Structured Negotiation Delivers Landmark Results in Portland Sidewalk Case

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On June 5, the city of Portland, Oregon issued a press release with the title “Major milestone reached in making Portland’s streets and sidewalks more accessible.” The announcement was reached as a result of a sweeping settlement negotiated between the city and residents who use wheelchairs. Under the agreement, Portland will install and upgrade approximately 18,000 curb ramps over the next twelve years. The agreement was reached in Structured Negotiation. Read more…

Lawyers Need Soft Skills: A Book Review

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Chapter 16 of Structured Negotiation, A Winning Alternative to Lawsuits is about traits like patience, trust, and optimism that lawyers need to resolve problems without litigation. I have now discovered Soft Skills for the Effective Lawyer – a book that is like my Chapter 16 on steroids plus so much more. It should be mandatory reading for every lawyer, law student, law professor, and CLE provider. Read more…

Sue Ammeter, Blind Disability Rights Champion, Dies at 69

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The list of Sue Ammeter’s advocacy roles could fill this post.  Board member (and often officer) of the American Council of the Blind, the Washington State Council of the Blind, and the National Braille Press are just some of the organizations Sue Ammeter volunteered with on top of her paid work. Organizations that will miss the talent, commitment, and unstoppable advocacy of the Washington state resident who died on April 7, 2018. Read more…

Gratitude for a Poached Egg (an Accessibility and Negotiation Strategy)

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Whenever I travel, I try to eat in local restaurants serving traditional foods. That’s how I found myself at 417 Union in Nashville last month eating poached eggs, grits and a biscuit. The eggs were perfect and I asked the waitress to thank the cook for me. She came back later and told me: “His day is going to go a lot better now that he knows he done good.” Her comment sums up my experience as a negotiator in the digital accessibility space. Everyone wants to know they have “done good.” Telling them so is a powerful negotiating strategy. Read more…

Chicago Structured Negotiation and Digital Access Events in October ’17

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This post has information about Lainey Feingold’s Fall speaking events in Chicago. Lainey will be presenting at the Chicago Digital Accessibility and Inclusive Design MeetUp, at a free CLE for lawyers sponsored by Equip for Equality and JPMorgan Chase, and at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law with Chicago. disability rights lawyer Andres Gallegos. She is excited to return to Chicago, and is grateful for friends and colleagues in the Windy City making this trip possible. Read more…

Lawyers as Changemakers: The Global Integrative Law Movement

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The New York Times ran a powerful obituary on July 26, 2017 about Scharlette Holdman, an unsung woman who devoted her life to inmates on death row. The obituary described those who sought to emulate Holdman’s career by saying “Many mitigation specialists who followed in her footsteps are journalists and social workers. ‘It’s the antithesis of being a lawyer; it’s all about human feeling and connection..'” Is that true? Is human feeling and connection the “antithesis” — the opposite — of being a lawyer? Read more…

First Cousins: Structured Negotiation and Collaborative Law

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The article posted here by Lainey Feingold first appeared in the July 2017 issue of Just Resolution E-News, a publication of the Dispute Resolution Section of the American Ban Association. It tells of the significant similarities between Structured Negotiation and Collaborative Law, two dispute resolution methods focused on cost-effective problem solving without litigation. Structured Negotiation:… Read more…

Washington, DC Structured Negotiation Book Event on March 29

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On Wednesday, March 29, The American Bar Association will host a book talk in Washington, DC for Structured Negotiation, A Winning Alternative to Lawsuits. Author Lainey Feingold, and Structured Negotiation’s co-creator Linda Dardarian will be on hand to share stories from the book and answer questions about the dispute resolution process that has delivered big results without lawsuits for two decades. Light refreshments will be served and Lainey will be signing books. Read more…

March 2017 Digital Accessibility Legal Update

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This post includes legal developments about digital accessibility between December 13, 2016 and March 6, 2017. It supplements Lainey Feingold’s digital accessibility legal update presentations, including the legal update sessions at the 2017 CSUN Assistive Technology Conference. 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 in this post. Read more…

Mass. Eye and Ear, Bay State Council of the Blind Launch Collaboration

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Mass. Eye and Ear Launches Collaboration with Bay State Council of the Blind to Improve Access. January 24, 2017 (Boston) – In partnership with the Bay State Council of the Blind, Massachusetts Eye and Ear today announced the launch of a comprehensive initiative to ensure that persons with visual disabilities have full and equal opportunity to the best possible care. Issues addressed in the initiative include web accessibility, alternative formats, and training. Read more…