On 1 October 2004 the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 changed significantly. The changes affect shops, cafes, restaurants, libraries, doctors’ surgeries, banks, pubs, in fact any organisation that provides a service to the public. The aim of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 is to improve access to services and The Equality Commission (NI) has organised a [...]
BBCi is running an article on ‘US courtrooms go hi-tech’. The article is well worth a read, and raises the technology prospects, which could become commonplace within the court system, and hopefully this would include the UK. With such technology available, accessibilty would move from the margins further into the mainstream. For example, the article [...]
A Public Service Interpreting and Translation Conference will be held at the Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh on 19-21 March 2005. The theme of the conference is ‘Breaking Down the Barriers: A Team Effort’. The conference is said to be of interest to: ? Policy-makers with an interest in social inclusion and equality of access for people [...]
In October 2004, the Employment Tribunal has produced a Guidance for tribunal users who are deaf or hard of hearing. The Guidance can also be downloaded from Employment Tribunals Online website, spefically here. Firstly, the title of the document implies that the interpreter is there for Deaf people only, and does not acknowledge the two [...]
I have just finished my second day of a week long mini-pupilage with a very reputable firm of barristers in Cardiff. I’m doing OK in Chambers and not too badly whilst walking along a busy main street between Chambers and Crown Court but the courtrooms themselves, however, are a complete nightmare!! The crown courts in [...]
There’s an article on the New Zealand News website called Police defend move to send in the dogs. Essentially, a Deaf man aimed a replica Glock pistol at two neighbours, who then called the police. The police arrived, and after bellowing at him to come out of his flat, which he didn’t do, they sent [...]
We have noticed that quite a few law firms and other professional legal bodies have been reading our website and Blawg. We are really pleased to see this happening, but have one thing to ask you – why don’t you employ us? At present, we have: 1 Deaf LPC Graduate searching for a training contract [...]
The Group for Solicitors with Disabilities is having a meeting plus reception on the 15 December. If you are a Deaf or hard of hearing lawyer or law student, we would like to see you there. In addition, we are also hoping to meet outside this. To attend this reception, you will need an invite, [...]