Ross O. Kloeber, IV, is a graduate of the Law School of the University of Notre Dame Law School. Throughout his three years attending classes, NCRA member Tammy L. Vandervort, RPR, a freelance court reporter from Osceola, Ind., provided CART to Kloeber who is deaf. Upon graduation, Kloeber accepted a position with Sidley Austin, LLP, in their Chicago, Ill., office as part of the firm’s litigation group. Below he shares insight into his experience working with Vandervort and why the services she provided were important to his law school success.
JCR / How did you hear about the services that Tammy could provide?
RK | I was connected with Tammy by the University of Notre Dame’s Student Services Center.
JCR/ What impact did she have on your course work?
RK | Tammy had a significant impact on my ability to complete my coursework as a law student. The law school classroom is a discussion driven experience where many professors utilize the “Socratic” method, which involves the adversarial discussion and debate of various relevant bodies of law. This can be a disorienting experience for just about anyone, but it can be an added challenge to do so with a disability. Tammy’s services allowed me to perform at a high level all throughout my law school experience.
JCR / What was it like to have her in every class?
RK | I very much enjoyed having Tammy in my classes. By the end of my law school experience, she was as much a friend as anything else. In the classroom, courtroom, and everywhere else, Tammy is a consummate professional and I was lucky to have her with me.
JCR / What would you say to encourage others who could benefit from services like hers to seek them? What was the greatest benefit to you working with Tammy?
RK | If you feel that you’d benefit from CART services, I would endorse them wholeheartedly. The value provided to me is hard to fully articulate, but, for some concrete examples, I continue to use CART and similar services for court appearances, conferences, office meetings, and telephone calls. CART and other similar services help facilitate my work, and it hard to overstate the value they can add.
JCR/ What type of law are you practicing?
RK | My practice focuses primarily on complex commercial litigation and disputes as well as securities and shareholder litigation. As a part of my work, I’ve worked on a variety of disputes including consumer privacy class actions, government enforcement matters, public and private company shareholder disputes, and corporate internal investigations. I also have an active pro bono practice that has included the representation of incarcerated individuals in civil actions against prison officials, the representation of indigent parties in civil proceedings, and veterans in actions challenging their denial of appropriate military retirement benefits.
