To DEAFLAW Or Not To DEAFLAW

There are some 'schools of thought' (and I use that term very loosely), that think that d/Deaf lawyers should go into DEAFLAW in order to become "real" Deaf lawyers. Just to clarify,  a general practitioner practices DEAFLAW by providing legal services to only/mostly d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing clients. Usually, DEAFLAW will consist of criminal proceedings, divorces, wills, and some ADA/Social Security thrown in for fun. There are some people that feel that d/Deaf lawyers who decide not to go into this particular field are "selling out" and doing a grave disservice to the community.

I beg to differ. I'm of the school of thought that "people should do whatever they are interested in, period." I would think that the more d/Deaf lawyers that get into diverse practices, the more exposure our hearing peers get to d/Deaf lawyers. Increased exposure is a good thing. If more hearing lawyers see d/Deaf lawyers practicing and succeeding, they will see that it is possible for a d/Deaf lawyer to flourish in a professional environment that values oral and writing skills. Increased respect within the legal community is just as important as serving the d/Deaf community. Moreover, if a d/Deaf lawyer practices in a large corporate firm, that person is in a powerful position because prestige is a highly-vaunted currency in the legal community. Once our peers see d/Deaf lawyers in powerful positions, there won't be as many attitudinal obstacles that hinders most d/Deaf lawyers and law students. Fortunately, with more and more d/Deaf lawyers entering the profession, the ability for d/Deaf lawyers to enter diverse legal (or even non-legal) professions is growing. That's a good (perhaps even great) thing, not a bad thing. 

I do not mean  to suggest that the d/Deaf community does not have needs that could be better served by d/Deaf lawyers. Of course, it IS easier for two people who use the same language to communicate with each other. Just the fact that it is easier doesn't mean that we should blindly encourage d/Deaf law students to enter DEAFLAW. We do have the ADA that requires a lawyer to hire an interpreter if he/she has a Deaf client. However, we do need to encourage real enforcement of this law - not just wrist-slaps. This has more to do with informing the d/Deaf community of their rights and demanding that the Department of Justice (DOJ) truly penalize non-compliant lawyers.  If the ADA truly lived up to its promise, perhaps we wouldn't feel such a need to get d/Deaf lawyers to practice DEAFLAW. 

In all and all, I believe that you should practice whatever you want to practice. If that's DEAFLAW, that's great. If not, that's great too. All reasonably successful d/Deaf lawyers will benefit the community, one way or another. 

Just a side note: I might be "selling out" by aspiring to a large law firm, but I do want to do some pro bono cases that serves the d/Deaf community. Therefore, I am not completely morally bankrupt. :)

Also, thank you (and you know who you are) to the people who talked to me about this subject. 

ASL Interpreters vs. CART

Oh, how our lives are defined by these individuals! (interpreters and captionists, that is) They are the gatekeepers to our education and success. Scary, right? Oh, I could tell stories about bad interpreters and captionists until the cows go home, but I'm not going to do that. Instead, I'll just look at the general pros and cons of both approaches (for me, at least). 

NOTE: I don't include cued-speech or oral interpreters because I've never used them, so I can't comment on them. This is not intended to be a comprehensive list of services out there for d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing folks. 

NOTE: I just added on a few things!

ASL INTERPRETERS

PROS

• they are so much more personal. They can convey so much more emotion and substance. This might be a quirk of mine, but I really like to see who is talking during class and an interpreter can tell me who/where that student is. It makes me feel more included in the classroom

• They are quicker. CART has up to 10 second delay and this proves to be difficult in the classroom. As some of you might know, law schools use 'Socratic Method,' which means that a professor randomly calls on students. A bit difficult to follow with a 2-to-10 second delay, no?

• Looking at an interpreter's face sure beats looking at a computer screen.

EDIT: in reponse to some comments, I examined the actual time delay for captionists. I realized that I am at fault for much of this delay. I can't seem to focus on the computer screen for very long so I have a tendency to look away. This results in a bigger time lag for me than there actually is. I would say the actual delay is 1-5 seconds.

CONS

• Interpreters can be downright unprofessional. I have had interpreters show up wearing sweats, stained shirts, and whatnot. It's embarrassing for the Deaf client because, like it or not, the interpreter is a reflection on that Deaf person. Their behavior can be unprofessional as well - some interpreters tend to be know-it-alls and try to tell the client what to do. However, I do try to minimize this by hiring younger interpreters who seem less prone to this behavior. 

• They are very public in the sense that everyone can see them. Sometimes, other students and some professors resent them because they "distract" students. I have been approached by some students, complaining about how ASL 'is too distracting.' I wish I could tell these people that their mumbling, general unawareness of how to handle d/Deaf people, shifting eyes and beards is quite 'distracting' for me. :) 

• Since there is a chronic interpreter shortage almost everywhere, it can be tough finding qualified interpreters. 

• It's hard to take notes when you are watching an interpreter. Your eyes can only focus on one thing at a time. I still do it but I use a note-taker as a back-up. 

• Many of them do not have the educational background to keep up with law school and they cannot handle the vocabulary. 

NOTE: ASL is a conceptual language, which means that it conveys ideas in signs that embody an idea, not necessarily words (as used in English) This means that it can be difficult to adapt to the terminology in law school because lawyers deal with subtle differences in phrasing that ASL cannot capture. I'll be the first one to say that ASL is the ultimate language to express emotion and spatial concept. However, its weakness is distinguishing between similar concepts. For example, "purpose" and "intent" have the same sign, but subtle differences in written/spoken English.

CART (REAL-TIME CAPTIONING)

PROS

• Vocabulary, vocabulary and some more vocabulary. As a law student, it is crucial that you learn how to express yourself as a lawyer. CART gives you a better feel of how to articulate your ideas. Before law school, I would never use the word "distinguish" or "reconcile" or even "adjudicate" but now, I feel confident handling these words because I have seen it in play. 

• Transcripts are just a god-send during finals. Sometimes I will be looking at my notes and have no idea what I meant. I just go back to the transcript and "get it." Also, I made a lot of friends by sending them my transcripts when they missed class. :)

• Captionists tend to be very professional people. It also helps that you are not looking at them for hours on end. The lack of visual contact maintains the professional environment much better. 

• if the particular captionist had worked in court as a stenographer, she/he is more equipped to handle the legal vocabulary that is thrown around willy-nilly  in law schools. 

• CART gives you the freedom of slacking a bit. I can look away for a bit and daydream, then come back to the screen. Of course, this is a mixed blessing. 

• It is more anonymous, especially in today's law classrooms. Everyone has a computer so the captionist is just another face behind a computer. 

CONS

• Captionists are not as good at 'hearing' things as interpreters are. I cannot explain this phenomenon but captionists have more difficulties understanding what students say. It is the most irritating thing in the world to read (inaudible)(inaudible)

• It's more difficult for captionists to keep up with a fast speaker. Unfortunately,  most law professors are incredibly fast speakers. There is so much information and so little time. 

• If the professor does not speak in complete sentences, the transcript can be difficult to read. Ever since we were children, we have been trained to read and write in complete sentences, however, spoken English does not work this way. It's a jarring change because people's brains (at least mine) are not used to reading sentence fragments. Of course, this really does depend on the professor. 

• If you have some speech difficulties, like I do, it's hard with CART. If you don't know how to pronounce certain words, captionists are no help. With interpreters, you can sign to them and they will voice for you. (I'm too much of a control freak to do this most of the time). 

• Imagine staring at a computer screen for hours on end....hurts right? 

• Technology giveth and taketh away. Technical difficulties can really foul things up and cause you to lose a lot of information. 

Well, that's all I can think of right now. Feel free to add onto my list or comment. 

On a side note, I'm so happy to see that so many people have visited my site so far! Welcome and I hope you got something out of this blog! 

Here I Go.

This is my first venture into the blogging world so bear with me. I must say, it is scary to jump in with both feet and pinched nose. I always fiddled with the idea of starting my own blog and here it is!

It seems fitting that my first post should be about why i wanted to blog about my life as well as to introduce myself. 

I should point out that I do not fit in any of the preconcieved D/d labels. ASL was my first language, but I was raised oral from the age of 6. I got a cochlear implant and still maintain my involvement in the Deaf community. I never went to Gallaudet, but I support its students and their crusade for cultural autonomy. I must admit, this is a lonely space in the D/deaf world. There are entirely too few people in the d/Deaf communties that participate almost equally in both sides. 

Culture wars aside, I am sure y'all are wondering - how does she participate in school? As a deaf person, my life seems to be defined by my services. The answer is simple, I use either ASL interpreters or CART (real-time captioning), which is similar to stenography. Unfortunately I have to pick and choose which one to use for each class (a juicy topic for a different time!). This semester, I am taking 3 classes with ASL interpreters and 2 classes with CART. 

To sum it up, I just wanted to say that in the last few months, I have encountered an unexpected amount of disbelief. People (mostly fellow law students and even other Deaf persons) just cannot believe that I am in a law school, and an 'elite' one at that. This blog is to inform and enlighten these people. After all, we, as humans, have incredible capacity to adapt. Also, this blog is for D/deaf people who are thinking about going into law.