Solo Practice

This is a fascinating read in the Oregon State Bar Journal.  We don't think, or rather we don't think enough about disabled clients, even if their disability just comes as a natural result of getting older. But under the ADA, you MUST think about this when selecting your office space, even if you meet clients at home.

What does the Americans With Disabilities Act (the ADA) require in terms of physical access to a lawyer?s office?

Since 1992, the ADA has barred places of public accommodation ? including law offices ? from discriminating against individuals with disabilities.

"The ADA is read very narrowly by the federal courts," says Bob Joondeph, executive director of the Oregon Advocacy Center, which provides free legal services to persons with disabilities. "It?s usually pretty clear if your client is covered by the ADA. For a general practitioner, it may be someone in a wheelchair. If they?re hard of hearing to the point of being covered by the ADA, it would be obvious. On the mental-health side, even for a personality disorder, it must be pretty severe to rise to the level of disability under the ADA: it must interfere with major life activities."

For mobility-disabled clients covered by the ADA, it means that an office needs to have accessible parking, route to the building?s entrance, entry and doorways, according to Darrel Ackerman, former member of the Oregon Disabilities Commission who has been a paraplegic since 1972, as a result of an automobile accident.

What if the lawyer?s office is in his home?
If it?s open to the public ? meaning that he sees clients there ? it must be accessible

When selecting your office location, bear in mind the rules discussed in this article.

And if you are considering a home office, think long and hard if you are going to meet clients there and what accomodations you must make for your clients in order to comply with the ADA.