Kevin W. Williams
Kevin E. Williams, Esq., has been the Civil Rights Legal Program Director and an attorney for the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition (“CCDC”) for 24 years. CCDC is a nonprofit organization, formed in 1990 by people with disabilities in Colorado for the purpose of enforcing the then newly enacted Americans with Disabilities Act in the state this state. CCDC’s mission statement is “to advocate for social justice for people with all types of disabilities.” As our name implies, we do our best to make sure that all people with all types of disabilities have access to those rights guaranteed under civil rights laws. CCDC’s motto is “Nothing about us without us.” This has a dual meaning: (1) CCDC is run predominately by and completely for people with disabilities; and (2) no law or anything else that affects the lives of people with disabilities should be decided without people with disabilities being a large part of the decision-making process. The CCDC Civil Rights Legal Program (“CRLP”) was founded by Kevin Williams in 1997 just after his graduation from the University of Denver College of Law in 1996. Kevin graduated with honors and received the prestigious St. Ives Award awarded to students at the top of their class. CCDC had a strong need to have an attorney working within the organization because very few attorneys were taking on the numerous civil rights cases and were strongly needed in Colorado in large part because in civil rights cases, attorneys are not paid by their clients who often can’t afford attorneys. They instead recover attorneys’ fees and costs from the Defendant if they are the prevailing party at the end of the lawsuit. Kevin Williams owes a great debt of gratitude to the law firm formerly known as Fox & Robertson, PC which has become a nonprofit known as the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center or “CREEC”). Without the mentorship of Tim Fox and Amy Robertson, Kevin Williams needed as a brand-new practicing attorney, he would not be the award recipient and touted disability civil rights attorney he has become. The CRLP has litigated, resolved, tried and worked on appeals in the following areas of disability rights law: The Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), the Fair Housing Amendments Act (“FHAA”), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act OF 1973 (“Section 504”), the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (“CADA”). The CRLP now employs two full-time attorneys and one full-time Legal Program Assistant. Most of CRLP’s work has involved Title II and Title III of the ADA in the intersection of the other disability civil rights laws mentioned above. The CRLP is often the go-to source for both local and national media regarding disability rights issues. The CRLP has also addressed areas such as due process violations related to Medicaid not providing needed services to people with disabilities, and we have also taken on the many businesses that affect our lives on a daily basis like home healthcare providers, durable medical equipment providers, medical providers of all types and more. The CRLP attorneys have been involved and taught numerous classes and presentations regarding disability civil rights. We also assist CCDC with legislation involving the civil rights of people with disabilities. Kevin Williams has no problem letting people know that he is a quadriplegic from a diving accident in 1986 and uses a motorized wheelchair for ambulation: it is safe to say that Kevin Williams lives, eats and breathes disability rights law every day.
08/21
