Brown, Goldstein & Levy proudly continued our tradition of sponsoring and attending the National Convention for the National Federation of the Blind, hosted this year from July 8 to 13 in New Orleans. The Convention is the world’s largest gathering of blind people, bringing in over 2,400 in-person attendees. The transformative event offers attendees hundreds of sessions, presentations, and opportunities to network during a variety of different events. Additionally, the Convention serves as a space to democratically elect the NFB’s leadership and set agenda priorities for the 2025 to 2026 term.
BGL was represented by attorneys Eve Hill, Jessie Weber, Anisha Queen, Jamie Strawbridge, Monica Basche, Samantha Westrum, and Disability Rights Fellow Julie Orozco. Eve currently leads BGL’s work on behalf of the NFB with support from the firm’s robust disability rights practice area team. One of the country’s leading disability rights attorneys, Eve also co-leads Inclusivity, BGL’s Strategic Consulting Group, which helps businesses and organizations achieve compliance with the laws supporting the rights of people with disabilities. Monica attended in support of the National Association of Blind Merchants, an organization of self-employed blind persons, most of whom work in the Randolph-Sheppard Vending Program.
Attending BGL attorneys had the opportunity to speak at and attend various forums, meet with several clients during the event and continue learning about the NFB’s impactful work. Eve Hill addressed the general session in a speech entitled, “Equal Protection Under the Law Demands Collective Action: The Blind and Our Right to Live in the World.” Monica Basche presented at the National Association of Blind Merchants meeting about BGL’s victory at Fort Huachuca in Arizona, obtaining a preliminary injunction to permit the blind vendor to remain at the site and then prevailing at the arbitration, as well as the Department of Education’s proposed rulemaking about the Randolph-Sheppard Act and the comments the NFB submitted in response. Julie Orozco spoke at the blind lawyers meeting, where she discussed her journey working at the NFB, going to law school, and becoming an attorney. She also shared her experience working as BGL’s Disability Rights Fellow.
Founding partner Dan Goldstein, who retired in 2017, also attended the event. Dan first took on the role of the NFB’s counsel in 1986. Since then, BGL has represented the nearly 50,000 NFB members, winning significant victories in groundbreaking and highly impactful cases. Our work with the NFB has shaped how courts interpret the Americans with Disabilities Act and has sought—and found—justice for clients in cases ranging from employment, education, technology accessibility, parental rights, voting and more.
BGL sponsored the convention alongside corporations such as Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Amazon, Target, Uber, Meta, and Delta. We are committed to standing beside the NFB and collaborating in our fight for justice and the breaking down of barriers that blind people and their families face every day. Learn more about our commitment to disability rights here.
ABOUT BROWN, GOLDSTEIN & LEVY
Founded in 1982, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a law firm based in Baltimore, Maryland, with an office in Washington, DC. The firm is nationally recognized in a wide variety of practice areas, including complex civil and commercial litigation, civil rights, health care, family law, and criminal defense. Above all else, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a client-centered law firm that brings decades of experience and passionate, effective advocacy to your fight for justice.