{"id":59434,"date":"2019-05-29T09:53:44","date_gmt":"2019-05-29T13:53:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/?p=59434"},"modified":"2026-02-05T12:13:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T17:13:37","slug":"pushing-through","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/articles\/2019\/pushing-through\/","title":{"rendered":"Pushing Through"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin record-block-editorial-leadin is-style-default-alt has-media has-media-focus-right-top has-quaternary-theme\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-for-The-Record-S19.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"Anat Maytal\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-for-The-Record-S19.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-for-The-Record-S19-636x477.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-for-The-Record-S19-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-for-The-Record-S19-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-for-The-Record-S19-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-for-The-Record-S19-1101x826.jpg 1101w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-for-The-Record-S19-909x682.jpg 909w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-for-The-Record-S19-1376x1032.jpg 1376w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-for-The-Record-S19-459x344.jpg 459w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-for-The-Record-S19-705x529.jpg 705w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-for-The-Record-S19-917x688.jpg 917w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-for-The-Record-S19-1411x1058.jpg 1411w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-for-The-Record-S19-1333x1000.jpg 1333w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin-caption wp-prepress-component-caption\">Photos by Chris Sorensen<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">Alumni<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPushing Through\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">As a lawyer with impaired hearing, Anat Maytal (\u201909) has spent her life advocating for herself. Now, she spends her days doing the same for others.<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar record-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">May 29, 2019<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/authors\/corinne-steinbrenner\/\">Corinne Steinbrenner<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<p>In the 10 years Anat Maytal has practiced law, she\u2019s helped recover money for victims of financial fraudster Bernie Madoff, assisted in settling disputes between corporations and shareholders, argued complex commercial cases in state and federal court, offered <em>pro bono<\/em> services to New York\u2019s transgender community and a death-row inmate in Alabama, and helped others with hearing disabilities build successful legal careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201c<span style=\"color: #cc0000;\">I\u2019m not surprised that I picked a profession where I\u2019m allowed to argue for a living, because my entire life I\u2019ve had to be an advocate for myself<\/span><\/strong>,<strong>\u201d<\/strong> says Maytal (\u201909), who lost much of her hearing after contracting viral meningitis as an infant. Arguing and negotiating are skills that come naturally to her, she says, and spending her childhood fighting negative stereotypes honed those talents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maytal is an associate in the Manhattan office of BakerHostetler, one of the country\u2019s largest law firms, where she focuses on commercial litigation and employment and labor law. She joined the firm in 2010, when it was staffing up for its role as court-appointed counsel to Irving Picard (\u201966), the trustee overseeing the liquidation of Bernie Madoff\u2019s investment firm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The liquidation, which aims to recover money from those who profited from Madoff\u2019s Ponzi scheme and return it to defrauded investors, is a large part of Maytal\u2019s caseload. Early on, she helped with investigations\u2014determining how much each investor gained or lost\u2014and drafted complaints. She\u2019s since been heavily involved in the discovery process, in motion practice, and in mediations. She\u2019s drafted settlement agreements and appeared in court in the United States and the Cayman Islands. While Madoff\u2019s scheme itself was despicable, she says, unraveling it has provided an incredible learning experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Picard says Maytal is a valuable member of the liquidation team. \u201cShe\u2019s meticulous. She\u2019s got a tireless work ethic,\u201d he says. \u201cShe does excellent research. She writes very persuasively. She\u2019s poised and professional\u2014really a first-rate lawyer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When Maytal decided to become a lawyer, she didn\u2019t imagine working for a big firm. \u201cI thought I was going to be an assistant DA. I thought I was going to be the next Jack McCoy,\u201d she says, referring to the hard-hitting district attorney on the television drama <em>Law &amp; Order<\/em>. When choosing electives as a BU Law student, she says, \u201cI always picked something criminal related\u2014juvenile delinquency, a course on federal sentencing. I did the [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/experiential-learning\/clinics\/criminal-law-clinical-program\/\">Criminal Law Clinical Program<\/a>], whatever I could get my hands on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But 2009 was a tough year to graduate with dreams of working for a New York DA\u2019s office. \u201cAll five boroughs were facing budget cuts,\u201d she says. \u201cThe Brooklyn DA\u2019s office turned away applicants because they didn\u2019t have the funds to pay their potential salaries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maytal\u2014a native of Queens, New York\u2014instead took a job at a plaintiff-side class-action law firm in Manhattan. After a year, she moved to BakerHostetler and was surprised by how much she enjoyed the commercial and financial cases she tackled there. \u201cI quickly realized this is the type of challenge I was looking for,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>BakerHostetler also allows unlimited <em>pro bono<\/em> hours, and Maytal has taken full advantage\u2014working with the <a href=\"https:\/\/eji.