Dyslexia Guide for Legal Professionals The Facts The Law Society Lawyers with Disabilities Division has approximately 13% of its members who have dyslexia, which is in line with an estimated 10% of the UK population. This article provides a snapshot of what dyslexia is, how it affects individuals and what law firms can be doing to help employees become more productive. It also highlights how managers should manage dyslexic employees and how the law firm can provide a better service for dyslexic clients. Specific learning difficulties (SpLD s) for example dyspraxia or development co-ordination disorder, dyscalculia, dyslexia and attention deficit disorder affect the way the brain learns and processes information. It is a neurological issue which can be inherited. Speed of recalling information and memory can be affected by dyslexia and it often impacts on spelling, writing and reading. Here s a simple explanation of how it works; if you hold up a pen and say what is it? people will say it s a pen however if you ask a dyslexic person they are likely to say, it s a pen, it s blue, it s about 15cm long because their brain is programmed to take in more information rather than just stating the obvious. This can be a massive advantage in some cases but disadvantage in others. Another way of looking at dyslexia is it is a bit like asking a person with a broken leg to walk up stairs, they can do it with help, just takes longer. So people get to the same outcome but have a different way of doing it. Under the Equality Act 2010 dyslexia is a protected characteristic, which means dyslexic people should not be treated less favourably and they should have access to reasonable adjustments in the workplace. This also applies to people who use law firm services. For example, clients with Specific Learning Disabilities may need assistance with how information is provided and explained to them. The Law Society Lawyers with Disabilities Division receives many phone calls from dyslexic law students trying to obtain a Training Contract. Common questions include: should I declare my disability? What support and reasonable adjustments are out there? Which firms have a fair recruitment process to give me the best possible chance? Below is one member s experience: The Journey When Lucy was at school, she was told that she was sloppy and lazy in her work. She was laughed at in class when she trying to read out loud and really struggled with English and expressing herself. She obtained nine GCSE s A-C and three A levels. In her second year at university she really started struggle and went to learning support. They immediately tested her for dyslexia. She was found to have a reading and writing age of a 12 year old but a very
high IQ. This had a massive psychological impact. On one hand she felt somewhat relieved as it explained why she had struggled all these years despite working extremely hard, but on the other she felt embarrassed, scared and alone. Lucy obtained a 2:1, a Commendation on the Legal Practice Course and undertook an additional Post Grad Diploma. She applied for over 550 Training Contracts over 5 years and had 22 interviews. She spent hours over each application, obtained paralegal work at Magic and Silver Circle law firms, networked her way to decision makers and eventually obtained a Training Contract. She declared her disability on about 50% of her applications. She only got interviews where she had not declared her disability. She quickly learnt that if you are dyslexic and working in the legal field you will often come across discriminatory and hurtful comments. Lucy went on to qualify as a Solicitor and worked for a US Law firm in London. Lucy had a number of ignorant bosses who did not support her and, if anything, knocked her confidence. In the end Lucy introduced the firm to a dyslexia specialist who assessed her working environment, suggested changes and spoke to the bosses so they could better understand her challenges, how they could easily be overcome and what her key strengths were. Declare or Not Declare Dyslexia is often termed as a hidden disability as looking and talking to a person you would have no idea they have it. People can be dialogised at any stage in their life. Being diagnosed later in life shows the amazing coping strategies they have developed to cover it up. Whether or not to declare dyslexia and at what stage of the recruiting process is a personal choice. On one hand candidates have the protection of The Equality Act 2010; on the other many candidates do not declare it because of the stigma attached to it. Law firms are getting better at diversity and inclusivity; however attitudes of some legal professionals are less than positive. They do not understand the condition and can t see the positives of having such an intelligent, creative employee. Some firms now offer a guaranteed interview for disabled candidates if they meet the minimum job criteria; however firms are not always honouring these offers. It is worth phoning HR anonymously and having a chat to them about provisions for disabled candidates and getting a feel for whether to declare dyslexia or not. The Challenges Dyslexic legal professionals have a number of challenges, and these are different for everyone because their brain is programmed slightly differently. Here are some common challenges;
