Patricia Barbosa is one of the most experienced disability rights attorneys in the United States. She spent more than twelve years with the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, since 1986, where, for the last six years of her tenure, she led enforcement of disability rights with the Civil Rights Enforcement Unit. As a Deputy Attorney General she conducted investigations on behalf of the Attorney General, and acted as attorney for multiple state agencies, including the California State Building Commission, the Division of the State Architect, the State Historic Board, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, and the Fair Employment and Housing Commission. Ms. Barbosa was one of the Attorney General's representatives on the joint National Attorneys General and Department of Justice's task force for disability rights and housing. She was also the Attorney General's liaison to the California Building Officials Association, for whom she conducted training and consultation regarding the interpretation and enforcement of California building codes and regulations regarding disabled access, and supervised proper building code enforcement by local California building officials.
Ms. Barbosa was also editor of the Attorney General's "Disabled Rights Handbook" and "Women's Rights Handbook," and a frequent speaker to cities, counties and state agencies on the interpretation and enforcement of California and federal civil rights and disability rights laws. In addition to her work as an attorney, she received training from the Department of Justice and the Division of the State Architect's Access Compliance Section on technical aspects of building standards under the ADA (ADAAG) and California's Title 24, and is proficient in conducting inspections for violations of state and federal disabled access regulations for all types of Title II and Title III public facilities. She has conducted hundreds of investigations on behalf of the California Attorney General for violations of both ADA and California building standards for every type of public facility from courthouses, transportation facilities, hospitals, stadiums (including the Rose Bowl in Pasadena), shopping malls and virtually every type of public commercial facility.
Ms. Barbosa has also acted as a consultant for state, county, city, and local agencies, such as local building departments, and county superior courts. During her tenure with the Attorney General's Office her investigation of the enforcement practices of cities and counties brought about significant changes in local enforcement of access building codes, and the implementation of written procedures that benefitted both builders and the disability community by standardizing complaint and enforcement procedures. The enforcement procedures she helped establish have been adopted as the standard enforcement procedures by the California Association of Building Officials.
Ms. Barbosa’s investigation of complaints on behalf of the Attorney General, and the resulting correction of access violations in public facilities, resulted in disabled access to literally hundreds of public buildings throughout California. She has also conducted training seminars throughout the state for the Department of Rehabilitation, for many disability groups, and for local enforcement agencies throughout the state regarding policies and procedures for enforcing access laws and regulations.
After leaving the Attorney General's office Ms. Barbosa has continued her consultation work with local cities and counties on the interpretation and enforcement of state and federal access laws, and is fully qualified as an expert witness on federal and state disability access standards, including ADAAG, ANSI, and Title 24 regulations. In addition to her legal work, she has conducted training seminars for Cal State Long Beach University Business Extension in forensic experts training, and designed a series for teaching design and construction of disabled accessible buildings. She was a featured speaker at the 1998 AIA convention in San Francisco on architect liability under the ADA. Ms. Barbosa is also an adjunct professor of civil rights at Trinity Law School (currently on leave), and continues to provide pro bono consultation to disability groups.
Since joining the Law Offices of Paul Rein in June, 1999, Patricia Barbosa has had responsibility as lead counsel in more than one hundred cases, most of which were successfully settled at mediation or judicially-supervised settlement conferences without the need for an attorney fees motion. She has extensive experience as an attorney for eighteen (18) years and specialized expertise in every facet of interpretation and enforcement of state and federal disability access laws and regulations. Ms. Barbosa is also one of the few attorneys who has also qualified as an expert witness on accessibility issues under the ADA and California law.
Among Ms. Barbosa’s accomplishments as lead counsel was obtaining full access at the Six Flags/Marineworld amusement park in Vallejo. (Barry Atwood v. Six Flags Marineworld, U.S.D.C., No. CIV S-99-1134 LKK/JFM) In Carolyn Martin v. Bombay Company, this national chain agreed to implement policies and procedures that ensure disabled access in all four hundred (400) of its stores, nationwide, as the result of a single (non-class action) lawsuit.
Ms. Barbosa was also lead counsel in McIver v. City of Sacramento, U.S.D.C., No. CIV S-00-2078 WBS, wherein the City of Sacramento and eight individual businesses in the "Old Sacramento" tourist area provided major public access improvements to many previously inaccessible businesses and renovation of public streets and sidewalk areas previously unusable by persons with disabilities. Ms. Barbosa’s fee rates were approved in contested fee litigation orders in the Northern and Central Districts of California.
In Sheron George, et al. v. Bay Area Rapid Transit, U.S.D.C., N.D.Cal., Case No. C00-02206 CW, plaintiffs obtained an order on summary judgment establishing the rights to facilities specifically accessible for visually disabled persons, and that these rights could not be protected simply by making facilities accessible to those persons with mobility disabilities (i.e., wheelchair users). (This case has now been briefed upon defendant’s pending appeal to the Ninth Circuit.)
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