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Equal Justice Initiative<\/a> of Montgomery, Ala., to help a death-row inmate appeal his sentence, representing low-income women in divorce and child-custody disputes, and guiding transgender people through the legal name-change process. She also coordinates her firm\u2019s partnership with the New York City Law Department, which she says \u201cis the entity that gets sued any time something happens in the city\u2014a garbage truck hits your car, or a tree falls on you in the park.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-bu-pullquote record-block-bu-pullquote alignfull is-style-pop has-quaternary-theme\"><div class=\"wp-block-bu-pullquote-inner\"><blockquote><div class=\"container-lockup\"><div class=\"container-icon-outer\"><div class=\"container-icon-inner\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"container-text\"><hr\/><div class=\"quote-sizing\">When I was in college, the idea of being a lawyer was in the back of my mind, but I didn\u2019t have any representation of lawyers who were deaf or hard of hearing.<\/div><footer class=\"caption\">Anat Maytal (&#8217;09)<\/footer><hr\/><\/div><\/div><\/blockquote><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><br>\nIn 2016, the American Bar Association named Maytal one of its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanbar.org\/groups\/young_lawyers\/awards_scholarships\/on_the_rise\/2016_honorees\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">top 40 young lawyers<\/a>, recognizing her work with the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.deafbar.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bar Association<\/a> (DHHBA), which she cofounded in 2014. A nonprofit, the DHHBA helps legal professionals with hearing disabilities connect with and support one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen I was in college, the idea of being a lawyer was in the back of my mind,\u201d Maytal says, \u201cbut I didn\u2019t have any representation of lawyers who were deaf or hard of hearing.\u201d To discover whether and how people with hearing disabilities could practice law, she contacted nonprofit organizations and dug through online message boards. She eventually met attorneys with hearing disabilities, but the process could have been easier\u2014 and today it is. The DHHBA has a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.deafbar.org\/author\/deafbar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">website<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dhhba\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook pages<\/a>, and a listserv where students and legal professionals with hearing disabilities can find resources and make personal connections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-photoessay record-block-editorial-photoessay alignwide wp-block-photoessay js-block-editorial-photoessay\"><div class=\"photo-row-fourths-2-2\">\n<div class=\"photo-2\"><div class=\"wp-block-photoessay-media\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"636\" height=\"477\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-office-2-636x477.jpg\" alt=\"Anat Maytal ('09)\" class=\"wp-image-70491\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-office-2-636x477.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-office-2-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-office-2-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-office-2-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-office-2-1101x826.jpg 1101w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-office-2-909x682.jpg 909w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-office-2-1376x1032.jpg 1376w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-office-2-459x344.jpg 459w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-office-2-705x529.jpg 705w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-office-2-917x688.jpg 917w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-office-2-1411x1058.jpg 1411w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-office-2-1333x1000.jpg 1333w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Maytal-office-2.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\" \/><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"photo-2\"><div class=\"wp-block-photoessay-media\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"636\" height=\"477\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Matyal-office-1-636x477.jpg\" alt=\"Anat Maytal ('09)\" class=\"wp-image-70490\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Matyal-office-1-636x477.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Matyal-office-1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Matyal-office-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Matyal-office-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Matyal-office-1-1101x826.jpg 1101w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Matyal-office-1-909x682.jpg 909w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Matyal-office-1-1376x1032.jpg 1376w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Matyal-office-1-459x344.jpg 459w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Matyal-office-1-705x529.jpg 705w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Matyal-office-1-917x688.jpg 917w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Matyal-office-1-1411x1058.jpg 1411w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Matyal-office-1-1333x1000.jpg 1333w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/07\/Anat-Matyal-office-1.