Mentors
The Group For Solicitors With Disabilities often receives correspondence from students with disabilities looking for support in applying for training contracts or who are interested in speaking to people with a specific disability who already works in the legal profession.
Although the group does not provide legal advice it is able to share experiences and put people in contact with support organisations. Students often find it helpful to hear how people of a similar disposition have managed to overcome barriers to the profession.
Often students are very disillusioned with the profession and just need a friendly voice to say "Don't give up, if its your dream to qualify keep going" we know people who have applied for over 550 training contracts over 6 years and now have one.
If you feel your experiences may help someone please let us know.
For example writing a couple of paragraphs about the following could really help someone:
- How you gained a training contract.
- What reasonable adjustments your employer / university has made.
- How your disability affects your work and how you have overcome it.
- Any support groups you have found helpful or unhelpful.
- Why you did or did not disclose a disability when applying for jobs.
- How you were treated at interviews and if you had the interview again would you have used a different approach?
Alternatively being at the end of the phone / email may also help. The more experiences we hear about, the more we can bring this awareness to the legal profession.
For more details please contact: The GSD main office using the link below.