An Interview with Haley Moss, J.D. ‘18

The Miami Law alumna is an educator, speaker, artist, and author who advocates for individuals with disabilities and promotes awareness of neurodiversity.
An Interview with Haley Moss, J.D. ‘18
Haley Moss, J.D. '18

Haley Moss is a lifelong South Floridian. Originally hoping to become a doctor, Moss attended the University of Florida for undergraduate school. She quickly realized she did not want to practice medicine and gravitated toward her love for reading and writing. She decided to attend law school and knew she wanted to come back home to South Florida where Miami Law was the perfect fit. Moss considers herself a lifelong ‘Cane because the University of Miami first diagnosed her with autism at age three and provided valuable guidance to her and her family throughout her life. Miami Law was the right fit for her because of its strong support of public interest and community service along with the Miami Scholars Public Interest Program.

While at Miami Law, Moss was on the Honor Council, the Public Interest Leadership Board, was the secretary of Bar and Gavel, and was the chief notes and comments editor of the Race & Social Justice Law Review. She was also a Fellow with the Professional Responsibility and Ethics Program. She loved being on campus and being involved.

Miami Law stood out to Moss because of the sense of friendliness and community that existed not only during law school but out in practice. Shortly after graduation and upon being sworn into The Florida Bar, Moss’s story as Florida’s first openly autistic attorney went viral. Even before graduation and during her time at Miami Law, she was used to publicly advocating for disability rights, writing for HuffPost, and having appeared on the news during her 1L finals period to discuss autism awareness.

Moss spent a year working in private practice, doing healthcare litigation and international law. Now, she has started her own business, speaking about neurodiversity and disability education and consulting on disability in the workplace and Americans with Disabilities Act issues. She has written two books, Great Minds Think Differently: Neurodiversity for Lawyers and Other Professionals and The Young Autistic Adult’s Independence Handbook since graduating (on top of two others she wrote before law school) and has a new book coming out this fall.

She is also serving on the University of Miami – Nova Southeastern University Center for Autism & Related Disabilities Constituency Board, the Board of Directors of Disability Rights Florida, the Board of Directors for Starkloff Disability Institute, and has served on the Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Board of Governors. Moss was also featured in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Miami list. She works with Florida Lawyers Assistance to help lawyers statewide who are struggling with mental health and/or substance abuse issues. She is very passionate about neurodiversity and mental health for lawyers because it is such a prevalent issue in the legal industry, and neurodivergent lawyers in particular face a lot of stigma and additional barriers to access.

In her free time, Moss enjoys playing video games and reading. She is an illustrator and artist and loves to draw and paint. She is currently on a quest to find the best pizza in Miami, a journey she began when she started law school, and generally enjoys exploring the city.



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