Structured Negotiation Helps Disability Rights Washington Improve Care for Transgender Incarcerated People

On October 11, 2023, the AVID program at Disability Rights Washington (DRW) issued a press release with the headline “DRW Reaches Agreement With Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) To Improve Care For Transgender People With Disabilities.” The Parties used Structured Negotiation to achieve this important result for the rights of incarcerated transgender people, including… Read more… Structured Negotiation Helps Disability Rights Washington Improve Care for Transgender Incarcerated People

Paul Parravano: Structured Negotiation Champion, Disability Advocate, Dies at 71

When I submitted my book manuscript to the American Bar Association in 2015, an East Coast lawyer reviewer had but one question. It basically boiled down to this: “How the hell do I find clients who want to resolve legal claims without fighting? With collaboration, calmness, and kindness instead of conflict?” I don’t have to “find” these clients because for the past 29 years these committed and ethical problem-solvers have found me. One of those people was my friend and client Paul Parravano, a kind, generous man, an accomplished professional, a beloved community and family member, and an unsung hero of Structured Negotiation who died last month from cancer at the age of 71. Read more… Paul Parravano: Structured Negotiation Champion, Disability Advocate, Dies at 71

#ADA32: The ADA has applied to digital for decades

Recently I had the opportunity to ask an audience the first words that came to mind when I said “law in the digital accessibility space.” I heard what I often hear: “threatening” “ambiguous” “confusing.” Yet I heard something else too. I heard reference to the law in the digital space as a “powerful enabler”and a… Read more… #ADA32: The ADA has applied to digital for decades

Digital Accessibility Legal Update (Summer 2015)

This post is part of an occasional series about recent legal developments impacting technology and information access for people with disabilities. This post covers activity from March 12, 2015 through August 10, 2015. You can find earlier Updates in the Legal Updates Category of this website. The series is illustrated by a toolbox — because law has proven an effective tool to improve the accessibility and usability of digital content, print information and technology for everyone. There are many ways to use the law, reflected by the many tools in the toolbox and by the updates reported in this post. Read more… Digital Accessibility Legal Update (Summer 2015)

University of Illinois Chicago Digital Accessibility Structured Negotiation

On November 9, 2021 the Illinois disability rights legal organization Equip for Equality (EFE) and the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) announced an agreement to improve digital accessibility for blind employees and students of the university. The agreement was reached using the collaborative dispute resolution process of Structured Negotiation. No lawsuit was needed or filed.… Read more… University of Illinois Chicago Digital Accessibility Structured Negotiation

Judging a Book by its Cover

This post is about the hexagons on the cover of my book — Structured Negotiation: a Winning Alternative to Lawsuits. The hexagons were prominent in the first edition of the book, published by the American Bar Association (ABA) in 2016. They are in the background of the second edition, published in October 2021. Hexagons are the perfect symbol for a book about cooperation, trust, and resolving legal claims without the conflict, expense and stress of traditional litigation. Read more… Judging a Book by its Cover