ADA Accessibility
Guiding clients through the murky waters of ADA accessibility requirements.
WHY LOCKE LORD
Creating a hybrid practice that intertwines building design and construction issues and civil rights litigation, Locke Lord's accessibility lawyers have extensive experience defending and counseling business owners and managers nationwide regarding accessibility issues under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for public accommodations and under the Fair Housing Act (FHA) as well as accessibility-related state and local laws and ordinances.
Our lawyers know, identify and prioritize access concerns to help clients resolve complex situations that address accessibility requirements as well as other business, aesthetic, structural and historical preservation challenges.
We regularly assist businesses with a wide variety of accessibility matters concerning mobility as well as vision and hearing impairments. These challenges include design and construction issues as well as “effective communication,” website and accessible service issues. Whatever the accessibility barrier or issue, we can handle it, from parking and accessible route issues to bathrooms, hotel rooms and check out aisles.
We have defended and resolved hundreds of investigations, audits, claims and litigation initiated by the Department of Justice and Department of Housing and Urban Development, state agencies and private litigants regarding every type of ADA and fair housing matter in jurisdictions nationwide. Our practice also includes assisting and resolving both routine and non-compliance inspections, audits and plan reviews conducted under state or local accessibility laws.
Most importantly, we know how to prevent accessibility claims and satisfy the needs of residents, guests, users and customers by designing or modifying buildings and other facilities to satisfy the relevant accessibility regulations and standards, including the Fair Housing safe harbors, ADA's Standards for Accessible Design and WCAG 2.1 for websites. Locke Lord's lawyers apply the accessibility codes to new and proposed construction/websites as well as apply the "readily achievable" standard to buildings constructed prior to the enactment of the ADA. We also have assisted businesses in every industry with accessibility-related employee and contractor training, policies, assigning accessibility compliance in transactions, evaluating accessibility issues within assets under consideration for purchase, and responding to and negotiating with accessibility experts.