The Annual Digital Accessibility Legal Summit (DALS)
In 2023, the conference has transitioned to be a part of the Annual ICT Accessibility Testing Symposium
The Legal Summit took place from 2019 to 2022. In our prior four years, we amassed a wealth of information and guidance on how to approach legal issues concerning Digital Accessibility. Below, you will find our Body Of Knowledge (BOK) from DALS 2019 through 2022.
The organizers of DALS have concluded that (a) the BOK serves its purpose as the foundations of what to do on the practitioner (plaintiff or defendant) side of legal; and (b) that the obvious next step for practitioners is going to be in the promotion of organization-wide responses to accessibility.
With this in mind, the ICT Accessibility Testing Symposium is a more natural place for the pursuit of information sharing. The ICT conference covers testing, as well as the management of accessibility programs in business.
The ICT 2023 conference runs in an online format the afternoons of Wednesday October 25 and Thursday October 26; and in a hybrid format for full days on Wednesday November 1 and Thursday November 2 at American University Washington College of Law, Washington, DC. One registration covers the whole event.
The Digital Accessibility Legal Summit
Body of Knowledge 2019-2022
2021 and 2022 (Videos)
2021
2021 Recording 1 of 4
Opening Keynote: Digital Accessibility is Broken. Time for a Reset?
—Ken Nakata, Digital Accessibility Problem Solver, ADA and WCAG Compliance Expert, Former DOJ Attorney, Converge Accessibility
Advanced Digital Accessibility Legal Requirements in Israel
—Yuval Wagner, Founder & Chairman, Access Israel
2021 Recording 2 of 4
Discovery: Understanding Impacts of Ableism, and Increasing Diversity in Digital Development Environments (Panel)
—Peter Blanck (Panel Chair), Chairman, Burton Blatt Institute, Syracuse University
—Susan Mazrui, Director of Global Public Policy AT&T Services, Inc.
—Charles-Edouard Catherine, Director of Corporate and Government Relations, National Organization on Disability
—Angela Winfield, Chief Diversity Officer, Law School Admission Council
—Douglas L. Kruse, Director of the Program for Disability Research, Rutgers University
A new initiative: Industry Consensus Standards for Accessibility Reporting
—Chris M. Law, Accessibility Track
2021 Recording 3 of 4
Disability Inclusion in the Legal Profession (Panel)
—Anil Lewis, Executive Director, National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute (Panel Chair)
—Michelle Goldberg, Manager of accommodated testing at the Law School Admission Council
—Kevin Hara, Associate, Reed Smith LLP
—Rachel Braaten, Enterprise Digital Accessibility, Thomson Reuters
—Robert Dinerstein, Professor, American University Washington College of Law, and a Commission Member of the American Bar Association Commission on Disability Rights
Government Update (GSA)
—Andrew Nielson, Director of the Government-wide IT Accessibility Program, U.S. General Services Administration
2021 Recording 4 of 4
The Great Accessibility Overlays Battle (Double Session)
—Jeremy Horelick, Vice President of Business Development, ADA Site Compliance
—Jason Taylor, Chief Innovation Strategist, UsableNet
—Richard M. Hunt, Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer, Hunt Huey PLLC
The Overlays Battle: (Commentary and Discussion)
The presentation will be followed by invited commentaries, discussion, and audience Q&A on the topics addressed.
2022
2022 Recording 1 of 6
Opening Keynote:
Reality Check.
—Doug Towne, Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Access Ready Inc.
2022 Recording 2 of 6
The Public Policy Perspective: 181 organizations sign a letter to the Department of Justice calling for regulations on the accessibility of websites and applications
—Stephanie Enyart, Chief Public Policy and Research Officer, American Foundation for the Blind
A Tale of Two Sagas: Lessons learned from multi-year court cases
—Jessie Weber, Partner, Brown, Goldstein & Levy
(represented plaintiff in Robles vs. Domino's)
—David Ferleger, Attorney
(represented plaintiff in Gil vs. Winn-Dixie)
—Kristina Launey, Partner, Seyfarth Shaw, LLP
(providing a defense attorney's perspective)
2022 Recording 3 of 6
The Nexus Requirement Should be Abandoned
(4:00pm to 4:20pm)
Discussion of an August 2022 paper in The Santa Clara High Technology Law Journal by Jonathan Lazar & David Ferleger: "A Reconceptualization of Website Accessibility Under the ADA: Resolving The Inter-Circuit Conflict Post-Pandemic"
Without Question: Web Accessibility Under the ADA and the Role of the DOJ
—Megan E. Schuller, Trial Attorney, DOJ Civil Rights Division in the Disability Rights Section
2022 Recording 4 of 6
International Perspective: Legal implications of the current and upcoming European accessibility laws and standards
—Susanna Laurin, Chief Research and Innovation Officer, Funka, Sweden
Emerging legal issues in... The Metaverse: Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and the Reality for People With Disabilities
—Angela Matney, CIPP/US, Counsel, Entertainment & Media at Reed Smith, LLP
2022 Recording 5 of 6
Emerging legal issues in... Automated / Self-Driving Vehicles: Driving the research agenda
Julian Brinkley, Assistant Professor of Human-Centered Computing & Director of the Design and Research of In-Vehicle Experiences Lab (DRIVE Lab), Clemson University
Emerging legal issues in... Unattended Retail: What could possibly go wrong for customers with disabilities?
