I attended a national training on depositions last weekend. Met many great people from many different places, all very talented attorneys. One of the threshold questions in any first encounter was "What do you practice?" My answer was "housing law, and I am transitioning to family law." The question was an excellent ice-breaker, and we all knew it. There is no easier way to get a lawyer talking than to ask about his or her practice.
Later I wondered whether I could have answered "AIDS law" to that question. Is this a practice area? I have helped HIV+ people get governmental disability benefits as a benefits counsellor, and helped HOPWA recipients stay housed as a tenant's attorney, and I am sure the issue will come up quite often in my new career in family law. Does that make me an AIDS lawyer--beyond the fact that I have AIDS? Is there even such a thing as an AIDS law practice?
The legal profession is organized by discipline (civil, criminal, probate, family), and by specialization within each discipline (injury, commercial, real estate, white-collar, indigent, estate planning, divorce, dependency) and further by function within each speciality (litigation or transactional, plaintiff or defense). Where, if at all, does AIDS law fit into this rubric?
AIDS law is the sub-set of laws spanning the broad spectrum of legal disciplines that affect persons infected with HIV. Some convey civil rights (ADA, Unruh Act), some impose obligations and assign criminal penalties (ie. felony HIV transmission laws). Some older laws still impose duties of disclosure upon the transfer of real property. Some laws define privacy rights (HIPPA). HIV transmission is being alleged as the basis of a personal injury case.
I am just now beginning to learn family law practice--an area which I predict I will enjoy a great deal. I am not yet familiar with the law, so I am steeling myself for the discovery of what effect HIV status has on parentage rights and the "presumptions." So far I haven't heard or read anything negative about it, but usually the problems come up in the practice, not in the law. As minor's counsel I will probably have HIV+ kids as clients, so it will be interesting to see how their needs are addressed.
So that is my goal for this blawg: to define the sub-set AIDS Law, to discuss it and discover its boundaries.
J.R.
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I am a California-licensed attorney, who is living with AIDS. I have two goals for this project: to provide comprehensive, competent legal information to those who have tested positive for HIV; and to explore the internet as a medium for the provision of legal services. THIS SITE IS INTENDED AS LEGAL INFORMATION ONLY, AND NOT AS LEGAL ADVICE. NO ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP IS INTENDED OR IMPLIED.
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About Me
- J.R. Gabbard, Esq.
- I have been living with AIDS since 1996 when I had my first bout of PCP, I've known I am HIV positive since 1991, and have suspected as much since 1983. I have seen this epidemic change in many ways, from death sentence, to prolonged death-watch, and recently to chronic manageable condition. Amidst all this drama, I went to law school, with its own dramas. I started research into most of these topics as a feverish law student doing side research into topics not related to any law class, and consequently neglecting my classroom responsibilities (more or less). What I wished for most back then was a place where all of this information could be aggregated and kept current. This blog is my attempt to make that happen.
