Structured Negotiation: A Winning Alternative to Lawsuits, Second Edition

"Lainey is the expert on how to work collaboratively to create long term societal inclusion.” — Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Chief Accessibility Officer, Microsoft

“This fantastic guide to structured negotiations provides valuable insights for anyone interested in becoming a better advocate. I really enjoyed reading this book and appreciate all the lessons within.” — Haben Girma, Human rights lawyer and author of the best seller, Haben, the Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law.

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Structured Negotiation: A Winning Alternative to Lawsuits shares stories and strategies from 25 years of successful collaborations between the disability community and some of the largest public and private organizations in the United States. Born at the intersection of accessibility, technology, disability, and dispute resolution, the pioneering strategy described in this book has been instrumental in creating a more inclusive digital world for a quarter century.

First published by the American Bar Association, the Second Edition includes new Structured Negotiation win-wins, other new content, and Forewords by Haben Girma, author of the best-selling Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law and by Susana Sucunza, Basque Country Spain collaborative lawyer and president of the Basque Country Collaborative Law Association.

Not just for lawyers, the book offers an effective and path-breaking method to resolve disputes without lawsuits, and to lessen the conflict and expense of filed cases. Lawsuits play an important role in moving society forward. But the legal profession ― and the public it serves ― deserve less costly, less stressful, and more cooperative and ethical alternatives. Clients need a forum where stories matter. Would-be defendants need a process that allows them to do the right thing without having to prove there is no problem to begin with

Lainey Feingold is an internationally recognized disability rights lawyer, author, and public speaker. She has worked to make the digital world more inclusive since 1995.

Lainey is the author of Structured Negotiation, A Winning Alternative to Lawsuits, first published in 2016 with a second edition in 2021. It tells stories of how blind people and their lawyers have used civil rights laws to advance accessibility through relationship building, problem-solving, and collaborative skills. For more than a quarter century Lainey has resolved complex legal claims without lawsuits, conflict, or expense using the strategies described in her book.

Lainey Feingold is an American Bar Association (ABA) Legal Rebel, the organization's 2017 Problem Solver of the Year, and has received two California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) awards for the collaborative work described in her book.

Lainey speaks to audiences across the globe about collaboration, digital accessibility, and the civil rights of disabled people and serves as the accessibility subject matter expert for Disability:IN, the business disability global inclusion non-profit. Learn more at and follow her on Twitter at @LFLegal.