Nation Loses a Top Disability Rights Attorney


larry-paradis

One of the nation’s most influential disability rights lawyers, Larry Paradis, cofounder and executive director of Disability Rights Advocates, has passed away. “Larry spent his life working tirelessly so that people with disabilities would be fully included in all aspects of American life. That is his legacy, and he will be loved and admired forever for it,” said Linda Dardarian, chair of DRA’s board of directors. Paradis was 57.

As a young man, Paradis became a wheelchair user due to disability when he was a law student. He went on to graduate cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1985 and soon after became an associate with Miller, Starr and Regalia, a powerful and respected California real estate law firm. He worked his way to a position of partnership over a 10-year period.

While Paradis was still employed at the firm, the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed. At the time, DREDF (Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund) was the leading disability law firm. Their director of litigation was Sid Wolinsky. “Larry offered to work pro bono for us,” says Wolinsky. “I asked if he had done much trial work, which turned out to be a silly question,” he says. “We hit it off so well, we decided to open our own practice, and that’s how Disability Rights Advocates got started.” They opened an office in Berkeley, California, and later moved to nearby Oakland.

DRA, Paradis and Wolinsky soon became known for class action and other high impact disability rights litigation, specializing in precedent-setting ADA cases involving discrimination in employment, housing, transportation, education, insurance, and public accommodations. Twice Paradis was named one of California’s Lawyers of the Year — in 2003 and 2011 — by California Lawyer Magazine. In 2004 he was voted Trial Lawyer of the Year, along with his co-counsel, by San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association. A number of DRA attorneys have been honored with awards over the last several years.

In 2010 DRA announced it was opening an office in New York City. They had done work in conjunction with United Spinal Association and other disability organizations that had national impact. Perhaps their best known case was the NYC cab lawsuit, Taxis for All Campaign v. Taxi and Limousine Commission, et. al., which resulted in NYC agreeing to make 50 percent of its cab fleet accessible. “On his first trip to New York City after the new DRA office opened, Larry couldn’t get a cab,” says Wolinsky. “I flagged down a cab, it stopped, Larry rolled out to get in, and the cab sped off.” It was then that DRA got involved in a big way in the NYC cab case. “Larry was not to be trifled with,” quips Wolinsky.

As for the future of DRA now that Paradis is gone, his work and devotion to their mission will continue to guide the organization. “Larry is irreplaceable,” says Wolinsky, “not only to the disability rights community, but to all of us at DRA. We intend to carry on his legacy in all the areas he’s been most interested in – access to technology, the sidewalk accessibility cases that began in the 1990s

[Barden v. Sacramento; Californians for Disability Rights, Inc. (CDR), et. al. v. California Department of Transportation], and now similar cases involving NYC and Long Beach, California.” DRA has also been a leader in bringing about accessibility improvements in the health care industry nationwide.

In nearly three decades of disability rights litigation, Paradis did not lose a case, says Wolinsky, “at least not one I can remember.” According to Kate Hamilton, director of development and communication, DRA itself has almost never lost a case. Even more important, she adds, Paradis and DRA have always been focused on getting results for the disabled community, often through negotiated settlements. “It’s not about fees or winning. This is what makes DRA unique,” she says.

Larry Paradis will be remembered not only as a superb lawyer and champion of disability rights, but as a beloved husband and father. He is survived by his wife and two sons. A Larry Paradis Legacy Fund has been established to help carry on the work that has defined his life (more info at dralegal.org). A Celebration of Life will be held August 31 at the Ed Roberts Campus in Berkeley.


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