1/7/09

The State Bar of Michigan Justice Initiatives Division and DeafCan! of Michigan will hold a free workshop for attorneys on serving and representing hearing impaired clients. The training session is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 13 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the State Bar of Michigan in Lansing.

The aim of the workshop is to educate attorneys and others in the legal system on their responsibilities to individuals with hearing impairments, and to help minimize the barriers preventing equal access to justice. Topics of emphasis at the workshop include:

• An orientation to deafness;
• Communication access;
• Americans With Disabilities Act;
• Public Acts 24 and 25;
• Deaf Person's Interpreter Act;
• Elliot Larson Civil Rights Act;
• The court's obligation for accommodations;
• An attorney's obligation for accommodations;
• Current cases; and
• Role-play of the proper use of an interpreter at a hearing.

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