On Tuesday April 19, 2016, thirteen members of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bar Association (DHHBA) will be sworn in and admitted to the Bar of the United States Supreme Court. All members are deaf or hard of hearing attorneys.
This occasion will mark the first time the DHHBA takes part in the group swearing-in ceremony that occurs most days the Supreme Court is in session. It will be the largest group of deaf and hard of hearing attorneys to be admitted to the Supreme Court Bar. The Supreme Court will provide sign language interpreters and real-time captioning services (also known as Communication Access Realtime Translation, or CART) to DHHBA participants.
Anat Maytal, President of DHHBA and a litigation associate at Baker Hostetler LLP said, “We are truly honored to be admitted to the Supreme Court Bar. Our admission sets a precedent that will hopefully encourage others with disabilities to pursue a legal career and view the legal profession as being open to diverse backgrounds.”
It is customary for attorneys to be admitted to the Supreme Court Bar with a group, such as a professional organization or alumni of a university or service group. At the ceremony, an attorney already admitted to the Supreme Court Bar vouches for prospective members, and Chief Justice John Roberts welcomes them before they swear to support the Constitution.
John Stanton, a member of the Supreme Court Bar and appellate attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Immigration Litigation, as well as a DHHBA member, will ask the Supreme Court to admit the 13 DHHBA participants. These participants include:
- Zainab Alkebsi, National Association of the Deaf (NAD) Policy Counsel
- Rachel Arfa, Staff Attorney, Civil Rights Team at Equip for Equality
- Charla Beall, Kansas solo practitioner
- Teresa Curtin, Attorney at Weitz & Luxenberg
- Laura Gold, Director of Access & Disability Rights at Services for Independent Living, Inc.
- Leonard Hall, Kansas solo practitioner
- Alexis Kashar, NAD Public Policy Chair
- Julie Kegley, Staff Attorney/Program Director at the Georgia Advocacy Office
- Faye Kuo, General Counsel for Communication Service for the Deaf, Inc.
- Anat Maytal, DHHBA President and Litigation Associate at Baker Hostetler LLP
- Debra Patkin, NAD Staff Attorney
- Reema Radwan, Attorney-Advisor, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- Howard Rosenblum, NAD Chief Executive Officer
Supreme Court Bar admission allows attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court. Admission to the Supreme Court is only granted if an attorney is sponsored by two current members of the Supreme Court Bar and has been an attorney in good standing for at least three years.
For more information, please contact Anat Maytal at amaytal@bakerlaw.com or 212-847-2813.