October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month

Originally enacted by Congress in 1945, National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) is the time to promote respect for people with disabilities and increase awareness of the obstacles they face in getting, and keeping, a job.

Employment statistics for people with disabilities are dismal. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that for 2021, 19.1% of people with disabilities are employed. For those without a disability, that number is 63.7%, more than three-times the rate for the disabled.

Nowhere is progress needed more than in law. It’s impossible to provide precise statistics about the number of people with disabilities enrolled in law schools, what their bar passage rates are, and how they fare when seeking jobs in the legal profession, because data collection is practically non-existent. Law schools and bar associations don’t accurately track the numbers of students and lawyers with disabilities, and the stigma and bias against us is significant.

Even without accurate measurement, those of us with lived experience can tell you: our law schools, courts, and offices are still not accessible; schools, employers and bar examiners fail to accommodate people with disabilities; and, there are very few committees or programs on disability law.

The California bar maintains a complicated system for exam accommodations which may take several months to complete. All of the extensive paperwork and documentation must be finalized while the candidate with a disability is trying to graduate and study for the exam, imposing an extra burden that their peers without disabilities don’t have to face.

Then it’s time to find a job. History shows that when members of underrepresented groups have mentors in the same group “at the table” and in positions of authority, representation increases, bias decreases, and rates of success go up. For attorneys with disabilities, finding mentors is a daunting, if not impossible task because disability is still so stigmatized. Very few lawyers are willing to stand up and be counted.

I can’t blame them. When I finally told a supervising attorney that I am bipolar, and that my energy levels can vary, his first question was “Have you told anyone about this?” Not: how can we help? What do you need? But, what’s our liability here?

Disability in general is not well understood and we are held to an impossible standard when disability makes demands. My first child was born with microcephaly and a cleft palate. She had a number of medical issues which led to nearly 20 hospitalizations and procedures over more than 3 years. One day, I was at my daughter’s bedside in the hospital, and the nurse told me I had a phone call. I assumed it was a family member. Nope. My supervisor. He wanted me to call a client and update him on the status of one of my files. While my daughter, with a trach and a feeding tube, lay in a hospital bed hooked up to an IV and oxygen. Lawyers are not known for compassion, but this?

The first step we must take is to be honest. The American Bar Association reports that only one-half of 1% of attorneys disclose having a disability. Yet, the rate of disability in the general population is at least 25% according to the CDC. The rate of alcoholism for lawyers is at least twice the national rate, around 20%, with some studies reporting that attorneys have the highest rate of alcoholism among all professions.

Legal professionals also have one of the highest rates of depression among all industries. According to the National Institute for Mental Health, nearly one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness (52.9 million in 2020). That’s 20 % of all American adults.

The numbers just don’t add up. Since alcoholism and severe depression are both disabilities, each occurring at a rate of about 20%, how is it possible that only one half of 1% of American lawyers have a disability? Because we don’t report it. We won’t admit weakness, and disability is perceived as weakness. We are not being honest with ourselves, our clients, or our employers.

We need to learn that disability is a natural part of the human experience. It exists everywhere and intersects with every possible classification of people. People with disabilities may need voice-recognition software, or an accessible desk. But studies have shown that we are also more loyal employees, staying with employers who value and support us. Some people with disabilities have intellectual disabilities. Some are geniuses. Every individual should be respected for what they can do, and what they can contribute.

Under the current system, instead of embracing people with disabilities, we are creating disability through stress, overwork and substance abuse. Changes in the way we practice law can make things better for people with disabilities; but this is not a zero-sum game. A rising tide lifts all boats.

Next week, I will explore what we can do to attract and retain the best lawyers, with and without disabilities. In the meantime, think about it.