items tagged with law firms providing sign language interpreters

Attorneys have responsibilities to provide deaf clients with sign language interpreters and other accommodations that they may need to communicate. A lawyer who fails to communicate effectively with a client is not meeting his or her duty of competent and zealous representation under the Canons of Ethics. Furthermore, attorneys have a statutory duty to provide effective communication to deaf clients under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which went into effect on January 26, 1991. Title III of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12181-12183, provides people with disabilities the right to equal access to public accommodations. Both Title III of the ADA, and the U.S. Department of Justice regulation pursuant to Title III, 28 C.F.R. Part 36, specifically include the offices of lawyers in the definition of public accommodations. 42 U.S.C. §12181; 28 C.F.R. § 36.104.

Under Title III, public accommodations are required to provide auxiliary aids and services to ensure effective communication with deaf and hard of hearing people: A public accommodation shall furnish appropriate auxiliary aids and services where necessary to ensure effective communication with individuals with disabilities. 28 C.F.R. § 36.303(c). Lipreading and writing notes back and forth are seldom effective methods of communication with sign language users. An attorney who relies on these methods cannot be assured of communicating effectively or accurately with his or her client. A comprehensive list of auxiliary aids and services required by the ADA is set forth in this regulation, and includes, for deaf and hard of hearing individuals:[q]ualified interpreters, notetakers, computer-aided transcription services, written materials, telephone handset amplifiers, assistive listening devices, assistive listening systems, telephones compatible with hearing aids, closed caption decoders, open and closed captioning, telecommunication devices for deaf persons (TDD's), videotext displays, or other effective methods of making aurally delivered materials available to individuals with hearing impairments. 28 C.F.R. § 36.303(b)(1). The term qualified interpreter is defined in the regulation to mean "an interpreter who is able to interpret effectively, accurately and impartially both receptively and expressively, using any necessary specialized vocabulary." 28 C.F.R. § 36.104.