Category: About the DIAL Clinic

Interning At NSU’s Disability Inclusion and Advocacy Law Clinic

By Francesco Donastor, Summer Research Intern

This summer, I had the incredible opportunity to intern at the Disability Inclusion and Advocacy Law Clinic through Nova Southeastern University’s Shepard Broad College of Law. As a rising senior at Stranahan High School, where I’m proudly enrolled in both the Law Magnet and the Medical Magnet programs, I came into this internship with a strong interest in healthcare but very little knowledge of the legal system.

By the end of the summer, I left not just informed but inspired. What started as curiosity has grown into a real passion for combining medicine and law in my future. This experience opened doors I didn’t even know existed, and it may have changed the course of my life.

Learning from the Best

My time at the clinic was guided by two amazing mentors: Professor Matthew Dietz and Professor F. Elizabeth Valentin. From day one, they created a supportive and motivating environment. They didn’t just give us lectures, they brought the law to life.

Every week, they invited professors and working attorneys to speak to us about real-life topics from criminal law, contracts, torts, entertainment law, and especially disability rights. These were not just lessons, these were conversations with experts who showed us how legal work impacts people in meaningful ways.

Each session felt like unlocking a new world. I learned that law isn’t just about rules, it’s about solving problems, standing up for people, and creating a fair system. As someone who has always focused on science and healthcare, this opened my eyes to how law affects every part of our lives, including the medical field I plan to enter.

My Research Journey: Disability and Effective Communication

One of the most meaningful parts of the internship was getting to write my own legal research paper with the guidance of Professor Andrew Wellisch. I had never written a legal paper before, but with his support, I was able to dive deep into a topic that matters: how patients with communication disabilities can be better supported in health care.

My paper was titled: “Disability & Effective Communication in a Health Care Environment: Legal Rights, Tools, and Resources.”

I focused on how Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and non-verbal patients are often denied effective communication during medical visits even though laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and ACA Section 1557 guarantee their rights.

For example, in Silva v. Baptist Health South Florida, Deaf patients were given broken video interpreter systems instead of the in-person ASL interpreters they requested. The court ruled that even though the patients received treatment, they were denied their legal right to understand and participate in their care.

Similarly, in Cook et al v. Banner Health in Arizona, patients were forced to use handwritten notes to discuss emergency procedures, something the courts said was not enough.

These stories showed me how important it is for hospitals to not only offer communication tools but to make sure they actually work and are used correctly. Legal protections only matter if they are followed.

My Proposal: AI for Better Medical Communication

Inspired by what I learned, I developed a new idea a hospital-based AI communication system that could help when interpreters are unavailable. This tool would use a camera and artificial intelligence to translate American Sign Language (ASL) into spoken words and then turn the doctor’s voice into text or signed responses.

Unlike other translation apps, this software would be built specifically for medical use, with help from the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (HoH) community. It could support real-time communication during emergency situations, or in small clinics where ASL interpreters aren’t always available.

It wouldn’t replace human interpreters, especially for emotional or complex cases, but it could serve as a reliable backup tool to make sure that no patient is left out of the conversation.

Technology like this already exists for other areas of medicine. Why not use it to improve communication too?

A Shift in Perspective

Before this internship, I was completely focused on becoming a clinical pathologist. I love science, biology, and the medical field. Law was interesting to me, but I didn’t see how it fit into my goals.

But now, after spending this summer working at the clinic, I know I want to do more. I want to pursue a dual MD/JD degree so I can practice medicine and also work to make healthcare more inclusive and legally sound.

This internship taught me that I don’t have to choose between the two. I can care for patients and fight for their rights at the same time. I can be a doctor who understands the legal system and helps change it for the better.

General Experience 

This internship wasn’t just about studying or writing papers. I got to work with other interns who were just as passionate and curious. We asked hard questions, shared personal stories, and supported each other as we explored difficult topics.

We even had the chance to work through mock legal cases, where we had to think like attorneys and come up with real-world solutions. It was fun, challenging, and so rewarding.

The entire experience felt like a team effort and every person I met added to what made it so special.

Final Reflections and Gratitude

To any high school student, especially those in magnet programs like mine, if you ever get the chance to intern at the NSU Disability Inclusion Advocacy and Liability Clinic, take it. This experience was more than just a summer program. It was an opportunity to grow, to learn, and to discover a new path I hadn’t considered before.

