How the ADA impacts websites and mobile apps, and what businesses should do about it (2024 Edition)

Kristina M. Launey
Kristina M. Launey
Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Kristina provides clients collaborative, strategic, effective employment and disability access solutions and litigation defense, which minimize risk and keep in mind the business goals and realities.

John W. Egan
John W. Egan
Seyfarth Shaw LLP

John is an accomplished ADA Title III attorney who represents public accommodations, housing providers, and employers in single-plaintiff and class actions in courts nationwide.

Live Video-Broadcast: March 26, 2024
How the ADA impacts websites and mobile apps, and what businesses should do about it (2024 Edition)

$195.00 2 hour CLE

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Program Summary

The legal landscape regarding whether and to what extent websites and mobile applications of public accommodations must be accessible to individuals with disabilities, and what it means to be accessible, is murky at best due to the absence of regulations under the Americans with Disabilities (“ADA”), and decisions from courts around the country that take varying approaches in interpreting how the ADA should apply to our increasingly on line, on-demand economy. Many businesses are understandably confused as to their legal obligations, as they continue to get hit with lawsuits alleging inaccessible websites and mobile apps that they are forced to defend or settle. In this webinar, Seyfarth’s ADA Title III team leads Kristina M. Launey and John W. Egan will explain the laws that apply to the issue of accessible websites and mobile apps, what digital accessibility means in practical and legal contexts, the history of rulemaking and agency enforcement in this area (as well as look forward), cutting-edge data on the prolific number of digital accessibility filings (with an emphasis on “hot” jurisdictions and issues), the spiderweb of court decisions created through litigation, and, finally, a road map for businesses to comply with their legal obligations regarding accessibility and mitigate their legal risk.

Key topics to be discussed:

  • ADA requirements
  • National lawsuit numbers and hotspots
  • DOJ and Congress’s Action and Inaction over the years
  • Key Litigation Themes and Cases
  • Novel Issues with Other Emerging Technologies
  • Web & Mobile App Accessibility Roadmap and Risk Mitigation Strategies

Date / Time: March 26, 2024

  • 1:00 pm – 3:10 pm Eastern
  • 12:00 pm – 2:10 pm Central
  • 11:00 am – 1:10 pm Mountain
  • 10:00 am – 12:10 pm Pacific

 

Closed-captioning available

Speakers

Kristina M. Launey_myLawCLEKristina M. Launey | Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Kristina provides clients collaborative, strategic, effective employment and disability access solutions and litigation defense, which minimize risk and keep in mind the business goals and realities.

Civil rights and nondiscrimination laws, especially those protecting individuals with disabilities, are often complex and individualized in their application. This poses compliance and litigation defense challenges for businesses. To navigate sticky disability discrimination compliance matters, employers and public accommodations turn to Kristina for practical, efficient, and effective compliance solutions and litigation strategy.

Kristina began her employment practice more than 15 years ago at the California Legislative Counsel’s Office, providing advice on the drafting and application of employment and other laws to the Legislature and businesses. She brings her understanding of how the laws are made, their history, and interpretation to help clients find solutions that comply with the law in light of their business realities and employee workforce needs.

Kristina has a unique depth and breadth of experience in counseling and defending businesses in disability access matters brought under Title III of the ADA and related laws, gained through fifteen years of counseling, litigation, studying legal developments, and participation in site inspections and demonstrations by disabled claimants, plaintiffs, attorneys, and professionals. This has given her a deep understanding of application of disability access physical facilities standards, effective communication, modifications to policies and practices, as well as cutting-edge accessibility issues, such as those associated with emerging technologies, the practical impact on individuals with disabilities, and real challenges business face in compliance with unclear and changing legal requirements. Kristina and the other attorneys members of Seyfarth’s nationwide ADA Title III specialty team stay on top of emerging developments in disability access laws, on the pulse of litigation trends, and provide us with unique depth of experience and knowledge of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, advocates, and consultants in the disability access field. This gives Kristina and the entire ADA Title III team unique insights, strategies, and collaborations, facilitating the most effective, efficient representation for clients.

Kristina is always looking for more efficient ways to serve clients, such as through connecting clients with her colleagues with unique talents, innovative tools, and processes Seyfarth offers. She has a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, and uses the program’s ways of thinking, brainstorming, and process tools in her everyday practice. Kristina has also created customized charts and other tools to provide clients updates on all active matters on a schedule that meets their needs. She once worked with SeyfarthLean Consulting to create a Seyfarth Link platform to help it track matters and data points required to be reported under an agency consent decree. Additionally, she often engages in novel dispute resolution mechanisms, such as structured negotiations, to minimize cost and disruption to clients, and usually attempts to resolve legal matters collaboratively before incurring the substantial expense and distraction of litigation.

