Today we’d like to introduce you to William Goren.
Thanks for sharing your story with us William. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am a congenitally deaf attorney who functions entirely in the hearing world with hearing aids and lip reading. I also for unrelated reasons use voice dictation technology to access my computer. I have been involved with the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), and related laws as an attorney since 1990.
What is different about what I do in bringing understanding to the ADA is that I combine the perspective of someone with a disability with my substantive knowledge of the ADA and related laws. There are a lot of attorneys that can do black letter law, but they ignore the perspective of a person with a disability when they are dealing with it. That only creates a problem down the line. I also spent 12 years as a full-time educator teaching paralegals.
Accordingly, I bring my personal and professional background to uniquely look at situations. My practice has evolved over time so that it now includes a representation side, which includes administrative law, providing counsel, and co-counseling with trial attorneys, and a larger consulting side. The ADA legal compliance consulting side involves training, serving as a consulting expert, serving as an expert witness, consultant on the litigation, and case evaluations. It also includes my blog Understanding the ADA, which has been an ABA 100 blog for the last four years. Finally, I also recently became a FINRA arbitrator and have a background in mediation as well.
My full-time practice back in 2012 started with my blog, understanding the ADA. That blog and my practice focus on understanding the ADA so that the client understands how to comply with that law and related laws. Topics we cover in the blog include labor and employment law, accessing governmental entities, accessing places of public accommodations, constitutional law, and a variety of other laws, such as but not limited to the Air Carrier Access Act The blog, as mentioned above, is an ABA (American Bar Association), 100 blog for the last four years running, and I look forward to doing it every week; it generally goes up on Mondays.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Solo practice is always a challenge as there is a bit of a bias against solo firms. A great equalizer for me is my ABA 100 blog Understanding the ADA as that has established me as a thought leader, which can be more important to a client than the size of the firm, especially on the consulting side of the practice. Also, case management software is essential (I use clio). All that said, I don’t rule out joining a firm, perhaps in an of counsel capacity, so as to maximize my ability to serve my or a firm’s clients. It has always struck me as odd why more firms don’t have ADA practice areas. Finally, it is important to keep sane. Two of the ways I do that is by being a voracious reader, mysteries and nonfiction, and by playing tennis.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about William D. Goren, J.D., LL.M. – what should we know?
As mentioned elsewhere, my law practice and blog focuses on understanding the ADA so that the client understands how to comply with that law and related laws. The emphasis of my practice is on being a thought leader who can demystify a very complicated area of the law so that people understand that the ADA is a good law that can be worked with.
What sets me apart from others, as mentioned previously, is the combination of my substantive experience and knowledge of the ADA combined with my academic experience and with having a disability. My favorite part of my practice and what I am most proud of is my blog, Understanding the ADA, which, as mentioned previously, has been an ABA 100 blog the last four years running.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I have been both a plaintiff civil litigation attorney, a general counsel and an educator.
The combination of those three are critical to breaking down solutions. Also, as a person with a disability who has been very active in disability inclusion over the years, I understand where a person with a disability is coming from as they face obstacles to accessibility. All of this enables me to see situations from all angles.
Contact Info:
- Website: Http://www.williamgoren.com/blog/
- Phone: 773-301-3009
- Email: wgoren@williamgoren.com
Image Credit:
American Bar Association
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