Brown, Goldstein & Levy was a proud sponsor of the 2022 National Federation of the Blind (NFB) Convention, hosted in New Orleans, LA, from July 5 to July 10. The Convention was the largest gathering of blind people in the world, with over 2,300 people attending. The Convention offers training, support, and information for the blind on a variety of topics. It also serves as the governing body for the NFB to democratically elect its leadership and establish organizational priorities for the year. This is the NFB’s first in-person conference in three years.
BGL was a sponsor alongside several worldwide companies and corporations, such as Oracle, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, McGraw Hill, and AT&T. As a firm, we have a long history of partnering with the NFB to fight for more equitable access to technology, voting rights, standardized testing, housing, public accommodations, education, employment, and more. Together, we break down the barriers that face blind people and their families.
BGL’s work with the NFB extends as far back as 1986, when Founding Partner Dan Goldstein first took on the role of the organization’s counsel. He remained the NFB’s counsel until his retirement in 2017 and was the first lawyer to successfully argue that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applied to the virtual realm. Following his retirement, Goldstein passed on his work with the NFB to Partner Eve Hill, one of the country’s leading disability rights attorneys, who has since built a practice dedicated to high-impact cases and advocacy on behalf of blind people and their families. She also co-leads Inclusivity, BGL’s Strategic Consulting Group, which helps businesses and organizations understand and implement practices and policies for legal compliance and best practices for including people with disabilities. At this year’s Convention, Eve was a speaker at the National Association of Blind Lawyers event, addressing the Supreme Court’s recent cases affecting disability civil rights.
Attending the Convention alongside Eve was Managing Partner Sharon Krevor-Weisbaum, a passionate and forceful advocate for individuals with disabilities and their families who confront barriers in education, high-stakes testing, employment, housing, and accessing state and federal government services and supports. Sharon often represents public school and college students with disabilities in ADA matters to ensure that they have equal access to their curriculum and other services.
Partner Andy Freeman and associate Monica Basche also represented BGL at the convention. Andy often works with blind business owners and was instrumental in ensuring the Randolph-Sheppard Act applies to military and Department of Veterans Affairs facilities. Andy has won numerous verdicts, judgments, and settlements of millions, tens of millions, and in one case over a billion dollars by mastering the relevant law and getting to know his clients, their problems, and the evidence in their cases.
Like Eve, Sharon, and Andy, Monica is a tenacious advocate for her clients. She joined Brown Goldstein & Levy in September 2019 and represents individuals and organizations in civil rights cases, including disability rights, housing discrimination, employment discrimination, and prisoners’ rights.
Also joining the Convention team were former Brown Goldstein & Levy partners, Dan Goldstein and Joseph Espo.
Founded in 1982, Brown Goldstein & Levy was born out of a strong commitment to social responsibility and providing top-notch legal services. The firm has since grown to more than 20 lawyers and maintains a thriving national practice in a variety of areas, from commercial litigation to civil rights to criminal defense. The Brown Goldstein & Levy team is nationally recognized and has decades of experience bringing passionate, effective advocacy to our clients’ fights for justice.