I’ve received a few emails from college students who asked me for advice about law school and becoming a lawyer. Some of these people are genuinely interested in special education and disability rights issues. Some have confided in me that they have a disability. Hence, their interest in civil rights matters and desire to become a lawyer.

My advice: pursue another career.

I know it’s painful to hear it. The reality is that there are too many lawyers, too much competition, and not enough jobs for law school graduates.

Both the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have published numerous articles over the last several years about law school graduates who can’t find jobs and the cost-benefit analysis of a law school education. If you’re thinking about law school, and you’re not keeping up with the news in the paper, you’re doing yourself and your family a disservice.

At the very least, you should read The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. My personal recommendations include: “Is Law School A Losing Game?” and “Lawyers Settle… for Temp Jobs” and “First Thing We Do, Let’s Kill All the Law Schools” and “At Well-Paying Law Firms, a Low-Paid Corner.”

Contrary to public perception, most lawyers do not make $100,000. In fact, many make less than $50,000–and quite a few lawyers live on the poverty level. If you don’t believe me, do the research yourself.

You should read about Mike Kremen, a law school graduate, who carries $200,000 in debt and works at Radio Shack for $7.65 per hour. You should read about Alice Lingo, an attorney who was laid off from a big law firm and now works as a maid. Have a look at blogs like AboveTheLaw and Subprime JD and But I Did Everything Right! for other personal stories about law graduates who can’t find jobs.

Not surprisingly, these sad state of affairs have given some law school graduates the impetus to sue their law schools for deception.

Even some law school professors are casting law schools as a scam, questioning the value of a law school education. Among them, professor Paul Campos is one of the most vocal critics.

Now, if you have a disability, you may want to think thrice about going to law school. I’m not saying that you won’t graduate because of your disability. Not at all. I’m talking about your job prospects after graduating from law school. Sadly, the vast majority of private law firms are not terribly interested in hiring lawyers with disabilities. That is the harsh reality. As a lawyer with a disability, that’s been my experience.

I’m fairly certain you will hear (as I did) about how law firms embrace “workplace diversity.” From my experience, however, workplace diversity is limited to women and people of color. Even the federal courts appear to limit the concept of “workplace diversity” to women and people of color–the federal courts do not even track the number of law clerks with disabilities.

A law firm newsletter published back in 2007 laid it out point blank:

Of the approximately 132,000 lawyers collectively reported in the 2006-2007 National Association of Law Professionals Directory of Legal Employers, just 200, or 0.17%, were identified as disabled. Overall, about 10% of offices/firms reported at least one disabled lawyer, but less than 1% reported at least one disabled summer associate.

In “Forgotten Colleagues,” Michael S. Greco wrote that lawyers with disabilities are “overlooked as a minority group” and

their struggle has nothing to do with qualifications. . . . Instead, it stems from the reality that legal employers are not doing enough to recruit and retain lawyers with disabilities. This situation is depriving opportunity not only to the lawyers themselves, but also to law offices and clients that could be benefiting from their skills, the legal profession and society. The American Bar Association is taking steps to address the situation.

I have no idea what the American Bar Association has been doing in the last five years to improve the situation, but I can tell you that nothing has changed.

In 2009, a NALP survey found that of the 110,000 lawyers surveyed, only 255 were identified as having a disability.

In a 2011 report that involved a survey of 391 law firms and 10% of Fortune 500 corporations, results revealed that only one lawyer identified as having a disability (see pages 34-35).

Now, if you just skipped over the last two paragraphs, go back and read it. If you’ve already read it, I’m going to ask you to re-read it.

In this day and age, these numbers are nothing short of shocking.

Maybe someday the legal community will embrace lawyers with disabilities. But as of now, that time has not come. In the meantime, if you have a disability and you hear about “workplace diversity” in a private law firm, don’t get your hopes too high. Believe me, I speak from personal experience.

Still thinking about law school? Read Tucker Max and Nils Parker’s Why You Shouldn’t Go to Law School.

Still not convinced? Don’t say you weren’t warned.

The Wonderlic Cognitive Abilities Test is an “intelligence test” that consists of 50 multiple choice questions that must be answered in 12 minutes. These questions consist of basic math and English questions. If you’re interested in seeing what this test looks like, try answering a few sample questions here.

