ADA Compliance & Defense

Lewis Brisbois’ Labor & Employment Practice comprises a national team of attorneys with a focus on assisting business owners and operators achieve and maintain full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and applicable state and local disability codes. Our clients range from small family-owned businesses to Fortune 500 companies with nationwide real estate portfolios, to government entities. We are always prepared to vigorously defend clients that are classified under Title III of the ADA as public accommodations and Title II as public entities against ADA lawsuits and Department of Justice (DOJ) proceedings. Lewis Brisbois represents a wide array of clients including restaurants, entertainment venues, sports arenas and stadiums, banks and financial institutions, shopping centers, apartment complexes, hospitals and other health care providers, schools and other public entities such as libraries and city agencies, theaters, retailers, and hotels.

ENSURING ADA COMPLIANCE
It is a reality that business owners in today’s marketplace are under ever-increasing scrutiny with regard to ADA compliance. Disabled individuals, the DOJ, and advocacy groups for the disabled can all bring lawsuits against business owners to enforce compliance with these often complex regulations, resulting in expensive litigation. Our attorneys’ first priority is to assist our clients in examining their entire enterprise from top to bottom to ensure that they are fully compliant with applicable regulations. We also perform accessibility audits that cover the latest ADA standards for commercial and government facilities.

Lewis Brisbois’ attorneys work closely with the nation’s most reputable and experienced accessibility consultants, who assist us in assessing our clients’ property and policies, identifying potential shortfalls in compliance and recommending expedient, cost-effective solutions.

Our attorneys observe and assess all aspects of our clients’ property and systems to ensure their accessibility, including but not restricted to:

Accessibility and architectural features that act as barriers in areas such as restrooms, meeting & banquet rooms, hotel guest rooms, parking lots & structures, recreation facilities, and walking paths
Barriers hindering accessibility to communications and services including absence of auxiliary aids like Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS), speech outputs, closed captioning, adequate accommodation of service animals, and Braille signage
Electronic barriers that hinder access to digital content, websites, online reservation systems, public electronic terminals such as ATMs and ticketing mechanisms, as well as the developing technologies pertaining to these systems
Experiential systemic barriers that hinder disabled individuals from full and equal access to public services and accommodations including inadequate staff procedures and training programs, and inadequate internal policies

ADA LITIGATION DEFENSE
Lewis Brisbois’ attorneys have successfully defended clients in a wide array of ADA-related matters from pre-litigation through appeal. Our goal is always to offer clients the most expedient and efficient representation, focusing first on preventive measures, expeditious settlement negotiation, mediation, and alternative dispute resolution. Whether the case involves an individual bringing a lawsuit against a family-owned local business or a nationwide class action brought against an international corporation, our attorneys have the experience, knowledge and tools to work toward a speedy and economical resolution.

As one of the nation’s top firms in the area of insurance law, we are perfectly suited to handle insurance coverage and indemnity claims against business owners and additional potentially responsible individuals or businesses. When the necessity arises for a lawsuit to go to trial, our attorneys use every resource offered by our nationwide presence and formidable team of support staff to advocate for our clients and provide them with the best possible result for the best possible value.

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE INVESTIGATIONS
Lewis Brisbois’s attorneys have successfully represented a wide variety of clients through the complex process of responding to DOJ investigations. We are adept at facilitating dispute resolution in these matters, including negotiating consent decrees and voluntary compliance agreements on behalf of our clients.

Because the DOJ is proactive in its enforcement of the ADA, businesses of all sizes must take compliance seriously in order to ensure their survival. At stake are not only the potential loss of revenue and the costs of litigation but also the reputation and public image of a company itself. A DOJ investigation usually involves allegations and inferences that a company is actively discriminating against the disabled. In addition to the steps our team takes to defend against these allegations, we are also well-versed in assisting clients to contain the risk to their public image and mitigate damage to their public relations.