Eliminating Bias Toward Neurodivergent Individuals in Legal Practice
A live 90-minute CLE video webinar with interactive Q&A
This CLE webinar will address bias against neurodivergent individuals within the justice system. The panel will discuss the meaning of neurodiversity, the ethical and systemic implications of how neurodiverse individuals participate within the legal process, and best practices for individuals and entities when working with neurodiverse clients, colleagues, and justice partners.
Outline
- Introduction to neurodiversity and bias
- Defining neurodiversity: including ADHD, autism spectrum, dyslexia, OCD, Tourette's, and others
- Legal and ethical relevance: ADA, MRPC 1.1 (competence), 1.4 (communication), 8.4(g) (bias)
- Implicit, structural, and cultural biases toward neurodivergent persons
- Bias in legal settings
- Within the legal profession: hiring, onboarding, accommodation, retention, advancement
- Client intake and representation: interpreting communication and behavior
- Litigation, proceedings, and appearances: understanding demeanor, effect on credibility
- Family law and custody: parenting capacity or child behavior contexts
- Trusts and estate planning: Misinterpreting capacity and communication
- Within the legal profession: hiring, onboarding, accommodation, retention, advancement
- Tools to eliminate bias
- Adapting communications
- Accommodation
- Accessibility
- Reducing stigma, recognizing intersectionality with race, gender, and class
- Conclusion and resources
Benefits
The panel will review these and other important issues:
- Recognizing and disrupting bias against neurodivergent persons
- Applying inclusive practices during all aspects of representation and interaction
- Identifying accommodations and structural reforms to enhance access to justice
- Communicating respectfully and effectively with neurodivergent clients and colleagues
- Understand neurodiversity and its attributes
- Recognize the subtle and overt ways in which bias impacts hiring, training, and advancement
Faculty
Loren Gesinsky
Partner
Seyfarth Shaw
Mr. Gesinsky represents employers before state and federal courts, administrative agencies, arbitrators,... | Read More
Mr. Gesinsky represents employers before state and federal courts, administrative agencies, arbitrators, mediators, and other tribunals regarding all legal issues relating to the workplace, including wage and hour collective and class actions, discrimination, harassment, wrongful discharge, breach of contract, noncompete, and other restrictive covenants and trade secrets. He also counsels employers, negotiates agreements, and conducts investigations regarding these issues, with particular attention on strategies to avoid litigation. Additionally, Mr. Gesinsky participated actively in the United States Chamber of Commerce task force that developed comments on the United States Department of Labor’s proposed regulatory changes to the FLSA’s white-collar exemptions. He has more than 25 years of experience working as a labor and employment attorney. Mr. Gesinsky developed an especially broad foundation for his representation of employers by previously practicing plaintiff's employment law and commercial litigation. He has successfully tried, arbitrated, mediated, and otherwise advocated in numerous matters involving multiple and single plaintiffs. Mr. Gesinsky's advocacy abilities in the courtroom, as well as his negotiating and public speaking abilities, have been enriched by his considerable training and experience as an actor.
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Paul Johnson
Assistant Dean for Career Development and Professionalism
Chicago Kent College of Law IIT
Mr. Johnson joined Chicago-Kent as Assistant Dean of Career Development and Professionalism in early 2024... | Read More
Mr. Johnson joined Chicago-Kent as Assistant Dean of Career Development and Professionalism in early 2024 after serving as Associate Director of Career Services and Academic Advising at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law from 2016 to 2024. At UIC Law, he oversaw recruiting programs and was very involved in diversity initiatives; during this time, he also substantially completed coursework towards a Master of Urban Planning and Policy degree. Prior to working in law career services, Mr. Johnson worked as a recruiter with Robert Half Executive Search and as a project fulfillment manager with Robert Half Legal’s consulting solutions practice in Washington, DC. Before his career with Robert Half, he served as Business Development Manager and Assistant Legal Counsel at Lakeshore Interactive LLC in Chicago. Additionally, while earning his LLM, Mr. Johnson served as a privacy analyst for Aon Corporation, where he advised the company on privacy issues affecting its North American business units. Prior to law school, he earned his BA in Political Science, Spanish, and Textile & Apparel Management at the University of Missouri. Mr. Johnson is very active in the National Association for Law Placement (NALP), the American Bar Association Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (ABA SOGI), and volunteers on the board of the Chicago Composers Orchestra and with the Mizzou Alumni Association.
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