opportunities for the disabled as a solicitor?

ross81

Hi all,

was wondering what the opportunities there are if you are physically disabled in the solicitor side of the legal profession? I've been told it is quite demanding initially at least from a physical point of view (and therefore more suited to the able bodied and/or young). In this day and age that seems like a pretty bad state of affairs, but I don't know. Any opinions on this? I'm currently studying for a legal diploma and when i hear things like this it is quite depressing.

YellowLead

Where did you hear this from? I don’t think it is a barrier to the profession. In fact, all the big firms have diversity and inclusion policies and they are happy to accommodate. Not sure where you heard that but it’s a mentally exhausting, not physically exhausting job.

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058340027/opportunities-for-the-disabled-as-a-solicitor

Maybe 30 years ago you might have had to carry lots of books, but in 2024 all you have to bring is a laptop. As YellowLead said, who told you that and what exactly did they say?

ross81

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121877105#Comment_121877105

just that there was a lot of going in and out of court, and that some courts are inaccessible (stairs), etc....that sort of thing. where i was hoping to get purely office-based work. I'm not even finished the diploma yet so this is all in the future. Also age is against me being in my 40s now. I'm still keen on getting into this line of work but perhaps it is a younger person's game when you're starting off.

YellowLead

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121877394#Comment_121877394

Not at all. Do you know much about what solicitors actually do? Court time is not a feature of all careers. There are other options outside criminal/family/ligitation.

You can work as in house counsel at a company also instead of for a legal practice.

Peregrinus

Not all solicitors spend much time in court; some spend no time at all. If you have a mobility impairment going to and from courthouse and getting around courthouses is, i would think, going to be a problem. A lot of courts sit in heritage buildings and I don't know how much has been done, or how effectively, to make them really accessible.

The likelihood is that you will find you can work more effectively, and with much less hassle, doing transactional and/or advisory work than doing litigation, so I think that is probably the direction in which you would find your career heading. The transactional/advisory work is huge; most solicitors spend most their time doing this and many spend all of their time at it, so this isn't anything like a professional dead end or a career limitation.

ross81

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121877756#Comment_121877756

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121877465#Comment_121877465

very interesting to get those opinions lads thanks...feeling a lot more positive about it now.

Robbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058340027/opportunities-for-the-disabled-as-a-solicitor

You may find this recent article in the Irish Times of interest. Aside from that, the level of physical accessibility in Court Houses nation wide varies wildly and, in general, is shamefully bad.

ross81

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121879412#Comment_121879412

absolutely.....thats the impression i've gotten from various barristers/solicitors hence my concern about actually continuing on into practise.