Practicing Law with Invisible Disabilities

Tools, Insights, and Methods for Lawyers Experiencing or Supporting Lawyers with Disabilities

Free for members | $25 for non-members.
 
The MBA Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee will host a 90-minute CLE highlighting Oregon lawyers practicing law with invisible disabilities and how they successfully manage the unique challenges of invisible disabilities. The program will address invisible disabilities including vision, speech, and attention differences faced by hundreds of Oregon lawyers.

Attendees will become more adept at working with attorneys experiencing invisible disabilities as colleagues and opposing counsel. Those experiencing different abilities will know they are not alone and stand in solidarity with others similarly situated.  

Our distinguished panel has unique insights into issues of attention deficit, organizational challenges, or communication issues and will share what they have learned and offer tools and insights. Please join us as we learn from practitioners experiencing, coaching, and supporting colleagues practicing law with differing abilities.   

Our panel includes:

• Heather Decker is a Productivity Coach for lawyers and service professionals. As a former practicing litigation attorney and law firm manager, Heather understands the challenges lawyers face at work. She also has two teenage sons with ADHD, one of whom was diagnosed at age 7. They are her best teachers! Some of the practices that support her sons have also helped coaching clients (with or without ADD/ADHD symptoms) improve their time management, organization and productivity skills at work and in life. Learn more about Heather and her services at tcbcoaching.com.
• Yael Livny is a government employment and labor lawyer, practicing in Portland and Salem and on the I-5. Before joining the public sector, she worked as a litigator in Washington, D.C. and Portland, Oregon, including at Cooley Godward LLP and Ball Janik LLP. Yael was previously the Chair of the Oregon State Bar’s Litigation Section. She earned her J.D. from UC Berkeley Law School.
• John Robb is a trial attorney with Kevin Sali LLC, where he represents people facing criminal charges in state and federal court. Before joining Kevin Sali, John spent five years as a trial attorney with Multnomah Defenders Incorporated. Throughout his career as a trial attorney, he has handled thousands of criminal cases and tried dozens of jury trials. John currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Multnomah Bar Association. John is also a person who stutters. He has been active in the Portland chapter of the National Stuttering Association for more than eight years and has spoken about his experience as a trial attorney who stutters in presentations to the Multnomah County Court and Oregon Judicial Department.
• Bryan Welch is an attorney counselor with the Oregon Attorney Assistance Program.  Prior to joining the OAAP staff in 2015, he was in the private practice of law for 12 years, primarily in family law and family mediation. Bryan leads peer support groups for lawyers practicing law with ADHD, or while experiencing anxiety and depression. He provides individual counseling on various issues including substance misuse, stress and overwhelm, and career satisfaction. As a group facilitator, Bryan presents regularly on topics relating to lawyer wellness, and has spent his time during quarantine trying to learn the banjo.

The MBA will apply for 1.5 hours of Access to Justice MCLE credit.