Kristina enjoys partnering with clients to help solve their business compliance and litigation matters, as well as exploring any opportunities these otherwise problematic issues may present. She is honored to work with such a talented group of attorneys throughout Seyfarth in California and all of the domestic and international offices. In Kristina’s words, “I never cease to be impressed by the commitment to client service and excellence every one of our attorneys shares, as well as to being engaged with their communities and providing pro bono legal representation.”

 

John W. Egan_myLawCLEJohn W. Egan | Seyfarth Shaw LLP

John is an accomplished ADA Title III attorney who represents public accommodations, housing providers, and employers in single-plaintiff and class actions in courts nationwide.

John has successfully defended clients in matters arising under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Fair Housing Act (FHA), Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, and all other manner of federal, state and local laws relating to civil rights. John also has substantial experience representing clients in agency proceedings, particularly before the United States Department of Justice, as well as state and municipal enforcement agencies such as the New York State Division of Human Rights and New York City Commission on Human Rights.

As a member of Seyfarth’s ADA Title III & Public Access team, John represents public accommodations, housing providers, and public entities nationally in matters involving cutting-edge issues relating to architectural barriers, website accessibility and other forms of effective communication (such as electronic information technology, real-time transcription, sign language interpreters, and documents in alternative formats), accessible transportation, as well as service animals. John has substantial experience defending clients in class action litigation involving the accessibility of websites for individuals with visual and hearing disabilities. He also counsels and works collaboratively with a broad array of stakeholders at Fortune 500 companies to address website-related accessibility issues and matters, litigation risk mitigation, and disability diversity and inclusion initiatives. John is a national thought leader in addressing complex accessibility issues, including those presented by new technologies in the increasingly online, on-demand economy. He routinely conducts presentations and trainings for clients, as well as national CLE providers, on ADA compliance and best practices.

John has substantial experience in all facets of disability access litigation and counseling. His experience ranges from first-chairing the aggressive defense of these cases through summary judgment and trial, negotiating highly favorable and efficient resolutions at the outset of litigation, and counseling on complex and novel areas of accessibility law, particularly in the digital accessibility space. John represents a diverse group of clients, including retailers, colleges and universities, real estate investment trusts, consulting firms, movie theatres, automobile manufacturers, financial service providers, public entities, professional sports teams, nonprofit organizations, restaurants, digital advertising companies, website and mobile app developers, government agencies, and property owners in disability access litigation in various jurisdictions across the country, including New York, Florida, California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Arizona, Texas, Nevada, and Washington.

John lectures regularly on emerging disability law issues, frequently contributes to Seyfarth’s ADA Title III News & Insights Blog, has been quoted in prominent publications such as The New York Times, ABA Journal, Corporate Counsel, Crain’s New York Business, and New York Observer, and has appeared as television commentator on Spectrum News – NY1. He is deeply familiar with the unique accessibility requirements in New York State and City, having served as the chair of the Disability Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association from 2017-2020. John is currently an active member of the New York State Bar Association’s Committee On Disability Rights.

In addition, John has a dynamic practice in the area of housing accessibility, where he counsels and defends landlords, developers, condominiums and cooperatives in disability matters arising out of the FHA, as well as state and municipal laws prohibiting discrimination in housing. John frequently collaborates with his Real Estate colleagues to deliver cross-departmental advice, counsel, and representation to New York City boards of condominiums and cooperatives, as well their managing agents, on thorny issues relating to disability accommodations. Additionally, John serves as a strategic advisor to property owners, developers, lenders, and investors in evaluating accessibility issues that arise from due diligence reviews incident to the purchase, sale and financing of real estate. John also counsels and defends employers in matters regarding workplace accommodations for employees with disabilities and leave-related issues.

John is active in Seyfarth’s internal Inclusion and Diversity communities. In his pro bono practice, John counsels and represents veterans and 9/11 First Responders in connection with applications for disability government benefits.

Agenda

I. ADA requirements | 1:00pm – 1:20pm

II. National lawsuit numbers and hotspots | 1:20pm – 1:40pm

III. DOJ and Congress’s Action and Inaction over the years | 1:40pm – 2:00pm

Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

IV. Key Litigation Themes and Cases | 2:10pm – 2:30pm

V. Novel Issues with Other Emerging Technologies | 2:30pm – 2:50pm

VI. Web & Mobile App Accessibility Roadmap and Risk Mitigation Strategies | 2:50pm – 3:10pm