Baker & Hostetler, Seyfarth Shaw and Shook, Hardy & Bacon are among the firms picking up the pieces as a regulatory vacuum gives rise to a glut of disability suits involving websites.

Critics have long urged the Department of Justice to issue technical standards to ensure that websites are accessible to visually impaired users who employ screen reader software. But the agency has only issued guidelines that have been called vague and toothless as the number of Americans with Disabilities Act suits against website operators continues to climb.