Eric Dinallo, chair of Debevoise & Plimpton’s insurance regulatory practice and recently appointed chair of the American Institute for Stuttering (AIS) in New York, shares details about his life long experience with speech difficulties and how they have affected his career in a Q&A with The American Lawyer, “Debevoise Partner: Stuttering Made Me a Better Leader”.

In the piece, Mr. Dinallo discusses stuttering in several capacities, including: what he hopes to accomplish as chair of the AIS, why he’s comfortable speaking openly about his stuttering, how stuttering affected his law practice, advice for younger lawyers who stutter, the pandemic’s impact on people who stutter and the effect of former Vice President Biden’s acknowledgement of his own stuttering in his presidential candidacy.

AIS promotes the use of integrated treatment protocols that address both the overt symptoms of stuttering as well as the underlying emotional and cognitive components and developed an intensive therapy program that addressed stuttering holistically, recognizing the complex nature of the disorder. Early on, AIS became a powerful voice in Washington, calling for an increase in government support for stuttering research. AIS was instrumental in successfully persuading Congress to introduce groundbreaking legislation, and a State of the Science Conference on Stuttering followed. As a result, the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders launched targeted research initiative on stuttering. AIS remains dedicated to carrying on the legacy of its founder, striving everyday to help people who stutter to “Speak Freely, and Live Fearlessly.”