—Laura Boniello Miller, Director of Business Development, Vispero
Emerging legal issues in... Accessibility Measurement and Reporting: Generating New Standards for what is considered "Accessible"
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—Chris M. Law, Executive Director, Standard Accessibility Reporting, Inc.
2022 Recording 6 of 6
Closing Panel: Emerging legal issues in... Electronic Voting Infrastructure
—Doug Towne, Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Access Ready Inc. (Panel Chair)
—W. Ben Jackson III, Senior Subject Matter Expert, U.S. Election Assistance Commission
—Hollister Bundy, esq., President, Inclusion Solutions
—John Medcalf, CEO, Votec
—Aaron Wilson, Founder & CEO, Enhanced Voting
—Robert D. Resuali, Managing Director, BASE IV, LLC
2019 and 2020 (Book)
The Digital Accessibility Legal Digest Volume I & II:
Practice Updates, Guidance and Resources
For practitioners engaged in digital accessibility legal work.
A digest from the first and second annual Digital Accessibility Legal Summits,
March 2019, Anaheim, CA, and June 2020, Online
Edited by Dr. Chris M. Law
$69.95, 337 pages
Available now from Fastcase
(printed book, accessible PDF, accessible e-book formats),
and Amazon,
(Kindle format).
2019
Part A: Perspectives and Insights on
Digital Accessibility in the Legal Space
Howard A. Rosenblum
National Association of the Deaf
"Digital Equality" (Read Sample Chapter)
Dan Goldstein
"Fixing the Slow Progress"
Kristina M. Launey
Seyfarth Shaw, LLP
"A Defendants’ Point of View"
Lainey Feingold
The Law Office of Lainey Feingold
"Ethics in the Digital Accessibility Legal Space"
Tim Elder
TRE Legal Practice
"Technology and Practice Trends Affecting Digital Accessibility and Legal Issues—A Plaintiff’s Perspective"
Jared Smith
WebAIM
"Digital Accessibility and Legal: What’s Next?"
Part B: Guidance and Standards
Kristina Launey & Tim Elder
"Guidance for Practitioners: Legal Plaintiffs’ Attorneys, Defense and Compliance Attorneys, and Accessibility Practitioners"
Dan Goldstein
"Organizational Standards for Inclusion"
Part C: Resources for Addressing
Legal Issues in Digital Accessibility
Jack McElaney
Microassist
"Resources for Responding to ADA Digital Accessibility Lawsuits"
Karen Peltz Strauss
Attorney & Consultant
"Additional Resources for Responding to FCC Digital Accessibility Requirements"
2020
Part A: Perspectives and Insights on
Digital Accessibility in the Legal Space
Deepa Goraya
Disability Rights Maryland
"Experiences as a Blind Lawyer in the Legal Profession"
Prof. Robert Dinerstein
American University Washington College of Law
"Cognitive Disabilities, Legal Practice, and Digital Accessibility"
Marcie Lipsitt
"As an ‘I’, I make a difference; and as a ‘We’, We are Unstoppable!"
Debra Ruh & LaMondré Pough
Ruh Global IMPACT
"The Leading Edge: How Global Disruptions and Technology is Changing Inclusion, Inclusive Design and Accessibility"
Jon Avila, Level Access & Jennifer Chadwick, Siteimprove
"The Implications of Future Technology on Digital Accessibility"
Part B: Guidance
Minh N. Vu, Seyfarth Shaw, LLP, Eve Hill, Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP, & Karl Groves, Accessibility Consultant, Tenon
"Problems (and solutions) in making a good start: Plaintiffs, Defendants, and Consultants"
Part C: Resources for Addressing
Legal Issues in Digital Accessibility
Shane Rhodes, Employment and Social Development Canada, Pina D’Intino, Aequum Global Access, Jennifer Chadwick, Siteimprove & Karen Peltz Strauss, Attorney & Consultant
"Canadian regulatory and practice developments in the digital accessibility space"
Jack McElaney
Microassist
"Legal and Accessibility Impacts of COVID-19: Issues Happening Now, and Implications for Upcoming Legal Cases"