I have been a lawyer for several years. What few people know is that I was born with low vision and that this impairment is also progressive.
It is slow-moving, subtle enough that most colleagues would not notice. I read, draft, negotiate and appear in professional settings much like many other lawyers. But I do so with enlarged text, adjusted screens, text to speech, the aid of some assistive technology, deliberate lighting, and careful energy management. At times I rely on the use of a white cane. My devices are calibrated. My workspace is intentional. My day is structured around clarity.
Because my vision is changing gradually, I live with a heightened awareness of time. I think ahead. I plan for sustainability. I pay attention to how I work, not just what I produce. In a profession known for long hours and relentless pace, that awareness has shaped me in unexpected ways.
Law rewards precision. Living with vision impairment has refined mine.
I listen closely – not only to arguments, but to tone and hesitation. I prepare meticulously. I build systems that reduce friction. I do not rely on last-minute chaos. Adaptation, I have learned, is a discipline.
There are practical frustrations. Visual fatigue is real. Some days require more concentration than others. Accessibility is not always seamless, and professional environments are not always designed with difference in mind. But what I have gained is perspective: clarity about what truly matters in my work.
I’ve found that clients appreciate my care in listening to their matters, the calm and steadiness I bring. I am told that they appreciate someone who can think clearly under pressure, who can anticipate obstacles, who can navigate complexity without panic. Living with a progressive condition has quietly trained me in all three.
This is the first time I have spoken publicly about my vision impairment. Not because it defines me – it does not – but because it is part of the architecture of my life. It has shaped how I build my career: deliberately, sustainably, and with long-range vision in mind.
I do not know exactly how my sight will change over the coming years, but I am told that further change is inevitable. My ophthalmologist at the Lion’s Eye Institute has also told me that most people living with my level of vision (or with better vision than mine) no longer work, because of the difficulties and strain. Having said that, he added that if you have found ways to continue working, then do so.
What I do know is that the practice of law, at its core involves analysis, critical thinking, problem-solving and adaptation. These are skills I exercise every day in my practice of the law and in serving my clients. These are also the skills and the mindset that enables me to continue working in my chosen profession.
In that sense, my vision impairment has not limited my career. It has sharpened it.
