The Legal Service Regulatory Authority (the LSRA) has recently published a series of reports considering economic and other barriers facing aspiring and early career legal professionals and setting out recommendations for reform. You can read the LSRA Reports in full here.

Disability Discrimination
The main findings in relation to disability discrimination outlined in the LSRA Reports are as follows:

  • In the barrister profession, those with a disability are two and a half times more likely to have experienced discrimination in the last three years than those without a disability.
  • In the solicitor profession, almost one in five respondents experienced discrimination within the last three years (19% overall, of which 32% were people with a disability).
  • The main areas of discrimination cited in relation to both professions included work conditions, accessing or being awarded jobs/cases, training contracts, pay and bullying or harassment.
  • The main anticipated challenges of working in the profession cited by law
    undergraduates with a disability were lack of contacts (64%) and lack of reliable income (47%).

DLN Submission
The disAbility Legal Network (DLN) was one of a number of stakeholders in the legal profession that contributed to the LSRA consultation process. You can read the submission of the DLN in full here.

The key barriers highlighted by the DLN in the submission to the LSRA include:

  • Lack of accessibility in terms of Law Society training materials and physical buildings and facilities.
  • Lack of awareness of disability related barriers.
  • Lack of practical support for persons with disabilities in the legal profession.

The DLN heralded the adoption of remote or flexible working policies by many law firms since the Covid-19 pandemic as “a breakthrough for many with disabilities”. However, the DLN pointed out that there are still several areas in which improvement is needed. The DLN’s key recommendations put forward in the submission to the LSRA are as follows:

  • The appointment of designated Disability Liaison Officers in both the Law Society and in law firms to support trainees and employees with disabilities.
  • Education and Training – Disability awareness training should form part of the training for Law Society educators, trainees and solicitor’s CPD requirements.
  • Improvements in physical accessibility to buildings, specifically Blackhall Place.
  • The wider adoption of remote/flexible working arrangements is a positive development but this should not detract from ensuring workplaces are fully accessible and inclusive for those with disabilities.
  • The adoption of a disability passport scheme whereby the person with a disability has a passport which documents the reasonable adjustments agreed with their employer to eliminate barriers in the workplace. This means that employees do not have to explain their requirements every time their line manager changes or they change roles.

The DLN looks forward to continuing to promote accessibility for people with disabilities across the legal profession in collaboration with its many allies and members, including the Law Society of Ireland and the Bar Counsel. The DLN hopes that the publication of the LSRA Reports and the findings therein will drive meaningful progress for people with disabilities and will lead to the recommendations of the DLN being implemented in practice.

For further information or to subscribe to our mailing list, please email disabilitylegalnetwork@gmail.com.

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