I want to give a special thank you to:

      • Professor Matthew Dietz and Professor F. Elizabeth Valentin, for being patient, brilliant, and endlessly supportive mentors.
      • Professor Andrew Wellisch, for helping me grow as a researcher and guiding me through my first legal paper.
      • Dr. Ley and Dr. Rajput, for allowing me to take part in this one-of-a-kind opportunity.
      • Ashley Brown, for managing the entire program so smoothly and always being there to support us.

Because of all of you, I spent this summer not just learning but discovering a new side of law.

If I ever get the chance to do this internship again, I would say yes in a heartbeat.
It was eye-opening, empowering, and something I’ll never forget.

Thank you for helping me find a path where medicine and law can work together and where I can make a difference.

Family Cafe 2024 – NSU DIAL Clinic serves up brand new Supported Decision-Making Agreements

On June 14th and 15th, the Nova Southeastern University Disability Inclusion and Advocacy Law (DIAL) Clinic brought legal assistance to the largest convention of persons with disabilities in Florida – the Family Cafe.  The Family Cafe is an annual convention where over 15,000 persons with disabilities and their families attend for an opportunity to connect, learn, and find the resources that are needed in need in a family-centered environment. While there are many sessions and exhibitors on many legal topics, there has never been a place where legal services can be rendered to the attendees.

This year, the DIAL Clinic sought to change that by providing guardianship alternatives for persons with developmental or intellectual disabilities. Many families that have children with developmental or intellectual disabilities do not realize that they may require a legal document to speak on behalf of their 18-year-old son or daughter, and others are told that there are no other alternatives but having a full, plenary guardianship – where the person with a disability loses all of his or her rights.  The DIAL students, professors, and volunteers counseled over 150 families about the importance of ensuring that a person with a disability should retain as many rights as possible. On site, we prepared powers of attorney and supported decision-making agreements, and we provided step-by-step instructions on how to file for guardian advocacy. The Family Cafe and the DIAL Clinic’s program were noted in local news channel WFTV9 Orlando – ‘Life changing’: Those with special needs gather for Family Cafe

On Friday, June 14th, Governor Ron Desantis signed the bill codifying supported decision-making in Florida, Florida Statute § 709.2209.  With a supported decision-making agreement, the person with a disability chooses supporters to assist in making decisions and communicating these decisions (if necessary) with third parties, such as a doctor or an employer. In anticipation of the Family Cafe and the law’s passing, Professor Talhia Rangel developed a Supported Decision-Making Agreement which is attached  — SDM Agreement©.  Unlike a guardian advocacy or a formal guardianship, a supported decision-making agreement is neither an enforceable contract nor monitored by a court. Because of concern of over-reach by a supporter, we were very careful to ensure that our SDM Agreement was in plain language, and it notified the person with a disability of his or her rights.

The NSU Law Students learned of the responsibilities that lawyers should have to their communities, and the need to go to their potential clients. Most persons with disabilities and their families are not aware of all of the resources available in Florida, and each student learned that their knowledge and the ability to convey that knowledge was invaluable to the people who they spoke with.  Rising third year law student Naiya Chung found that she learned to trust her own legal knowledge and not bending to the desire of a parent to use legal means to control a person with disability that is not warranted:

[I learned the importance of the] ability to show compassion at that moment when someone is sharing their story with you, despite if they are straying from the legal concept that you are trying to pull out from them but also knowing how to gently redirect back to the conversation to get your answers. Also, [I learned] the importance of really knowing and understanding what you are talking about, that way you can always answer questions or be able to give more information to a person by figuring out and having the ability to know or do what someone is seeking.
– Naiya Chung

The following is our gallery of our experience at the Family Cafe

  1. Preparing to go to the Family Cafe with hundreds of little stuffed NSU Sharks and other swag.  Turned out that our sharks were the most popular.  Not surprised!
six students with NSU t-shirts and Professor Dietz - all with their arms in the air forming a fin, woith hundreds of small stuffed sharks in the foreground.
Fins up!

