On Thursday, 5 December 2024, in our historic Bench Apartments, a new chapter was written in the story of the Bar. The evening marked the formal launch of the Middle Temple Disability Forum, a space designed to discuss inclusion and drive real, tangible progress for disabled barristers and students. Timed to coincide with Disability History Month and the International Day of People with Disabilities, the event was more than ceremonial. It was a powerful, hopeful signal that one of the Bar’s oldest institutions understands its historic role and duty in shaping the profession’s future.
The evening opened with a spellbinding performance by Miss Jacqui, a Black, disabled singer, poet, and powerhouse of talent whose presence set the tone for the night. Her words and music were not merely entertainment but a profoundly moving, unapologetic assertion of identity, resilience, and creative brilliance. In a profession still grappling with representation, Miss Jacqui’s performance was a poignant reminder that disabled, neurodivergent, and different voices transform the space. Her artistry captured the emotional depth of the evening and framed the Forum not only as a policy initiative but as a cultural and human one.
These themes continued with the Forum’s Disability Pride Month event, Pride in Me; Pride in My Practice on Tuesday, 1 July 2025, as disabled and neurodivergent barristers came together to discuss their careers and practices.
Why the Disability Forum Matters
The Disability Forum offers a platform for like-minded individuals to share their challenges, exchange ideas, and discuss strategies and solutions. It creates opportunities for collaboration among individuals, across chambers, and between the Inn and external organisations to drive collective change. Just as importantly, it offers disabled and neurodivergent members of the profession a sense of community: the chance to meet others who understand their experiences, to be mentored and supported, and to mentor and support others. Networking within such spaces is not just about career progression, but also about solidarity, empowerment, and creating a shared voice that is strong enough to influence policy and reshape culture.
For many disabled practitioners, isolation can be a profound barrier. In a profession that places a heavy weight on informal connections created in the corridors of chambers, the conversations after court, the networks built over dinners and events, disabled barristers can find themselves cut off, whether because of inaccessible spaces, subtle exclusion, or the sheer exhaustion of navigating a profession that was not designed with them in mind.
While progress has been made, the evidence indicates that the profession continues to face significant challenges in effectively addressing discrimination and ill-treatment. The 2020 Legally Disabled? report brought critical attention to the discrimination and bullying encountered by disabled barristers. Among those surveyed, 45% reported experiencing ill-treatment in their working environment, with 71% believing it was linked to their disability. 54% never reported the ill-treatment they experienced, while 37.5% did so only occasionally. Just 8.3% consistently reported it. Additionally, requesting reasonable adjustments was a source of stress and anxiety for barristers 72.3% of the time.
Physical accessibility also remains a barrier. Many chambers continue to operate from heritage buildings without step-free access, adapted facilities, or hearing loops. This can limit opportunities for barristers with mobility, hearing, or visual impairments and make it harder for them to fully participate in essential aspects of professional life, such as networking.
As we know, the Inns of Court are not just picturesque relics of English legal history. They are living institutions, custodians of the profession’s culture, values, and heritage, as well as its historic buildings and traditions. The Forum serves on the frontline of the Inn’s mission to tackle disability issues. It provides knowledge, expertise and insight into concerns affecting disabled and neurodivergent practitioners. It lays the groundwork for meaningful, systemic change and underscores the importance of sustained effort in making the profession more inclusive and supportive for all.
This is particularly important because the Inns are historic landlords and guardians of listed buildings. This is a unique challenge. Planning laws and heritage protections limit the physical alterations they can make to improve accessibility, such as ramps, lifts, hearing loops, and accessible bathrooms. Given that accessibility cannot be dismissed as a ‘nice-to-have’ or a logistical nuisance, the Forum could play its part in helping the Inn navigate this conflict. Solutions are essential to ensuring that the best advocates, including those with disabilities, can succeed and contribute fully.
How to get involved
The Middle Temple Disability Forum initiative is symbolic and designed to have a practical impact. The Forum can offer guidance on reasonable adjustments for barristers and chambers, create mentoring networks to support disabled barristers and students, amplify the voices of disabled individuals within the Inn’s governance and events, and collaborate with other professional bodies to identify and address systemic barriers. It hosts exhibitions and educational events that challenge outdated assumptions about what a barrister looks or works like. Importantly, the Forum is designed not to speak on behalf of disabled members, but to empower and enable their leadership.
The success of the Middle Temple Disability Forum depends on the engagement and contributions of the whole Inn. Whether you are a student, pupil, practising barrister, Bencher, or staff member, your voice matters. Members are encouraged to attend future events, volunteer to support the Forum’s work, share their experiences, or reach out to learn more. You do not need to identify as disabled to be part of this initiative. To get involved, contact the Disability Forum by email at disability@middletemple.org.uk.
Tradition Meets Transformation
Middle Temple has stood for centuries as a symbol of legal excellence. With the launch of its Disability Forum, it affirms that true excellence today requires inclusion. This initiative is not about charity, nor even just about fairness. It is about ensuring that the Bar draws on the full range of available talent and that no advocate is left behind because of barriers that can be removed.
And just as importantly, it reminds us that progress does not happen in isolation. It occurs when like-minded people come together to share, collaborate, and support one another. Middle Temple has taken a meaningful, hopeful step. Now, it is up to all of us to build on that foundation, to turn good intentions into sustained action, and to ensure that the Bar we leave to the next generation is more open, more accessible, and more excellent than the one we inherited.
Daniel Holt is a barrister and Chair of both the Association of Disabled Lawyers and Middle Temple’s Disability Forum.