A person who gets a a score of 20 on the Wonderlic test is deemed to have “average intelligence.” The NFL has been using the Wonderlic test for over 30 years to assess prospective football players. According to Wikipedia, the “average football player usually scores around 20 points.” Presumably, an aspiring football cornerback should get a score of 18 on the Wonderlic.

Somehow, Louisiana State University cornerback Morris Claiborne’s Wonderlic score of 4 was leaked to the press. Apparently, this is the lowest score ever recorded.

Obviously dismayed by the fact that this had been leaked to the press, Mr. Cohn addressed the matter head on and expressed his thoughts:

1. Morris Claiborne has documented learning disabilities and probably received accommodations and modifications at Louisiana State University.

2. It is possible that Morris Claiborne (or his agent) failed to request — or the NFL failed to offer — accommodations and modifications prior to taking the Wonderlic test.

3. The Wonderlic score is confidential and should not have been leaked to the press.

4. Many football greats received low Wonderlic scores, and there seems to be little connection between Wonderlic scores and good football skills.

5. Morris Claiborne should not be ridiculed because he received a low Wonderlic score.

Mr. Cohn should be commended for having written such a reasonable and intelligent piece.

Compare that with Mike Florio’s blog article under the derisive topic, “Claiborne gives birth to a four on the Wonderlic.”

In doing research for this blog article, I learned that Mr. Cohn was not the only person who wrote such a sensible article on the Morris Claiborn situation. Greg Gabriel at Huffington Post wrote,

When Claiborne came out of high school, the schools that recruited him knew he had a learning disability. I don’t know much about his disability other than it has to do with reading. Everyone I have talked to tells me that Claiborne has great character and is a great kid. He knows and understands his disability and uses all the resources that LSU has available to control it and to help him get by in the classroom. When it comes to football he puts in extra time to learn and understand his assignments and it is not a problem. Will he need reps? Probably, but no more than the usual rookie would need. In saying that, Claiborne’s test score was NOT a true indicator of his intelligence. He can and does learn.

Another blogger, Kyle Maher, wrote:

Morris Claiborne struggles solving math problems on an aptitude test. So what? His job is lining up in the secondary, finding the ball carrier or quarterback, and laying a big hit on him. After a few years of solid production, Claiborne’s low score will be a distant memory, another statistic nobody will remember.

In “The Wonderlic Test Proves the NFL is Stupid,” Barry Petchesky cited studies that the Wonderlic test may be “useless or worse.”

Maybe it’s me, but I don’t see how a 50-question paper-based test done in 12 minutes can be a good predictor of good football skills.

In the wake of the Morris Claiborne news, some bloggers are recommending that the NFL get rid of the Wonderlic test.

But I imagine that getting rid of the Wonderlic test will take a good long while–if it ever happens. Maybe it’ll continued to be used for the foreseeable future but not relied upon. More importantly, however, this stuff shouldn’t be leaked. Sports writer Vince Marotta wrote that there are “certain things that the general public and the media don’t need to know about when it comes NFL Draft prospects. Their Wonderlic score is at the top of that list.” I agree.

In the meanwhile: The 2012 NFL draft takes place on April 26-28. Best of luck to Morris Claiborne.

The feedback I received at the conclusion of the presentation was overwhelmingly positive. I appreciated the opportunity to share this information and am glad that everyone in the audience found my presentation worthwhile.

At the end of my presentation, we briefly reviewed a list of recently approved NJ legislation and recently proposed bills that may benefit children with special needs. I want to share this information with those of you who were unable to attend the presentation.

Recently approved legislation you should be aware of…

P.L. 2011, c.156. Allows students with disabilities to bring service animals to school. (January 5, 2012)

P.L. 2011, JR-1, AJR11. Designates the second full week of April as “Asperger’s Syndrome Awareness Week.” (January 26, 2011)

A few interesting bills that have been introduced so far this year…

AJR51/SJR31. Designates October of each year as “Disability History and Awareness Month” and encourages instruction concerning disabilities in the public schools. (February 21, 2012)

S1196. Recognizes American Sign Language as a world language for meeting high school graduation requirements. (January 23, 2012)

A1421. Authorizes eight hours of leave for parents and guardians from work for school-related events of children. Employers may not discriminate against employees who take leave to attend their child’s school events. Supplements NJ and federal FMLA. (January 10, 2012)

S647. Raises age requirement of compulsory school attendance from 16 to 18 years old. (January 10, 2012)

*NOTE: If you support any of these bills, contact your representatives. If you do not know who your state representatives are, you can find out by surfing to the New Jersey Legislature, and then clicking on “Find Your Legislator” on the left side of the website.

