (the federally-mandated Protection & Advocacy System for Illinois)

Lainey has twice been a guest lecturer at my Harvard Law School courses. Lainey’s talks have been a wonderful gift for my students. I assign readings from Lainey’s ground-breaking book, “Structured Negotiation: A Winning Alternative to Lawsuits,” and encourage them to explore Lainey’s websiteLainey’s the real deal – a lawyer-visionary who brings humility, curiosity, and tenacity to her work an advocate. I highly recommend her.

David A. Hoffman, John H. Watson, Jr. Lecturer on Law, Harvard Law School Mediator, Arbitrator, Collaborative Law attorney, and Founder, Boston Law Collaborative, LLC

Lainey is a truly phenomenal presenter. She recently led a session at Google during our internal Global Accessibility & Disability Inclusion Week, all about different tactics for persuasion when making the case for accessibility. She is a clear expert in digital accessibility and Structured Negotiation, and shared her years of valuable insights in such a vibrant and astute, yet highly relatable way. Lainey brings an excellent energy to the audience when she presents, inspiring so many — from newbies to experts — to get excited, expand their knowledge and understanding, and even rethink their approach to drive greater impact. She is an incredible leader in this field, and we were so grateful to have her join our event.

Laura Allen, Google Head of Strategy & Programs, Accessibility & Disability Inclusion

It was a privilege to have Lainey Feingold present as part of the 2017-2018 Quinnipiac-Yale Dispute Resolution speaker series. Lainey is passionate about both ‘Structured Negotiation’ and the rights of disabled people to participate in the digital age. That passion came through in her excellent talk, which was engaging, ground-breaking and very instructive.

Charlie Pillsbury, Co-Director, Center on Dispute Resolution, Quinnipiac University School of Law​

Lainey Feingold told us her success stories in using Structured Negotiation to resolve disability claims asserted against international corporations without resorting to litigation. Lainey ably demonstrated how much collaborators and structured negotiators have in common by way of tools and philosophy. Her enthusiasm and depth of knowledge is inspiring!

Melanie Merkle Atha, Former co-chair ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Collaborative Law Committee

There aren’t many people who know more about the disability and digital accessibility landscape than Lainey Feingold — so we were thrilled when she joined a fireside chat with LinkedIn’s Co-Founder to talk about the future of work. Lainey has a true talent to speak to both accessibility experts and novices alike and keep both audiences engaged and eager to learn more. The conversation was filled with rich insights, great answers to our burning questions, and a truly safe space for our employees to share their thoughts.

Rae Hinton, LinkedIn's Sr. Lead Accessibility Manager

Lainey Feingold is a talented teacher and is phenomenal at bringing disability rights negotiations alive for law students and a talented teacher.

Katrina Lee, Clinical Professor of Law The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law

Lainey Feingold presented on her work and her book “Structured Negotiation, A Winning Alternative to Lawsuits” at a series of Osgoode Hall Law School events involving JD students, graduate students, faculty and staff, in contexts of disability rights to legal process and dispute resolution. Lainey brought warmth, conviction and authenticity to all her presentations and interactions. Everyone was engaged and connecting some of their own experiences and aspirations with Lainey’s approach to solving systemic problems without the need for costly and lengthy litigation. The toolbox of lawyers needs to include Structured Negotiation!

Lorne Sossin, Former Dean and Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School

Disability Rights Tennessee was honored to have author and disability rights lawyer, Lainey Feingold, present a training for disability-rights advocates and attorneys across the state entitled Structured Negotiation: A Tool for Building Bridges, Not Burning Them. The half-day training included a fantastic introduction to Structured Negotiation, role playing exercises that engaged all participants, and a short (and much appreciated) mindfulness practice. Participants loved the training Lainey’s an exceptional trainer who leaves a lasting impression on her audience. Attendee feedback included “More time! Amazing training! Thank you!” “This could be a full day event – excellent!” “I thought this was a great presentation / CLE. Just fantastic. Wish it were longer.”

Stacie Price, Lawyer, Disability Rights Tennessee
We were thrilled to have Lainey join our User Experience Masters students at the University of Toronto to speak to our class of budding inclusive designers! Lainey took the time and care to tailor her talk to the audience and used plain language free of legal and technical jargon. Students were captivated by the stories from her many years of experience, and as instructors we felt honoured to host an accessibility “elder” who greatly influenced our own journeys in this field.
Catherine Braeken and Jane Motz Hayes, University of Toronto Faculty of Information | Accessibility and Inclusive Design Course faculty

Lainey captivated a room of lawyers with her exceptional ability to inspire and she articulated a clear and pragmatic framework to achieve systemic change. Lainey does this so skillfully by challenging the legal profession to redefine its entrenched roles and beliefs.

Robert Lattanzio, Executive Director, ARCH Disability Law Centre, Sydney Australia

Lainey Feingold came to Raleigh to train our staff at Disability Rights North Carolina on the use of Structured Negotiation as a tool for resolving legal issues for people with disabilities in our state. We were impressed, not only with the substance of Lainey’s book and methodology, but with Lainey’s ability to fully engage an entire group during an all-day training and leave the group asking for more. We can see why her negotiations are so successful. DRNC is excited to add this tool to our tool box and put what we learned into practice.

