Sid Wolinsky Fellowship

Ensuring a Future Generation of Public Interest Lawyers

Photo of Sid Disability Rights Advocates is launching a campaign to fund a permanent, two-year Fellowship program, named in honor of DRA’s co-founder and director of litigation, Sid Wolinsky.

For over five decades, Sid Wolinsky has used the law as a tool to challenge discrimination and secure equal rights for people with disabilities and low-income communities.

Sid’s vigilance in public interest law, including his mentorship to thousands of law students pursuing public interest careers, has been recognized by the California State Bar. In 2011, he received the State Bar’s life-time achievement award - the Loren Miller Award - for his commitment, dedication, and brilliant lawyering, which has resulted in positive social change for hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities nationwide.

DRA's First Wolinsky Fellow

Photo of MICHAEL NUÑEZ WITH GUIDE DOG, PEGGY

Throughout law school, I aspired to unite my passion for disability rights work and my enthusiasm for technology. I am therefore honored to be the first recipient of DRA's Wolinsky Fellowship.

My work at DRA focuses on ensuring access to technology. On the second day on the job, I began developing a case against Redbox Automated Retail for operating video rental kiosks that are not independently usable by blind customers. Since then, I have drafted briefs, drafted written discovery requests, and worked with our expert in the Redbox case.

I also negotiated the final points of a settlement agreement with a leading clothing retailer that was using point-of-sale terminals that were inaccessible to blind customers. Now, blind customers at these stores can use the point-of-sale terminals to complete their purchases without disclosing confidential financial information to third parties. I am also working on two negotiations to improve access to technology deployed at Bay Area public transportation systems.