The Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bar Association (DHHBA, deafbar.org) has posted a new video on our YouTube Channel with American Sign Language (ASL) and captions. The transcript is underneath the below video.
Zainab Alkebsi, DHHBA President, is wearing a red blazer over a black top. She has black curly hair with brown glasses. She is sitting in her home office in front of a black bookcase and two-toned grey/white walls.
She signs: “The Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bar Association (DHHBA) is a non-profit operated by volunteers. Our members are diverse, including deaf, Deaf, hard of hearing, late deafened, and DeafBlind, and also including attorneys, judges, law school graduates, law students, and legal professionals. Our members use a variety of communication methods and accommodation needs. Our goal – support and encourage each other, advocate and educate, host accessible events, conduct outreach, and inspire change for DHOH professionals in the legal field.”
Outro: The DHHBA logo appears on a dark blue background with the “advocacy” sign in justice scales.
We are excited to announce that the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bar Association (DHHBA, deafbar.org) has launched our own YouTube Channel! It will feature DHHBA blog posts and announcements that will be translated into accessible videos with captions, transcripts, and American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation.
Check out our first YouTube video below and meet the board members of our 2021-2022 DHHBA Board of Directors. The video has captions and ASL interpretation, and the transcript is below the video.
TRANSCRIPT:
Intro: The DHHBA logo appears on a solid blue background and zoomed in slowly before transitioning to the video. A sign language interpreter appears on the left side of the screen as each of the Board members appears individually on the right side to introduce themselves.
Zainab appears on screen sitting in her home office. She is an Arab-American woman with short dark curly hair, wearing thick black round glasses and a black blouse and blazer: Hello! My name is Zainab Alkebsi. I’m the President of DHHBA (the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bar Association), and I live in the D.C. area.
Taye appears on screen in front of a deep blue background. He is a black man with a bald head wearing hunter green round wire glasses and a crisp white button-up collared shirt: Hello! My name is Taye Akinola. I’m the Vice-President of DHHBA, and I’m from the D.C. area.
Sarah appears on screen in front of a bright, sunny outdoor background. She is a white and Hispanic woman with straight medium-length blonde hair wearing a black V-neck shirt: Hi! My name is Sarah Weimer. I’m the Recorder for DHHBA, and I live in the Southwest of the U.S.
Azeema appears on screen in front of a virtual Zoom background showing a view of downtown Chicago at the river. She is a South-Asian woman with long dark straight hair wearing thin black wire glasses and a white collared shirt under a black V-neck dress: Hi! My name is Azeema Akram, and I’m one of the Board Members at Large, from Chicago.
Jessica appears on screen sitting in her home office. She is a white woman with straight medium-length blonde hair wearing a black long-sleeved blouse: Hello! I’m Jessica Kennedy. I’m a Board Member at Large, and I live in Minnesota.
Caitlin appears on screen sitting in her home office, which is blurred in the background. She is a white woman with short brown curly hair wearing a navy blue blouse and patterned zip-up blazer: Hi! My name is Caitlin Parton. I’m a Board Member at Large, and I live in the Boston area.
Debra appears on screen sitting in her home office. She is a white woman with long straight brown hair wearing thick round tortoiseshell glasses and a deep blue three-quarter sleeve blouse: Hi! I’m Debra Patkin. I’m a Board Member at Large, and I live in the D.C. area.
Outro: A screenshot of the full Board of Directors appears and transitions to part of the DHHBA logo, the “advocacy” sign in justice scales.
The Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bar Association (DHHBA, deafbar.org) recognizes and thanks the donors who made Giving Tuesday donations to DHHBA on Tuesday November 30, 2021.
Thanks to our donors, our Giving Tuesday fundraiser on Facebook was a success! Your donations, matched by Facebook, will advance our advocacy, accessibility, and outreach efforts on behalf of our members and the d/Deaf and hard of hearing legal community.
We are deeply touched by and grateful for your donations. We are 100% volunteer-operated, have limited funds and no paid staff, and depend on dues, donations, fundraisers, and sponsorships. By making a donation, you recognized our many volunteer hours and unpaid work on behalf of DHHBA, which means a lot to us.
Today, as part of Giving Tuesday, Facebook will match up to $8 million in donations made to nonprofit organizations including the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bar Association (DHHBA, deafbar.org).
DHHBA is a 100% volunteer-operated 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with limited funds. DHHBA has no paid staff and depends on membership dues, donations, sponsorships, and fundraisers.
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bar Association (DHHBA) merchandise is available for purchase and features DHHBA’s logos, one in navy blue and orange, and one in white and orange.
All profits will fund DHHBA’s advocacy, accessibility, and outreach efforts with courthouses, law schools, bar associations, legal employers, and other law-related entities, as well as DHHBA’s accessibility needs including American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters and Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) services.
DHHBA is a volunteer-operated 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of d/Deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened, and DeafBlind attorneys, judges, law school graduates, law students, and legal professionals with all communication methods and accommodation needs. DHHBA has no paid staff and depends on membership dues, donations, sponsorships, and fundraisers.
Thank you in advance for supporting DHHBA by buying DHHBA merchandise!
The Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bar Association (DHHBA) is thrilled to reveal our new logo.
We also redesigned our website and we hope you’ll take a look at www.deafbar.org.
As we mature as an organization and advance our advocacy efforts on behalf of our members, we wanted to grow our brand and recognition. A new logo cultivates our relationship with our audience, quickly informing everyone of who we are and the values we embody.