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\" \/><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The DHHBA <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/inspired-life\/wp\/2016\/04\/19\/supreme-court-chief-justice-learned-sign-language-to-swear-in-deaf-attorneys\/?noredirect=on&amp;utm_term=.907d5afb88d3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">received nationwide media coverage<\/a> in 2016 when Maytal organized a group swearing-in ceremony to admit some of its members to the Bar of the United States Supreme Court. While the court gladly provided sign language interpreters for the deaf attorneys in the group, Maytal says, it took some negotiating to arrange the real-time captioning she and other hard-of-hearing lawyers rely on. Ultimately, the court agreed to create a restricted Wi-Fi network that allowed Maytal and her colleagues to access the official court reporter\u2019s transcription of the proceeding on their personal tablets and smartphones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Supreme Court had never allowed these devices into the courtroom before, so I think that\u2019s why the ceremony got a lot of attention,\u201d Maytal says. \u201cAfter the swearing-in, we got so much feedback. We had attorneys reaching out to us, saying, \u2018I never knew such an organization existed.\u2019 We had students saying, \u2018I didn\u2019t even know this was an option for me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maytal sometimes attracts similar attention when she uses assistive devices in the courtroom. Older attorneys with age-related hearing loss have approached her in court, she says, to ask about the technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maytal wears a hearing aid in her left ear and five years ago received a cochlear implant that dramatically improved the hearing in her right ear. Her hearing remains limited, however, so she uses a variety of techniques and technologies to navigate the law firm and the courtroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn my office, I have a captioned phone that I often use to fill in the gaps in the conversation,\u201d she says. \u201cI do try to schedule more in-person meetings instead of relying all the time on the phone, which actually has proven to be beneficial, as it helps to build stronger relationships with my colleagues and clients.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the courtroom, she provides judges and witnesses an FM microphone that broadcasts directly to her hearing aid. In federal court, the court reporters are connected to a wireless system\u2014similar to the one she used at the Supreme Court\u2014that lets her read the transcription on her computer screen. \u201cState court is a bit more challenging because they have very small budgets and don\u2019t have the same kind of sophisticated court-reporting system,\u201d she says. \u201cThere, I rely more on my FM microphone system and working with the court and opposing counsel to make sure I can hear them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-end-of-article\">At the beginning of her law career, Maytal was hesitant to use her assistive devices in court. She didn\u2019t like drawing attention to herself, and she feared people would jump to unfair conclusions about her abilities. \u201cBut I realized,\u201d she says, \u201cthat in order to be a better advocate for others, I have to be my strongest advocate. So I pushed through.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6><span style=\"color: #999999;\">This feature originally appeared in <em>The Record<\/em>, BU Law\u2019s alumni magazine. <\/span><a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/issuu.com\/buschooloflaw\/docs\/the-record-s19\" target=\"_blank\">Read the full<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2020\/05\/LAW_BU_AlumniMag_Final_hi_res_sng_pg-compressed.pdf?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> <\/a><a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/issuu.com\/buschooloflaw\/docs\/the-record-s19\" target=\"_blank\">issue here.<\/a><\/h6>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h4>Related News<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/issuu.com\/buschooloflaw\/docs\/the-record-s19\">The Record, Spring 2019<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/2019\/03\/05\/nicole-greenidge-hoskins-staying-in-the-fight\/\">Staying in the Fight: Nicole Greenidge-Hoskins (&#8217;91)<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/today\/2019\/khuzami-and-the-big-cases\/\">Prosecuting the Big Cases: Robert Khuzami (\u201983)<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As a lawyer with impaired hearing, Anat Maytal (\u201909) has spent her life advocating for herself. Now, she spends her days doing the same for others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15948,"featured_media":59440,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"Alumni","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[3404],"bu-publication":[3742],"record-article-category":[3744,3771],"record-topic":[],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/59434"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15948"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59434"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/59434\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122806,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/59434\/revisions\/122806"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59434"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=59434"},{"taxonomy":"record-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/record-article-category?post=59434"},{"taxonomy":"record-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/record-topic?post=59434"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=59434"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=59434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}