Blind Lawyer Says Claire Huxtable Was Role Model

Move over, Perry Mason. A blind associate profiled in the Wall Street Journal says her inspiration was The Cosby Show mom, Claire Huxtable.

“When I was growing up and could still see, I used to watch The Cosby Show,” says lawyer Angela Winfield. “Claire Huxtable was one of the few African American women on TV. She was an attorney and I wanted to be like her.”

Winfield, a Cornell law School grad, is an associate at the 210-lawyer firm Hiscock & Barclay in Syracuse, N.Y., the Wall Street Journal reports in its “How I Got Here” column. She does a lot of research and trial preparation work for the firm, with the help of a software program called JAWS that reads aloud materials on her computer screen. A mobility instructor helped Winfield familiarize herself with the office, and a seeing-eye dog accompanies her to work.

Winfield says clients aren’t surprised to learn about her disability, but sometimes opposing counsel or a judge will think she’s the client.

She advises blind professionals to learn to live and travel independently, and to take every opportunity to develop the skills they need to reach their goals. “And when I say every opportunity, I mean every opportunity, even ones that seem scary,” she says.