Wilson Elser Named First Law Firm on ADA Website Compliance Legal Panel 30 Years After ADA's Passage Focus is now on Web Barriers for Disabled

National law firm Wilson Elser announced today that it has accepted an invitation to be the first law firm on a legal panel created by AAAtraq, a compliance identification and management service, to raise web compliance under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).



Wilson Elser will assist AAAtraq with increasing the awareness of the public and corporate world about ADA laws and regulations. The firm has extensive experience defending claims of website inaccessibility subject to the ADA and similar state statutes, in addition to conducting website audits for content and regulatory compliance.



AAAtraq’s mission is to enable organizations to understand their existing level of ADA-accessibility noncompliance risk exposure and work toward full compliance through a managed process. It offers a service to help companies identify, reduce and mitigate risk on a continuous basis, and an insurance policy providing coverage in the event that they are subject to claims arising out of the ADA.



“When the ADA was enacted in 1990, the focus was on physical space and buildings and the rights and needs of disabled people,” said Adam Bialek, co-chair of Wilson Elser’s Intellectual Property & Technology practice. “In recent years, the focus has shifted to the web, where disabled people encounter a new set of barriers to accessing what they need to participate in today’s economy.”

“We are excited to be the first law firm to work with AAAtraq on these issues,” added Mr. Bialek. “Put simply, as an organization, Wilson Elser is energized by helping make the world more accessible to people with disabilities. We also believe in helping businesses mitigate their risk, and with the added benefits of insurance and legal defense resources, this program provides website operators with security and comfort as they work toward compliance.”



AAAtraq’s automated service enables organizations to assess the current compliance status of their websites and provides a strategic, principle-driven pathway to achieving compliance with clear timescales and milestones. Visit www.AAAtraq.com for a complementary risk profile.



According to AAAtraq, the number of digital accessibility lawsuits filed in the United States is on the rise. As one data point, these lawsuits have increased nearly three-fold in California alone in the first half of 2020 (as compared to filings in the second half of 2019). With the COVID-19 pandemic driving a sharp increase in online business, these lawsuits are expected to surge in coming months. And no one is immune – while many prominent companies have been the targets for website accessibility lawsuits, activists and plaintiffs’ attorneys also are bringing actions against small- and mid-sized businesses.



Additional information and insights will be provided by Wilson Elser and AAAtraq in their website accessibility compliance webinar series, which will begin in September.



About Wilson Elser



Wilson Elser (www.wilsonelser.com) helps individuals and organizations transcend challenges and realize goals by offering an optimal balance of legal excellence and bottom-line value. More than 800 attorneys strong, Wilson Elser serves clients of all sizes, across multiple industries and around the world. The firm has 38 strategically located offices in the United States and another in London. It is a founding member of Legalign Global, a close alliance of four of the world’s leading insurance law firms created to assist companies doing business internationally. This depth and scale makes Wilson Elser one of the nation’s most influential law firms, ranked in the AmLaw 200 and 54th in The National Law Journal’s NLJ 500.