Learning in the Legal Field
By Amarachi Ubawike.
Learning in the Legal Field: How Lawyers and Law Students With Learning Disabilities Face Adversity in the Legal Field
By Amarachi Ubawike.
Dyslexia, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and dyspraxia are just some of the learning differences that law students and lawyers may have.
Dyslexia is a learning disability which affects the ability to process information and reading. ADHD is learning disability that involves attention difficulty, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. Dyspraxia is a condition that affects motor skills and coordination.
Disability in the Field
The National Association for Law Placement surveyed 83, 718 lawyers nationwide. Almost 2% of lawyers self-reported having a disability. Working as a lawyer can be intimidating and stressful with long work hours and high stake cases. Lawyers with impairments and disabilities reported higher levels of overt and obvious forms of discrimination.
Disability in Law School
In 2023, 112% of students in their first year of law school identified as a person with a disability. 28% of them reported having cognitive or processing disabilities.
Getting into Law School
In order to get into law school one must take the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT), which is administered by the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC). In 2018, a court found that the LSAC would “customarily offer partial accommodations, and demand further documentation subject to short deadlines, forcing the applicant to accept partial accommodations, or delay taking the test in order to provide further material, at a significant cost and inconvenience.”
Students don’t fare any better under other testing authorities, such as the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), who regulate the licensing exams for bar admissions.
Real Life Impacts
Matt Overcast had been diagnosed with ADHD, dyslexia, and auditory processing challenges. He asked the NCBE for double testing time, 10 minutes of stop-the-clock breaks, and the use of a screen reader to take the bar exam. The accommodation requests were denied and Overcast had to pay a lawyer $1,000 retainer to write an appeal letter. Even on reconsideration, the NCBE only granted Overcast 50% extended testing time, and denied the use of a screen reader.
Real Life Impacts
Marilyn Barlett was denied accommodations for the bar exam five times because a psychologist for the NY Board of Law Examiners determined that scoring in the 30th percentile on a reading test did not mean she was dyslexic, despite her diagnosis of dyslexia.
Lisa Noshay Petro, Director of the University of California Hastings Law Disability Resource Center, noted that applicants with learning disabilities get denied in whole or in part even with sufficient documentation. The ABA Journal noted that most people denied accommodations for the Bar Exam are those with nonvisable disabilities.
Some Solutions
Mandate education for attorneys to educate about the needs of lawyers with learning disabilities. Improve standards and processes for accommodation requests, so applicants with learning disabilities get the accommodations they deserve. Require training for law students and professors about the needs for students with learning differences.
Sources:
Slide 2:
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd
https://dyslexiaida.org/definition-of-dyslexia/
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23963-dyspraxia-developmental-coordination-disorder-dcd
Slide 3: https://www.nalp.org/uploads/Research/2024-25_NALPReportonDiversity.pdf; https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2020/07/aba-study-finds-prevalent-reports-of-discrimination-faced-by-dis/
Slide 4:
https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2020/07/aba-study-finds-prevalent-reports-of-discrimination-faced-by-dis/
Sources:
Slide 5:
https://www.dorfonlaw.org/2018/11/the-lsacs-contempt-for-lsat-takers-with.html
Slide 7:
https://www.abajournal.com/web/article/bar-examinees-have-little-success-with-accommodation-requests-and-say-the-process-is-stressful
Slide 8:
https://www.abajournal.com/web/article/bar-examinees-have-little-success-with-accommodation-requests-and-say-the-process-is-stressful
Slide 9:
https://www.abajournal.com/web/article/bar-examinees-have-little-success-with-accommodation-requests-and-say-the-process-is-stressful