Fortunately, the child was not harmed and was quickly released from the hospital. According to various report, both the bus driver and aide have been terminated and now face criminal charges.

Seriously, is it possible to “forget” that a child was on the bus? Bloggers and commenters are contemplating how this is possible — and criticizing both the bus driver and aide. See here and there.

Unfortunately, such incidences happen too often. A quick Google search reveals the following incidences:

* In May 2011, a special needs child in kindergarten was locked in the bus alone for four hours.

* In July 2010, a special needs child was left on the bus for one hour in the bus depot.

* In 2009, a 22-year old special needs student spent 17 hours on a bus parked in a Brooklyn, New York, bus yard. The bus driver “knowingly” left the student on the bus.

* Also in 2009, the school bus driver and bus monitor somehow “overlooked” a 3-year old special needs student. After six hours had passed, the authorities found the student still on the bus without water, food, or his asthma medicine.

Again, these incidences shouldn’t happen at all. It is easy to do a head count and physically inspect each seat to ensure that there are no other students left on the bus. This is not rocket science, folks.

I certainly hope such incidences never happen again. It shouldn’t happen. Personally, I find it inconceivable for a bus driver and/or aide to “forget” to conduct a physical inspection of the bus at the last stop of the bus route. The bus driver and bus aide have a responsibility to ensure that there are no other children on the bus. This truly is a matter of life and death.

In the past two years, I have accepted referrals from Volunteer Lawyers for Justice. These referrals involved complex special education matters.

On June 21, 2011, a fund-raising event to benefit VLJ will take place at Hobby’s deli in Newark, New Jersey. Hobby’s is a well known delicatessen in Newark that offers a variety of dishes, including soups, salads, potato pancakes, omelettes, vegetarian sandwiches, meat sandwiches, pot pies, and Hobby’s incomparable macaroni and cheese. And oh, don’t forget the egg creme — or if you prefer, they serve beer too!

I support VLJ’s mission and am proud to be a contributing sponsor of the “Hobby’s for Justice” fund-raising event. If you will be in the Newark area on June 21, 2011, please stop by Hobby’s deli and support VLJ by purchasing a meal: Hobby’s will be donating 10% of the proceeds to VLJ.

The Act (as currently drafted) is a five-year pilot program that will provide scholarships (or “vouchers”) to as many as 40,000 low-income students to attend an out-of-district public school or private school of the student’s choice. Regardless of whether the Act is beneficial and fiscally responsible, the fact is that many parents from low income areas are very excited about the prospect of pulling their children out of “failing” schools and sending them to different schools.

What has not been discussed is how the Act will benefit children with disabilities if their parents want to send them to an out-of-district public school or private school.

First, let’s talk about who will be able to take advantage of the NJ Scholarship Opportunity Act. Students who will be eligible for the scholarships must come from one of thirteen districts: Asbury Park, Camden, East Orange, Elizabeth, Jersey City, Lakewood, Newark, Orange, Passaic City, Paterson, Perth Amboy, Plainfield, and Trenton.

If a student does not attend a school in one of these districts, he or she will not be eligible for the scholarship.

Although the Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability, the Act does not require that public school districts disburse a proportional share of state funds for special education services to receiving private schools for children who receive these scholarships.

As I previously explained in a blog article from last year: when parents choose to send their disabled children to private schools, public school districts must disburse a proportionate share of IDEA federal funds for special education services to those children who reside in the district and attend private schools. However, public school districts are not required to disburse state funds for special education services to private schools.

Ideally, there ought to be a provision in the NJ Scholarship Opportunity Act requiring that school districts disburse a proportional share of state funds for special education services to children who attend private schools under this bill. But at the time of this writing, there is apparently no such provision.

