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Category Archives: Disability Rights

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Proskauer Obtains Victory for Visually Impaired Chicagoans

Proskauer and co-counsel Disability Rights Advocates (“DRA”), a nationwide nonprofit disability rights legal center, triumphed in a Chicago court this month, obtaining a ruling that will lead to historic accessibility improvements for the more than 65,000 people with vision difficulties who live in Chicago. The Court granted summary judgment on claims that the City of … Continue Reading

Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against New York State for Failure to Provide Legally Required Mental Health Services to Medicaid-Eligible Children

Proskauer, in conjunction with attorneys from Children’s Rights, Disability Rights New York, and the National Health Law Program, have filed a class action lawsuit against New York officials in response to the mental health crisis arising from New York’s failure to provide, in sufficient quantity, frequency, and duration, home and community-based mental health services that … Continue Reading

Proskauer Secures Class Certification for Visually Impaired Chicagoans

Earlier this month, Proskauer – along with co-counsel Disability Rights Advocates (“DRA”), a nationwide nonprofit disability rights legal center – obtained class certification in an important litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, brought on behalf of pedestrians with visual disabilities in the metropolitan Chicago area. Proskauer and DRA filed … Continue Reading

Spotlight on Equal Justice Works Fellow Rita Gilles

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Rita Gilles, an Equal Justice Works Fellow sponsored by Bloomberg and Proskauer, has observed firsthand the heroic dedication and sacrifice of frontline workers, especially the health care staff at Mount Sinai Health System who are now dealing with another challenging winter. For those in or near poverty the pandemic has been … Continue Reading

Demanding More for Our Disabled Veterans

The New York City Bar Justice Center’s Veterans Assistance Project recently presented William Fassuliotis with their 2021 Outstanding Pro Bono Service Award. In this post, Will explains how difficult the disability claims process has become for veterans. A recent statement by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that it is hiring 2,000 new … Continue Reading

Proskauer Achieves Landmark Special Education Settlement in New Jersey State Prisons

Proskauer recently reached a landmark agreement with the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC) and Department of Education (NJDOE) to ensure that students entitled to special education services in NJDOC custody will receive those services to which they are legally entitled under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act … Continue Reading

Addressing Disparities in Health and Health Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic

With the ongoing pandemic exacerbating pervading health disparity and economic inequality issues in the United States, we brought together three experts to discuss their work and the impact of COVID-19 on these important topics. Our discussion was led by Emmy award-winning broadcast journalist and senior medical correspondent for WCBS-TV, Dr. Max Gomez. Our panelists included … Continue Reading

Proskauer’s Amicus Brief Challenges the Constitutionality of Massachusetts Law Mandating that Children Charged with Murder Be Tried and Sentenced as Adults

On November 25, 2020, Proskauer filed a motion for leave to file an amicus brief on behalf of Citizens for Juvenile Justice and the Committee for Public Counsel Services, Youth Advocacy Division in support of Raymond Concepcion, a youth with disabilities who was automatically tried as an adult, convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to … Continue Reading

Defending Visually-Impaired Pedestrians in Chicago with Disability Rights Advocates

Earlier this week, Proskauer—along with Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), a nationwide nonprofit disability rights legal center—filed a putative class action against the City of Chicago on behalf of the American Council of the Blind of Metropolitan Chicago (ACBMC) and three individual plaintiffs with vision-related disabilities. The suit challenges the City’s systemic failure to provide accessible … Continue Reading

Protecting the Rights of Louisiana Deaf Probationers and Parolees

In 2016, Proskauer, together with the Advocacy Center of Louisiana and the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, filed a pro bono litigation in Louisiana federal court with the goal of securing qualified and certified American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters for deaf and hard of hearing probationers and parolees under the supervision … Continue Reading

Making a Difference for Families with Disabled Children

For low-income families with disabled children, receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits is critically important to the safety and security of their households.  Navigating the difficult claims process without legal counsel, however, too often leads to the wrong result.  This was exactly the case for one immigrant mother who—after a painful and complicated divorce—was unable … Continue Reading

New Jersey Law Against Discrimination Protects Autism Non-Profit in Land Dispute

The New Jersey Appellate Division, in a landmark ruling — Oasis Therapeutic Life Centers, Inc. v. Wade et al., (December 10, 2018) — upheld a real estate purchaser’s right to assert a claim under New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination (the LAD) against the purchaser’s prospective neighbors who discriminated against the purchaser because of the disability of … Continue Reading

Even Strength Shines Light on Employability of Persons With Down Syndrome

Even Strength is an internship program designed to give young adults with Down syndrome the opportunity to work on the game operations staffs of professional sports teams.  Even Strength started as an idea that Jeremy Morin, my brother and professional hockey player, and I had five years ago.  Our uncle, Jeff Morin, is a middle-aged … Continue Reading
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