In developing our new logo, we wanted to support our talented community. We considered many deaf and hard of hearing graphic designers and ultimately worked with a deaf graphic designer/illustrator with a passion for visual communication: Melinda “Mindy” Schallau (https://www.mschallau.com/about).
As you can see, our new logo represents our support of each other and our advocacy efforts on behalf of all deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened, and deafblind attorneys, judges, law school graduates, law students, and legal professionals in the United States and Canada. It is balanced with vibrant colors to feature enthusiasm and determination. Of course, it reflects both American Sign Language (ASL) and English and showcases the scales of justice that guide our work.
Our new logo represents our core values, and we hope you agree. Our exciting progress would not have been possible without the resolute leadership of DHHBA Vice President Taye Akinola and DHHBA President Zainab Alkebsi and the hard, great work of the members of the DHHBA Development Committee.
The future of DHHBA is bright and dynamic. Thank you for supporting DHHBA.
In celebration of the 76th anniversary of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bar Association (DHHBA) will present a one-hour webinar featuring three deaf and hard of hearing attorneys, ranging from newly-minted to seasoned, who will share their experiences on using their influence within their own workplaces to generate opportunities and to support fellow deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the legal profession.
Date: Thursday October 21, 2021
Time: 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST
Cost: FREE
Accessibility: ASL interpretation and CART will be provided. If you need other accommodations, please contact DHHBA.
Panelists:
Faye Kuo, Deputy General Counsel, Gallaudet University
John Stanton, Appellate Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Immigration Litigation
Webinar Conduct Policy: All participants are expected to conduct themselves in a professional and courteous manner, and to show respect to everyone at all times. DHHBA does not tolerate harassment of any kind, including but not limited to: race, national origin, age, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, religion, or political affiliation. DHHBA reserves the right to expel any person who engages in violations of this conduct policy, and also reserves the right to ban such person from future events. If any person’s conduct has made you uncomfortable, or if you witness harassment or inappropriate conduct towards someone else, please contact DHHBA immediately.
Consent for Photo, Audio, and Video Coverage: By attending this webinar, you agree and understand that you are giving permission to DHHBA to obtain and use screenshots, audio, and video recordings at the webinar, without restriction or limitation for such use. You also agree and understand that you will not be compensated for the use of such photographs, or audio, or video recordings. You further agree and understand that if you do not want to be photographed or recorded in audio or video, you will notify DHHBA.
DHHBA thanks our sponsors for making this webinar possible:
The brief asked the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to reconsider a ruling that limited Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 — an important disability rights law — to just those parts of the New York Unified Court System that directly received federal funding. This meant that the law would not provide any protections to those taking the New York Bar Examination (which is a required exam for any lawyer to pass in order to practice law in the state), or to those appearing before state courts of appeal.
The ruling would also set a dangerous precedent that could weaken other major civil rights laws. This includes the Civil Rights Restoration Act (“CRRA”), which states that when a state agency receives funding from the federal government, all parts of that agency need to follow certain civil rights laws that protects against discrimination based on disability, race, religion, and sex. DHHBA and other organizations are concerned that the Second Circuit’s ruling could affect these other civil rights laws as well.
As of June 8, 2021, the Second Circuit denied the petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc (to have the case heard by the full bench). This was not entirely unforeseen as such petitions are rarely granted, but DHHBA’s advocacy efforts continue onwards.
DHHBA frequently receives requests to publish or sign on to position statements or advocacy letters, author or sign on to amicus briefs, submit rulemaking petitions or comments, and participate in legal advocacy and/or litigation.
DAs a result, DHHBA has established the following process to request DHHBA participation:
(1) Please review the following criteria that must be met for DHHBA participation:
Any position(s) taken by DHHBA must not conflict with DHHBA’s mission or bylaws.
The legal issue(s) presented must have a systemic impact on or otherwise be relevant to DHHBA members.
Necessity must exist for DHHBA participation. For example, the amicus briefs before the court have not fully addressed the issues relevant to DHHBA, or DHHBA members are likely to be negatively impacted if DHHBA does not participate.
(3) Upon receipt of your complete request, the DHHBA Advocacy and Outreach Committee (AOC) and the DHHBA Board of Directors will evaluate the request based on the above criteria and DHHBA’s availability, and determine whether to approve or deny the request. You will be notified of the outcome via email.
A year into the global pandemic, as the world adapts to new ways of living and working, deaf and hard of hearing professionals face new communication challenges where many of the tried and true communication strategies are no longer as effective. However, rather than to write these strategies off as outdated, the opportunity may be in leveling up those strategies to take advantage of the dramatic increase in mainstreamed use and familiarity with technology, such as video conferencing tools.
On Tuesday March 30, 2021, the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bar Association (DHHBA) will present a one-hour webinar featuring three legal services professionals who will share their experience and tips on effective virtual networking. ASL interpretation and CART will be provided.
Date: Tuesday March 30, 2021 Time: 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. EST Cost: FREE Accessibility: ASL interpretation and CART will be provided. If you need other accommodations, please contact DHHBA.
Panelists:
Anat Maytal, Associate, BakerHostetler
Taye Akinola, Paralegal Specialist, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Susan Mizner, Esq., Director, Disability Rights Program, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
DHHBA thanks our sponsors for making this webinar possible:
