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Introduction:

From the time when Sir John Fielding presided as a magistrate in Bow Street, the law has provided excellent opportunities for visually impaired people to compete for professional success and excellence with their sighted colleagues. The essence of being an outstanding lawyer is the acquisition and use of a body of knowledge which must be kept up-to-date by constant study.

The visually impaired student intending to make the law his/her chosen career faces challenges over and above those faced by his/her sighted colleagues in this demanding and rewarding field of endeavour. There are a number of very practical ways in which the student can be assisted to overcome these challenges, and the aim of this page is to outline the help available. This outline will begin with the means by which the student can gain assistance to assimilate the material necessary to get as good a degree as he/she is capable of and will conclude with some tips on finding a training contract or a place in chambers as a pupil.

The National Bureau for students with disabilities, "Skill" can give general advice:- www.skill.org.uk.

Studying:

The RNIB’s Learning & Skills Library has a substantial law section and this can be accessed by going to: www.rnib.org.uk/library and following the links.

In addition to the library facility, the RNIB has a number of recording centres throughout the UK staffed by volunteer readers, and these centres are willing to record printed material for individual students. The student must provide the printed material he/she wants recorded. Current details of the existing recording centres can be obtained from the RNIB Customer Services team on: 08457 023153

Many students conduct much of their legal research on the internet. There are a number of free archives containing both statute and case law and some of these sites can be found on our “useful links” page. In addition there are a number of subscriber only sites such as “Lexis Nexis” “justice” and “West Law”. Free access to these sites by students depends on whether the institution at which they are studying is a subscriber to the service.

A number of legal textbooks are now published on CD Rom, but these may not be immediately accessible to the visually impaired student, and may require modification to their screen-reading software.

All Universities and Colleges contain sufficiently well disposed students to enable the visually impaired student to obtain reading assistance from his/her colleagues. A request for assistance on a notice board in a prominent place will usually elicit offers of help.

In addition, all institutions of Higher Learning have designated members of staff tasked with assisting disabled students.

The student is advised to begin his/her search for a training contract or pupillage well before the end of his/her university course. Assistance in obtaining training contracts, pupillages and work experience placements is provided by Blind in Business who can be contacted via their website on: www.blindinbusiness.org.uk, the Law Society and Bar Council each have dedicated disability groups who will be able to assist the candidate with information about chambers and firms offering pupillages and training contracts.

Support and assistance whilst studying:

Whilst studying, support and assistance is available from the Local Authority under a scheme called “Disabled Students’ Allowance”. This scheme provides the visually impaired student with financial assistance to pay for readers and to purchase equipment.

Mentoring:

SoVIL members are willing to act as mentors to young lawyers or law students, and information about this service can be obtained from SoVIL’s website and a request for mentoring assistance can be submitted via “contact us” link on the website.

Support and assistance at work:

Information about the “Access to Work” scheme is obtainable from RNIB and this scheme provides the visually impaired lawyer with financial assistance to pay for readers and to purchase equipment.

Final advice:

This page is not intended to be exhaustive on the topic of the advice and support available to new entrants to the legal profession, and the law student or newly qualified lawyer is encouraged to contact SoVIL for further information on any of the topics covered in this page, or indeed, on any topic not covered which the student/newly qualified lawyer needs advice on.

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