'Legally Disabled?' Report Roundtable

Over two years of research have culminated in a first of its kind report ‘Legally Disabled? The career experiences of disabled people working in the legal profession’ by Professor Debbie Foster of Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University and Dr Natasha Hirst an independent researcher. The research for the report was co-produced with The Law Society’s Lawyers with Disabilities Division. The project encompassing the research and its associated work has been named ‘Legally Disabled?’. The report, published earlier this year, highlights the challenges faced by aspiring and current lawyers with disabilities from entering, progressing and succeeding in the profession. One of the biggest obstacles at all levels is the lack of provision of reasonable adjustments necessary to simply put people with disabilities on a level playing field.

On Wednesday 29 July 2020, the Legally Disabled? project, along with The Law Society’s Lawyers with Disabilities Division (LDD), chaired by Jane Burton, hosted a roundtable with Westminster & Holborn Law Society and South London Law Society to discuss and address the findings of the report. The roundtable was full of energy and enthusiasm to bring the very important and under-discussed matter of lawyers with disabilities and their experiences to the forefront. It was an incredibly enlightening and informative session for all in attendance. It was encouraging to see key representatives from law firms and to learn some are making a concerted effort to give the issues experienced by lawyers and aspiring lawyers with disabilities the attention they deserve.

Those in attendance were taken through key findings from the report and issued with a document ‘Easy Wins and Action Points for the Legal Profession’. The document provided various actions employers can take to drastically improve their accessibility and the overall working experience for people with disabilities. Many of the proposed ideas and adjustments are relatively simple and should really already be part of normal practice in law firms and legal departments.

There is much more to be done to implement the report’s findings however, and these roundtables are vital to keep the conversations going. Westminster & Holborn Law Society will be hosting another roundtable later this year, so please encourage a representative from your organisation to attend, join the conversation and not get left behind.

The full report and a summary is available at: http://legallydisabled.com/research-reports/

A survey is currently being run by The Law Society’s Lawyers with Disabilities Division and Legally Disabled? to obtain information about the experiences of disabled people in the profession during the lockdown due to COVID-19. The survey has a deadline of 16 August 2020 and can be found at www. lawsociety.org.uk/topics/lawyers-with-disabilities/will-thenew-normal-be-a-disability-inclusive-working-environmentquestionnaire

To find out more about The Law Society’s Lawyers with Disabilities Division and to join please visit www.lawsociety.org. uk/topics/lawyers-with-disabilities/about-the-lawyers-withdisabilities-division. ■

Nicola Rubbert

Chair, Education & Training Committee

Westminster & Holborn Law Society