In fact, the Act requires that parents provide “written acknowledgment” that private schools “may not provide the same level of special education services that are provided in a public school.” See Section 6-b-(4)-(b) of the Act.

Therefore, it is questionable how this Act benefits children with disabilities if private schools do not receive all of the funding necessary to provide special education services to its students. Put in another way: unless they had money to spend, why would parents who reside in “failing” school districts want to send their disabled children to private schools if the private schools are not able to provide the same level of special education services that are provided in public schools?

We know that in most cases, parents who reside in “failing” school districts are from low income communities and will not be able to pay additional monies for special education services for their children. Thus, it appears unlikely that parents who have children with disabilities and reside in one of the thirteen districts will take advantage of the Act. Or, if some parents do take advantage of the Act, they may end up regretting it because they will realize that not all of the services are being provided at the new school due to lack of sufficient funding for special education services.

There is also another issue that has not been adequately addressed by the NJ legislature: It is not clear whether in-district public schools will disburse state funds to out-of-district public schools for special education services under the Act.

Based on the amount of political support for the NJ Scholarship Opportunity Act, it seems likely that the Act will become law one day. But before it becomes law, however, I hope the NJ legislature reevaluates the Act through the lens of children who have disabilities and clarify some of the issues as they relate to special education.

• FREE dental care for children ages 3 to 12, who do not have dental insurance. Comprehensive dental exams and x-rays and may include fillings, sealants and emergency treatment as needed. Call for an appointment (732)937-8653. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, One Robert Wood Johnson Place, Ambulatory Services, Dental Suite D, New Brunswick, NJ 08903.

• The Epilepsy Foundation of New Jersey is available to provide a free, 40 minute presentation about epilepsy and seizure first aid to fifth graders at your child’s school. Over 20,000 fifth graders have learned from this presentation since 2007. For more information about this free (and very important) educational presentation, email tae@efnj.com or call Jenna Andolora at 800.336.5843.

• I received a brochure and DVD in the mail about Collier High School (Wickatunk, New Jersey), a state-approved, private high school that provides academic and therapeutic programs for the special needs population. http://www.collierhighschool.com/

I will continue to post longer, more substantial articles on this blog. (Postings on the Facebook Business Page will not replace this blog.) Enjoy!

Goth people might look odd to the average person, but they are intelligent, incredibly artistic, expressive, intuitive, and very open-minded. I know this personally — I’ve met a few myself — and they are not strange, or freaks, or zombies.

Fellow blogger, Siouxsie Law, a lawyer who makes goth her lifestyle, recently blogged about Sophie Lancaster, a 20 year goth female who, along with her goth boyfriend, was brutally attacked in 2007 by a group of teenagers in the United Kingdom. Sophie and her boyfriend were viciously punched and kicked simply because they looked “different.” Sophie subsequently died in the hospital as a result of her extensive injuries; her boyfriend barely survived the attack. Below is a haunting rendition of what happened on that terrible night:

(For those who are hearing impaired, click here to read Portishead’s lyrics.)

Since early 2010, Sophie’s mother has been hard at work running the Sophie Lancaster Foundation, a not-for-profit charity dedicated to promoting respect and understanding of subcultures. The Foundation’s acronym is S.O.P.H.I.E.: Stamp Out Prejudice, Hatred (and) Intolerance Everywhere.

I ran a quick search to see if there were any recent attacks against goth people in the United States. The only case I came across was a 2006 case in California (see James Howard’s powerful statement to the Court).

It seems that physical assaults against goth youngsters are far less common than bullycides. Recent cases involving goth youngsters who committed suicide include Brandon Bitner, whom I discussed in an earlier blog article, and Tempest Smith. Both had apparently been bullied in school because of the way they looked.

(A sad, but interesting aside: Nicola Raphael was a 15 year old in Scotland who was bullied because she enjoyed the goth lifestyle and wore black clothes and make-up. The bullies called Nicola a “freak” and “zombie.” In 2001, Nicola committed suicide. Nicola’s heart was frozen and three years later, doctors defrosted her heart and transplanted it into a three year old child.)

Hateful websites such as “God Hates Goths” do nothing to promote diversity and tolerance. Statements such as “The only good goth is a dead goth” or “Goths are the lowest form of human trash that has ever crawled upon this good clean earth” clearly constitute as hateful speech. That website has a distorted view of the goth subculture and makes false accusations against the people who are members of the goth subculture. For a better understanding of goth people, read what Goth Mom has to say.

