LSAC Goes Platinum in Digital Awards Competition
LSAC recently joined the list of 2021 AVA Digital Awards winners, earning the platinum statuette in the pro bono category for “Why Hire Lawyers with Disabilities?” — a video filmed in collaboration with the American Bar Association to motivate and inspire legal professionals to hire, promote, and advocate for people living with disabilities.
The prestigious AVA Digital Awards began back in 1994 as a celebration of the audio-visual arts and have since evolved into an international competition designed to recognize and honor excellence in digital creativity, branding, and strategy. These annual awards salute the growing ways in which we engage our audience through the innovative union of digital arts, technology, and information.
LSAC’s platinum-winning entry, “Why Hire Lawyers with Disabilities?”, LSAC’s first ever remotely recorded production, was produced in October 2020 to commemorate National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Michele Giorgi and Jenn Brady from LSAC teamed up with the ABA’s Amy Allbright, Denise Avant, and Evan Greenberger to create a video that celebrated both organizations’ shared commitment to advocating for people with disabilities and helping them add their diverse voices to the world of law.
The video features a variety of people with disabilities who are involved in law and legal education, including Evita, a recent law graduate with mild cerebral palsy who notes that people with disabilities are known for being innovative and creative. “We’re used to the world not always being accessible to us,” she explains, “so we have to improvise and come up with our own solutions.”
The video also introduces viewers to Jared, a deaf law professional who says his disability forces him to be more attentive, and Angelica, a law school fellow who is neurodiverse, which she feels enables her to see the world in a much different way, thus making her a more empathetic and creative problem solver. Others featured include legal professionals and recent law school graduates living with disabilities including paralysis, a visual impairment, and depression, as well as disability advocates discussing how lawyers with disabilities make our justice system better.
“There are some traits that I’ve seen that are common across every person with a disability, regardless of what that disability is,” says Chad, a disability, diversity, and inclusion advocate. “And the primary characteristic is resilience.”
“Why Hire Lawyers with Disabilities?” was LSAC’s first remotely recorded video. Reflecting on the process, Michele says the time Jenn invested in researching remote capabilities and attention to production detail paid off. “This was such a genuine, and authentic project for LSAC,” she says.
The AVA Digital Awards are administered and judged each year by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals, one of the oldest and largest evaluators of creative work in the marketing and communications industry. Honors are awarded to work ranging from digital campaigns to audio and video production, website development, social media engagement, and mobile marketing. The AVA statuette, designed to pay tribute to the evolution of the digital arts, is crafted by Society Awards, the same design and manufacturing firm responsible for the redesign of many of the world’s top creative awards, including the Golden Globes and American Music Awards.
LSAC Brings Home the Gold in Digital Awards Competition