likely one will be thought of as an amazing exception , as some sort of miracle or miracle worker . Independence helps maintain resolve , high levels of concentration , strong / tough mindedness .
High quality support is crucial to any lawyer . Whether it is law clerks , paralegals , or secretaries , one ' s own efforts are enhanced by quality support . In the case of being a blind lawyer , it is critical to have people whose attention to detail is above average , for the reality is that being unable to see eliminates one opportunity for catching mistakes--a document mistake , a personal appearance problem , something that a client might see on the desk that shouldn ' t be seen , and so forth . There is more to practicing law than just making oral arguments in court or written arguments in a brief .
Developing and cultivating good networks is indispensable . This is true , whether sighted or blind . It is an important part of how one is regarded , as well . I always wanted to be able to constructively draw from and contribute to any network with which I was associated--a judicial committee , a research group , a legal writing group , an organization of entity directors . I did not want to be thought of as unduly reliant because of my blindness . This is another aspect of what I mentioned above , of being a member of a group without drawing extra special notice to a so-called disability . None of this has anything to do with trying to pretend not to be blind , I never have tried to hide my disability , but it concerned fitting into any facet of work or non-work as seamlessly as possible , fitting in without drawing attention to oneself unnecessarily . I never have regarded myself as a model for how to live blind , yet a person with a disability is inescapably an exhibit , a model of how to operate with that disability , like it or not .
In the very first essay of the New York Times series on disabilities , Rosemarie Garland-Thomson makes this important point : " A person without a disability may recognize someone using a wheelchair , a guide dog or a prosthetic limb , or someone with Down syndrome , but most don ' t conceptualize these people as having a shared social identity and a political status . ' They ' merely seem to be people to whom something unfortunate has happened , for whom something has gone terribly wrong . The one thing most people do know about
To Table of Contents being disabled is that they don ' t want to be that ."
Yet , disability is everywhere once you start noticing it . A simple awareness of who we are sharing our public spaces with can be revelatory . Wheelchair users or people with walkers , hearing aids , canes , service animals , prosthetic limbs or breathing devices may seem to appear out of nowhere , when they were in fact there all the time .
" The more we with disabilities can model the point that we are able to participate fully in society , including the workaday world , the more likely it will be that able bodied people will be comfortable in associating with someone who has a disability and the less likely it will be that disabilities will be regarded with fear and apprehension ."
. . . to be continued in the next issue