2. Our four DIAL students and two fellows who worked non-stop!

students and fellows of the DIAL Clinic - five women and one man
From left to right – Professor Leigh Markowitz, Adam Sturn, Ana Gan, Naiya Chung, Mayte Reyes and Professor Talhia Rangel
3.  the Family Cafe Chef knows that something good is cooking at the NSU Law Independent Living Kitchen!
three women, one man and one large costumed figure that is the chef logo of Family Cafe
Naiya Chung, Professor Dietz, the Family Cafe Chef, Mayte Reyes and Ana Gan

4.  Hundreds of attendees stopped by to dive into our Shark Tank.  They’re strong, fast and adaptable. Sharks always prevail. At NSU, we create sharks. We give our law students the competitive advantage they need to become confident, capable, yet caring professionals.

Swag sharks and sign
sharks, sharks, sharks

5.  This mom got a power of attorney drafted by NSU Law Student Ana Gan. When they were done, the mom started crying and thanked Jesus, as she was overjoyed at getting a legal document that she wanted but could not afford.

Two women and one man
NSU student Ana Gan and a highly satisfied client

6.   Mayte contemplating Razor the Shark.

Female student with photo of a cartoon shark
Mayte Reyes contemplating Razor the Shark

7.   The Force was with us.

8.   As well as the mighty Galactic Empire.  Senator Rick Scott poses with Michael McCreight, Professor Rangel and Kayla Roberts.

two men and two women
Michael McCreight, Senator Rick Scott, Kayla Roberts, and Professor Rangel

9.  Michael McCreight – the inspiration for Supported Decision-Making – fought to restore his capacity and out of a restrictive guardianship.

Three women and one man
Prof. Talhia Rangel, NSU student Mayte Reyes, and guardianship survivor Micheal McCreight and his friend

10.  WFTV9’s Sabrina Maggiore filming while the DIAL Students and professors are doing their thing.

Woman reporter in the background with a tv cameraman speaking to a man in a red shirt and several tables with persons being interviewed int he foregroung

11. Professors Rangel and Markowitz hard at work

A group of students

four women and a man siting around a table

 

 

 

 

 

12.  Professor Rangel and a standing room only audience learning about guardian alternatives

a seminar room that is loaded with people

13.  Had the pleasure of meeting the employees and volunteers at Topaz Assistance Dogs! 🙂

Topaz Dog Training booth with two men, three women and three dogs

14.  FAMU Professor Eunice M. Caussade – our local volunteer!!!

a man in a seersucker jacket and a woman in a blue dress next to a sign
FAMU Professor Eunice M Caussade stopped by on Friday and Saturday to volunteer at our special kitchen

15.   Assistant Dean Matt DeTemple even joined in on the fun.

Two men one with hair and one without
Asst. Dean Matthew DeTemple and his new friend

16.  NDRN Executive Director Marlene Sasso was the keynote speaker of the conference. It was a little surprising that she was invited, as I always believed that Family Cafe was not focused on the social model of disability rights.  I hope that the people who watched her understood the significance of Disability Rights as Civil Rights and the history and intersectionality of the disability rights movement.  Marlene stopped by in our kitchen and watched how we train future disability rights attorneys.

A man and a woman
National Disability Rights Network Executive Director Marlene Sasso and Prof. Matthew Dietz

17.  Ana and Mayte taking a break with a service animal in training.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

18.  Triple threat!

Selfie of three women
NSU Law students Mayte Reyes, Ana Gan, and Naiya Chung.

19.  The Annual Professor Dietz Olive Garden dinner!  Unlimited breadsticks and salad!

eight people around a wooden table
Prof. Dietz Annual Olive Garden Dinner

 

 

Winter 2024 Goat Yoga

Professor Dietz is a fervent believer in the power of human-animal interaction to promote wellness and in the beginning of the Winter 2024 semester, the DIAL Clinic students were invited to a team building event of Downward Goat Yoga at Erinwood Farm in Southwest Ranches on Sunday, January 14th.

Guardian Advocacy Pro Bono Project

The DIAL Clinic remains committed to providing guardian advocacy services to parents with adult children with developmental and intellectual disabilities. These types of cases are an essential and excellent pedagogical tool for educating law students on the skills and professional values needed for the successful practice of law. Representing families in Guardian Advocacy cases exposes students to critical interviewing and counseling skills and requires them to carefully describe the ramifications of guardianship and offer other lesser restrictive alternatives to families.