The goth subculture has a rich and fascinating history. Wikipedia even has entries on goth subculture and goth fashion. Although the goth subculture emerged in the early 1980s post-punk rock music era, goth is also influenced by gothic fiction, penned by such famous authors like Lord Byron, Mary Shelley, Edgar Allen Poe, and Bram Stoker.

I think that when students are assigned to read famous stories like “Frankenstein,” “Dracula,” The Pit and the Pendulum,” and even “Jane Eyre,” school teachers should discuss how these works may have influenced the modern goth subculture. (A 21st century, New York Times Bestseller work of fiction like “Pride, Prejudice and Zombies” might work too.)

Similarly, music teachers should be encouraged to discuss various rock music genres and perhaps teach students to perform accessible songs performed by bands that are famous among the goth community, such as Siouxsie and The Banshees and Peter Murphy.

There are many creative teaching strategies that teachers and school personnel can employ to promote diversity and tolerance. These strategies can also be used to promote peer acceptance of students who are drawn to the goth subculture. We must remember the Sophie Lancaster tragedy and work together to stop the hate. Teachers and school administrators have as much responsibility as parents to teach youngsters that it’s okay to be different and express yourself in different ways.

I’ll close this article with this live performance of a song from 1990 from a famous goth band: The Cure’s “Pictures of You.” (Note: For those who are hearing impaired, click here to read the lyrics.)

Special Education issues:

Kate Ahern’s Teaching Learners with Multiple Special Needs is among my favorite blogs. This summer, Kate published a few excellent blog articles about the latest assistive technologies, including :

• “iPossibilities for Those with Significant Specials Needs and Their Teams”;
• “iPad Case Options for Significant Needs”; and
• “Internet Based AAC Options.”

The WrightsLaw Way churn out high quality blog posts every single week about special education matters. This summer was no exception. You shouldn’t miss reading these outstanding articles:

• “‘Dyslexia is Not a Learning Disability’”;
• “Does Medication Make A Child Ineligible for an IEP?”;
• “Going Ballistic in a Public Forum — Not Good Form!”; and
• “When Teachers Bully.”

The Phoebe Prince case was in the news again this summer. I previously discussed the lessons of the Phoebe Prince case and why bullying issues should be addressed as quickly as possible. Slate’s blog article “What Really Happened to Phoebe Prince?” provides very provocative perspectives in a massive 18 page report (also available in pdf format here). My colleague Jennifer Laviano, a special education attorney in Connecticut, also chimes in: “Phoebe Prince, Bullying, Disabilities, and the Eggshell Skull.”

Since I’m an attorney who practices education and special education law in New Jersey, these two New Jersey based articles were illuminating: the New York Times’ “Little As They Try, Students Can’t Get A ‘D’ Here” and Christine Samuels’ “New Jersey’s High Numbers.”

Employment law issues:

Molly DiBianca and her colleagues on the Delaware Employment Law Blog are always keeping an eye out on the intersection between technology and employment law. Check out:

• “Blog Comments as Trial Evidence”;
• “Are you Monitoring Your Employees’ Facebook Pages?”; and
• “Notice to Job Applicants of Intent to Search Social Networks.”

This summer has seen some really fascinating employment law issues, including (1) whether employers must accommodate “stressed” or “anxious” employees and (2) whether employees who are bald might win a case under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.

Animal law issues:

Animal lawyer, Daniel Meek, always stresses the importance of including pets in wills and establishing trusts for pets. This summer, Daniel Meek blogged, “Do You Have A Pet Power of Attorney?” He also blogged about whether a service animal is a pet or property in “Is A Guide Dog Property or Pet?”

Just a few weeks ago, the Justice Department revised the Americans with Disabilities Act regulations. One of the key changes in the regulations was the definition of a ‘service animal,’ which I previously blogged about. Another important change in the ADA regulation is the prohibition of breed specific dog discrimination in “Justice Department Rules Against Dog Discrimination,” which is a victory for individuals with disabilities who depend on German Shepherds, rottweilers, and pit bulls as trained service dogs.