Jack Chen (born with a visual impairment) is a lawyer who works for Google. In a YouTube video with Bloomberg Law, Jack shares what a work day looks like for him. He takes viewers on a journey showing how he travels to work every morning to office tasks he performs throughout the day.
Traveling To Work
“Traveling to work is what I would say is what I would say is like running ten miles before you even get to the start of the marathon.”
Jack states that traveling to work in the morning can be challenging as he has to navigate the hustle and bustle of Penn Station. He has to compensate for what he refers to as all of the ‘dynamic objects’ moving around, such as people who are looking down at their phone trying to get where they are going. Jack says that with the help of using his cane, he has about a four-foot radius of information he can pick up. Jack jokes that by the time he arrives at work it is like he has had a full day already.
Accomplishing Work Related Tasks
Jack states that he is like the quarterback to the general council team from the product company perspective. He is responsible for determining what the legal risks for products are and how to navigate around those risks. His work spans all different kinds of areas of law.
Jack says he often gets asked, “What’s the most difficult part of being a lawyer and being blind?” He admits that this question is hard for him to think about because he finds ways to get around most challenges that could arise. Jack uses a lot of technology to complete his work assignments, such as a screen reader, He says one can think of a screen reader as “the computer reading back to you everything that comes on the screen.” Jack utilizes a screen reader on his laptop, phone, and video conferencing software. Jack turns the speed of the screen reader up to about as fast as it will go to compensate for the extra time it may take him by using the feature.
“I found a way to kind of get all of the information I need to get by making devices talk to me.”
Jack states that living his daily life has prepared him for counseling his clients. He says. “I’m able to help (my clients) cause a lot of times when you try to find creative solutions you also run into roadblocks. That’s the kind of thing I’ve done my whole life.”
Jack has big goals for his career. Like, lead a larger, more formal team in general counsel. Here’s to his successes!