The number one challenge facing dyslexic legal professionals is the prejudices of others. Being given a label such as dyslexic stops others seeing the amazing talents the dyslexic person does have as they focus on the things the person is not so good at. Naive people fail to properly engage with the person and take time to understand how the person processes information. As a result relationships break down. Dyslexia may be related to visual or auditory processing of information, mild or severe. One person might have outstanding organisational skills but poor reading skills, another great speaking skill, but poor writing skills. Form filling may take longer. Electronic forms which use a time out function often fail to save work inputted. Many online forms do not have a spell checking option, which puts dyslexic candidates at a disadvantage. Firms which use computers to sort CV s for example by exam marks while failing to take into consideration mitigating circumstances disadvantage disabled candidates. There is evidence that psychometric testing puts certain classes of candidates at a disadvantage. For example dyslexic candidates in general find multiple choice questions hard to process. A dyslexic candidate may find verbal and numerical reasoning difficult as they are unable to use coping strategies in the test. HR professionals need to realise this and put in place fairer assessment methods. Dyslexic candidates may be put at a disadvantage at an interview when they are asked questions with more than one part, because their working memory is unable to process all the information at once. This also explains why reading long sentences (commonly found in law) takes longer to process. Time keeping can be challenging as can interpersonal and organisational skills. Unfortunately a legal professional s failure to meet the firm s expectations in these areas can lead to disciplinary action. Sometime only then do they get diagnosed or admit to being dyslexic. Taking minutes in meeting can be very stressful and poorly done unless coping strategies are in place. Dyslexic people are often perfectionists as they realise they make mistakes and want to get things correct to avoid the criticism of others. They hence taking longer to get things done. Even a small change to their working environment can have a massive impact. For example a lawyer who has his own office then is forced to work in an open plan office where it is noisy and he keeps getting interrupted. Finding out you are dyslexic can be extremely stressful and emotional. One of man s biggest fears is not being good enough; being told you are dyslexic impounds this fear. Being dyslexic can be very challenging as you use more energy focusing on activities. Under stress and pressure dyslexic errors become more obvious.
The Professional Help HR Professionals and Senior Managers should be aware of common dyslexic type errors and recommend employees get tested so reasonable adjustments can be put in place. There are online check lists to give people an idea of whether they may be dyslexic. Educational psychologists will be able to provide a formal assessment these cost around 500 and take about 3 hours. For more details on testing for dyslexia, please visit the British Dyslexia Association http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/. There are also Specialist Dyslexic Coaches and Assessors who will visit the work place and suggest reasonable adjustments. They are also able to talk to managers on behalf of the dyslexic legal professional and explain the specific challenges they have and how these can be overcome. The Law Society Disabled Lawyer Division offers a mentoring service for disabled legal professionals and law students. Mentors are very happy to speak to law firms about experiences they have had and how law firms can help their employees. For more details please visit http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/communities/lawyers-with-disabilities/. The Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre is the oldest established dyslexia centre in the country, with a team of Assessors who work with people in all fields of employment. www.arkellcentre.org.uk LawCare also offers support to legal professionals and their families. It is a free and confidential service. Over 70% of the calls to LawCare are about stress in the workplace. Dyslexic legal professionals may be more prone to stress because of the expectations of others combined with how they cope under pressure. LawCare are very happy to talk to lawyers about any issues they feel they need support with. They also offer some excellent tips on their website. For more details visit http://www.lawcare.org.uk/ or call 0800 279 6888.
The Financial Help The Access to Work scheme provides financial support for disabled people in the work place. It can assist with things like providing a proof reader or organisational assistant, computer software, Dictaphone etc. For more details please visit https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work/overview. The Firm Improvements So how can firms improve the experience their dyslexic candidates and employees have? It comes down to well thought out talent management. It s a well-known fact that to have an efficient team there needs to be a mix of talents, abilities and personalities. