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Where to Go for Legal Information and Help
 Go back to Table of Contents Go back to Templates for Letters of Complaint Go forward to Quick Reference of Accessibility Laws
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| "Where can I get the legal expertise I need if I have to prove that certain changes are required by law?" In some cases, goodwill and customer service may not be enough to convince companies and organizations to make their products and services accessible, especially if the needed changes are seen as expensive or useful only to a small group of people. In these instances, you may need to contact legal experts who can help you navigate the steps you need to follow to successfully attain accessible equipment and services. This chapter provides general information on where you can go to find legal assistance. |
If you need an attorney to advise or represent you, ask friends and family for recommendations. You can also contact the Lawyer Referral Service of your state, county, or city bar association listed in the telephone directory.
In addition, some disability advocacy and service organizations provide legal assistance to people with disabilities. Following is a partial list of disability-related legal resources that may be able to help you:
| The National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems, Inc. (NAPAS) | A voluntary national membership association of the Protection and Advocacy (P&As) Systems and Client Assistance Programs (CAPs) that assumes leadership in promoting and strengthening the role and performance of its members in providing quality legally based advocacy services. The P&As and CAPs comprise the nationwide network of congressionally mandated, legally-based disability rights agencies. | 900 Second Street, NE Suite 211 Washington, D.C. 20002 Phone: 202-408-9514 Fax: 202-408-9520 info@napas.org http://www.napas.org Click "About P&As / CAPS" to access a link to your state's office |
| Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs) | The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) has established ten regional centers to provide information, training, and technical assistance to employers, people with disabilities, and other entities with responsibilities under the ADA. The Centers act as a "one-stop" central, comprehensive resource on ADA issues in employment, public services, public accommodations, and communications. In addition to ADA services, the Centers assist individuals and entities in better understanding related disability legislation that may impact their rights or responsibilities. | Voice/TTY: 800-949-4232 Click here to visit this resource. |
| Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) | A national law and policy center in disability civil rights that offers education, training and technical assistance to persons with disabilities, parents of children with disabilities, lawyers, service providers and policy makers about disability civil rights laws and policies. DREDF represents clients, serves as co-counsel, and files amicus briefs in the appellate courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. | 2212 Sixth Street Berkeley, CA 94710 Voice/TTY: 510-644-2555 Fax: 510-841-8645 dredf@dredf.org http://www.dredf.org |
| National Association of the Deaf (NAD) Law Center | The NAD Law Center reviews hundreds of cases involving problems with employment, education, receipt of social services, access to commercial and non-profit services, technology, court and police procedures. Law Center attorneys advise and assist deaf people with legal problems involving deafness, and provide technical assistance to lawyers who represent deaf clients. | 814 Thayer Avenue Silver Spring, MD 20910-4500 Voice: 301-587-1788 TTY: 301-587-1789 Fax: 301-587-1791 NADinfo@nad.org http://www.nad.org |
| Arizona Center for Disability Law | The Center receives specific Federal protection and advocacy funding to assist people with certain kinds of disabilities, such as developmental disabilities or serious mental illness. The Center serves individuals whose disability is the reason for discrimination, abuse or neglect, or failure to provide needed services. | 100 North Stone Ave. Suite 305 Tucson, AZ 85701 Voice/TTY: 520-327-9547 Voice/TTY: 800-922-1447 Fax: 520-884-0992 center@acdl.com http://acdl.com |
| Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) | DRA is a non-profit legal center dedicated to protecting the civil and human rights of people with disabilities throughout the United States and the world. DRA represents people with disabilities in over 50 active cases, most of which focus on health care access, employment rights, public accommodations, international advocacy, testing, education, and schools. Most of their cases focus on high impact litigation. Often they litigate cases on behalf of a class of plaintiffs. As a result, most of their cases address systemic violations of Federal and state disability rights laws rather than isolated incidents. | 449 15th Street Suite 303 Oakland, CA 94612-2821 Phone: 510-451-8644 TTY: 510-451-8716 Fax: 510-451-8511 general@dralegal.org http://www.dralegal.org/ |
Some law schools also have programs where students, supervised by attorneys, provide free legal assistance on a variety of legal matters. Some of these programs are open to all. Others limit their service to distinct groups, such as senior citizens or low-income persons. Contact a law school in your area to find out if such a program is available.
In addition, if you cannot afford a lawyer, you may qualify for free legal help from a Legal Aid or Legal Services Corporation (LSC) office. These offices generally offer legal assistance about such things as landlord-tenant relations, credit, utilities, family matters (e.g., divorce and adoption), foreclosure, home equity fraud, social security, welfare, unemployment, and workers' compensation. If the Legal Aid office in your area does not handle your type of case, it should refer you to other local, state or national organizations that can provide help.
To find the Legal Aid office nearest to you, check a local telephone directory or contact:
National Legal Aid and Defender Association
1625 K Street, NW, 8th Floor
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 202-452-0620
Fax: 202-872-1031
e-mail: info@nlada.org
Website: www.nlada.org
To find the LSC office nearest you, check a local telephone directory or contact:
LSC Public Affairs
750 1st Street, NE, 10th Floor
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202-336-8800
Fax: 202-336-8959
Website: www.lsc.gov
Note: The American Bar Association website (www.abalawinfo.org) can provide answers to general legal questions. The FindLaw website (www.findlaw.com) from West Publishing provides quick access to many legal documents.
Go back to Table of Contents Go back to Templates for Letters of Complaint Go forward to Quick Reference of Accessibility Laws
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Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center
Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access
Georgia Institute of Technology
490 10th Street NW · Atlanta, GA 30318
Telephone: 1-800-726-9119 (Voice/TTY) · Fax: 404-894-9320 · Email: ittatc@ittatc.org
Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center
Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access
Georgia Institute of Technology
490 10th Street NW · Atlanta, GA 30318
Telephone: 1-800-726-9119 (Voice/TTY) · Fax: 404-894-9320 · Email: ittatc@ittatc.org