Tapped as an authority on disability rights, Brown, Goldstein & Levy managing partner Jessie Weber joined a special episode of the Innovating Inclusion podcast commemorating the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). She was featured alongside fellow civil rights attorney Paul Grossman for a conversation focused on the ADA, Section 504, and ongoing disability rights litigation against the Los Angeles Community College District.
Hosted by Angie Castro, Katie Corbett, and Steven McCoy, Innovating Inclusion explores topics around disability inclusion, universal design, advocacy, entrepreneurship, and innovation, featuring voices driving change for a more inclusive world.
In the July 26, 2025 episode, Jessie and Paul discussed the legal intricacies of the ADA and Section 504, including the ongoing case brought by blind students Roy Payan and Portia Mason, along with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), and NFB of California, against the Los Angeles Community College District for its failure to provide them an equal educational opportunity. In June 2023, Jessie, along with BGL attorneys Kevin Docherty and Monica Basche, and BGL paralegal Denise Altobelli, secured a trial victory on behalf of the students, the NFB, and the NFB of California, after a jury found that LACCD—the largest community college system in the nation—discriminated against the students in 14 ways, often intentionally. An appeal is now pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Jessie provided insight into Title II of the ADA, which requires public entities, like community colleges, to ensure equally effective communication and equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities. Both Jessie and Paul highlighted the types of reasonable modifications and auxiliary aids and services necessary to break down access barriers and shared practical examples from their work to illustrate how these obligations play out in real life.
Jessie Weber is nationally recognized for her work in civil rights, including disability and LGBTQ rights, employment law, and appellate litigation. Her accomplishments include securing a $1.25 million settlement for Baltimore City school bus employees denied full pay, winning an injunction to make absentee voting accessible in Maryland, and obtaining over $250,000 for a client fired under a racially discriminatory workplace policy.
Jessie is an experienced appellate litigator. She has argued before the Fourth, Sixth, Ninth, and D.C. Circuit Courts of Appeals and has also submitted briefs in the United States Supreme Court, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, and in state appellate courts in Maryland and Washington State. She is known for her groundbreaking work obtaining equal access for individuals with disabilities to voting, websites, and government information and services. Jessie is well versed in both complex litigation and negotiations and enjoys using a range of tools to obtain justice for her clients. Learn more about Jessie and her practice here.
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.