Response #3: How does my vision loss affect my life as a lawyer?

How does my vision loss affect my life as a lawyer? asks Stacy. My immediate response to the question is this: it doesn’t. I can read and write and see the computer with little difficulty (save for some glare and type-size issues that don’t seem to warrant any special equipment or other accommodation, at least not yet). I can go to court unassisted and see what must be seen in the courtrooms, too.

And yet, this question made me stop and reflect on the impact of my fading sight on my workaday life. In meetings and other interactions with lawyers, judges, and in contact visits with clients, my inability to see a proffered hand when looking for lip-reading purposes at its associated face is awkward and often embarrassing. Around the office, I crash headlong into a coworker (or narrowly avoid a collision), trip over a stack of banker boxes full of case records, or spill coffee on something or someone at least once a week. As a result, at least one office-mate cringes in fear whenever she sees me approaching.

Because I don’t drive, I can't visit my clients (all of whom are in prison, because of the nature of my case-load) without riding along with an investigator. Were I independently mobile, I might bring the investigator along anyway to take notes and provide an independent take on the interview, but I might also make more frequent solo visits to some of my clients, particularly those serving life sentences and those who don’t have local family. Also, client visits usually include long walks up and down stairs, through sometimes-narrow corridors and a series of checkpoints, before reaching dim meeting rooms crowded with chairs and tables. Each stage of this process carries its own visual challenges and opportunities for me to feel foolish and ungainly. Often, too, I am separated from my client by glass or wire mesh, making it significantly more difficult for me to see him, to read his lips and thus to understand him. Because I always have an investigator with me for such visits, the concern is not so much that I will miss important information, but rather that my ability to communicate smoothly and effectively with my client is hindered.

For the most part, though, these are minor and passing annoyances. My hearing, on the other hand, comes into play constantly: in office meetings and casual interactions, in court, in discussions and negotiations with opposing counsel, and especially on the phone.

Oh, the dreaded phone. I spend a measurable portion of my day having phone conversations with clients, with opposing (and collaborating) attorneys, with judges’ chambers, and with lawyers, law students, and prisoners’ family members who call me for habeas advice. Client calls are the most challenging, because prison phone systems uniformly suck (I suspect the poor sound quality has something to do with the number of people listening in to my supposedly privileged conversations), and many of my clients don’t speak English well or clearly, so it is frustrating for all of us when I must ask them to repeat themselves over and over. I regularly instruct my clients to put important information in a letter to me instead of discussing it on the phone, and I sometimes call in an investigator or another lawyer to "translate," but often the subject of the call is fairly minor, and my client simply needs to speak and be heard. I hate not being able to fill that role for them effectively, particularly when so many of their cases are unwinnable, and all I have to offer them is acknowledgment and validation.

In non-client calls, sometimes I hear just fine on the phone, sometimes I don’t, and since the sound quality is almost entirely dependent on the other person’s phone or voice, I have little control over the problem. I can tell when someone is on a headset or speaker-phone, both of which pose problems for my hearing and comprehension, and I usually ask the person instead to use a regular phone handset. I have a couple of cases with opposing counsel who talk reeeeaaaally fast, and I have to constantly ask them to slow down and repeat themselves. One of them is very nice about doing so, the other, I think, deliberately "forgets" just to be obnoxious and to keep a strategic upper hand.

I used to dread court appearances, but the new federal district courthouse here includes excellent infrared systems (and real-time captioning equipment) in every courtroom. The judges also have been uniformly helpful and good-natured about making sure I can hear the courtroom proceedings. The Tenth Circuit recently installed a similar (but, alas, not always functional) infrared system, and previously used a borrowed portable system for my oral arguments. So now, going to court is fun, exciting, and something I eagerly anticipate.

Trying to answer this question made me wonder if I’m ignoring ways in which my vision affects my lawyering life. For the next few months, unless it drives me crazy and makes me even more frustrated about losing my eyesight than I already am, I’m going to try to focus on this issue. I’ll let you know if I identify any impacts of which I was previously unaware.

Comments

[Stacy]

Thanks for being so honest in your anwsers. I didn't realize that your hearing was an issue. I admire your willingness to take on cases that have to seem un-winnable and work with clients that others think don't deserve to be heard. Not only do you do it, but you do it with passion. You seem to really enjoy your job and get satisfaction from it.

Thanks for anwsering my question.

Stacy