In the Summer of 2023, the DIAL Clinic held a workshop at the law school where over fifty volunteer lawyers and law students worked to prepare 45 families on how to determine whether guardian advocacy is the appropriate option for their family member with a disability or if some less restrictive (or more restrictive) option is appropriate. On this day, Professor Talhia Rangel conducted three one-hour lectures for participants and pro-bono attorneys and with military precision, Jennifer Gordon ensured that the volunteers and the participants were assigned to rooms, trained, and received services.

Statement on Racism, Ableism, Academic Freedom, and Professional Identity

In Florida and across the nation, a coordinated campaign has been initiated to limit how topics related to race, racism, and gender can be discussed, taught, and researched. We believe that academic freedom is fundamental to higher education and free thought, expression and opinion are fundamental to the practice of law and the lifeblood of a democracy.

In the Oath of Admission to the Florida Bar, each potential lawyer must swear that “I will never reject, from any consideration personal to myself, the cause of the defenseless or oppressed, or delay anyone’s cause for lucre or malice. So help me God.” As such, many of the issues discussed, and the cases considered by the DIAL Clinic address the defenseless and oppressed, and how race and gender affect the social construction of disability and resources provided to people with disabilities. As academics and as members of the legal profession, we have the freedom to choose what topics we want to investigate, and the duty to address the root causes of oppression and discrimination.

Exploration of these topics allow students the opportunity to be exposed to varied and numerous perspectives while forming their own opinions and beliefs, even when they disagree with what is being shared. Failure to learn and engage in critical thinking across differences and disagreements undermines students’ personal intellectual growth, professional identity, and causes them to be ill-prepared to enter the legal profession where they will be expected to represent a diverse population and understand how to navigate different perspectives and experiences.

What is the DIAL Clinic?

black and white photo of a man with a short beard wearing a jacket and a dark tie
Jacobus Tenbroek

As to man, in any event, nothing could be more essential to personality, social existence, economic opportunity—in short, to individual well-being and integration into the life of the community—than the physical capacity, the public approval, and the legal right to be abroad in the land.

Tenbroek, Jacobus, The Right to Live in the World: The Disabled in the Law of Torts, 54 Cal. L. Rev. 841 (1966)

 

black and white photo of a woman with glasses waring a warm coat with a pin that says Sign 504, she is speaking into a microphone
Judy Heumann

Part of the problem is that we tend to think that equality is about treating everyone the same, when it’s not. It’s about fairness. It’s about equity of access.

Heumann, Judy, Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist (2020)

 

The Disability Inclusion and Advocacy Law (DIAL) Clinic‘s mission is to train Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law students to become lawyers who are able to confidently practice law upon becoming admitted to the Florida Bar. In the DIAL Clinc, students are taught to be caring, skillful advocates who fight for fair and equitable treatment for the largest minority population – people with disabilities. This is what we do.

We accept no more than ten students per semester, and each of the students is supervised and trained in every aspect of client representation by four licensed attorneys, from interviewing a potential client to appealing a final decision of a trial court. As a disability rights clinic, we focus on matters which ensure independent, community-based, living and equitable treatment for all persons with disabilities.

    • We give people with disabilities the tools so can live as independently as their abilities permit, ensuring guardianship alternatives are used and integrated community services are in place.
    • We protect the rights for equal and integrated housing opportunities, including requests for disability-related accommodations.
    • We assist employees with disabilities in obtaining accommodations in employment and advocating on their behalf.
    • We ensure that children and young adults with disabilities receive an education tailored to their disability-related needs and receive appropriate testing and course accommodations.
    • We advocate for persons with disabilities to get equal and equitable treatment in all aspects of society which is taken for granted every day by an ableist society.

Our representation is available to those who cannot afford to hire lawyers that have the necessary qualifications to handle these matters.  While these rights are priceless for individuals with disabilities and their families, representation is often beyond their means. We handle all matters and never require our clients to pay any attorney’s fees.  Accordingly, our focus is to ensure that our clients rights are vindicated, which may get accomplished by many means short of filing a lawsuit and only filing a lawsuit when necessary.