When I was a young lawyer there was a very busy quadriplegic trial lawyer in Atlanta named Stan Nylen. He made his was from courthouse to courthouse in an "Ironsides" van and driver/attendant. Stan could raise one hand just enough to extend two fingers to shake hands. "Old war horse" lawyers in Atlanta have quite a store of Stan Nylen stories.
One of my former law partners had a young woman lawyer in his firm who became a quadriplegic due to an injury and returned to work in the law firm. I have litigated against a paraplegic insurance defense lawyer who I thought was very effective. Within the past couple of years I have encouraged a paraplegic client to consider going to law school.
Here is an inspirational article from a San Francisco law firm’s newsletter about a congenitally quadriplegic attorney and a similarly challenged law student. The quadriplegic attorney, according to the article, “love her to death” and “regard her just like any other lawyer—just better than most."
The Shigley Law Firm represents plaintiffs in wrongful death and catastrophic injury (including spinal cord and brain injuries). Ken Shigley was designated as a "SuperLawyer" in Atlanta Magazine and one of the "Legal Elite" in Georgia Trend Magazine. He is a Certified Civil Trial Advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and has been chair of both the Southeastern Motor Carrier Liability Institute and the Georgia Insurance Law Institute. He particularly focuses on cases arising from truck and bus accidents and defectively manufactured products. Click here for a free consultation with no obligation.