Emma Kinyanjui, Legal Director Disability Rights North Carolina

Lainey offered a seven-hour Structured Negotiation training (spread over two days) to Disability Rights California (DRC) lawyers in August 2023. The training was planned and co-facilitated by Autumn Elliot (DRC Senior Counsel) and Melinda Bird (DRC Senior Litigation Counsel).

The training was well received by participants, as evidenced by these quotes from the post-training evaluation:

Awesome training!
Excellent information and wonderful presenter
Great concrete examples and opportunities to chat, practice with colleagues
Two days was perfect
Lainey was fantastic
The interactive portions were really helpful
Lainey was fabulous and I feel like I learned a really great alternative tool for my advocacy toolbox.
Fantastic – So thankful that Lainey did this for us.
Loved the slides and loved that we got to break into practice groups.participants, Structured Negotiation full day training August 2023

Disability Rights California Training Participants

Lainey presented on her work with the blind community and on her clear and illuminating new book “Structured Negotiation, A Winning Alternative to Lawsuits” at a UC Hastings event for practitioners and law students. She was simultaneously engaging, practical and immediately understandable. We are so fortunate to have her describe not just the outcomes of her important work, but for her sharing the “how-to” process of her negotiation approaches. She is inspiring both as a speaker and as an attorney activist.

Sheila Purcell, Director & Clinical Prof. UC Hastings Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution (ret.)

Lainey’s first talk in Sydney, Australia was co-hosted by the Digital Gap Initiative (DGI), the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and the Australian Human Rights Centre (now renamed the Disability Innovation Institute) at the University of new South Wales. The hall was packed to capacity with  advocates, lawyers, and business and government sector reps. There was an indescribable buzz in the atmosphere. Lainey talked about her book and about her work. Lainey has such a down-to-earth and genial way of delivering her message, and the audience was captivated and asked many questions. A million thanks Lainey for coming down under – just like a boomerang, we hope she will come back!

Gisele Mesnage, Founder and Coordinator Digital Gap Initiative

Lainey presented to my students about Structured Negotiation, which is an extremely innovative and effective way of translating negotiation principles into concrete legal strategies for social change. Lainey challenges us to think differently about the potential role of ADR in protecting the public interest. Her presentation convinced my students that Structured Negotiation can and should have a vital role to play.

Daniel Del Gobbo, Adjunct Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School

Lainey Feingold gave the Cardozo community a fantastic presentation on her book, Structured Negotiation: A Winning Alternative to Lawsuits. She was incredibly engaging while educating the students on structured negotiation tactics. Ms. Feingold also enlightened those in attendance to the realities of lack of accessibility to the disabled community. We will never forget her “toolbox” and wealth of information!

Nicole Duke, student chair, Cardozo Dispute Resolution Society

We were delighted to have Lainey chat with one of LinkedIn’s co-founders on the disability hiring landscape. In an engaging conversation rich with insight and best practices, Lainey demonstrates that she is once again a master communicator, exuding her passion, commitment and honesty. We left inspired, in awe and knowing that all of us can do more to make our world a better place for people with disabilities.

Oliver Tse, LinkedIn's Staff Technical Program Manager

Lainey gave several outstanding presentations while in Toronto. Law students were engaged. Graduate students and faculty were intrigued. Practicing lawyers were inspired. Lainey’s approach, Structured Negotiation, is a fascinating dispute resolution mechanism which has applicability well beyond the disability rights field. Lainey has started a conversation that will certainly continue.

Martha E. Simmons, --Winkler Professor of Dispute Resolution, Academic Co- Director, Winkler Institute & Assistant Professor Osgoode Hall Law School

Lainey is an incredible teacher. She co-developed and taught a Continuing Legal Education program about using Structured Negotiation to achieve health care coverage for transgender people. Her generosity and expertise shone at every step of the process from developing & delivering the workshop to debriefing. I learned a lot and do my best to use it in day-to-day practice. She is a wonderful teacher.

Ezra Cukor, Senior Staff Attorney, Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF)

Lainey’s energy and advocacy for collaborative negotiation is infectious. She delivered Moritz College of Law’s 2019 Lawrence Lecture on Dispute Resolution to a diverse audience which ranged from novice law student negotiators to seasoned disability rights advocates. Lainey connected the principles of Structured Negotiation to concrete examples – like negotiating with Major League Baseball and large financial institutes – which resonated with all who attended. She shared thoughtful practical skills accessible to all who participated.

William Froehlich, Langdon Fellow in Dispute Resolution The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law

We received so much great feedback that we begged her to come back to do a second, more advanced training. We received more comments and requests for the recording than we have for any other training. I am even getting requests for this training from our legal aid friends in other states. This training is something that the legal aid community really needs right now, and we’re so grateful that Lainey was willing to present on this for us.

Salena Copeland, Executive Director of the Legal Aid Association of California

Lainey presented a terrific CLE program to our members. It made us wish we had more time with her. Her passion, commitment, and honesty was inspiring and greatly appreciated.

Jenny Y. Kim, ADR Section Executive Committee Member, Alameda County Bar Association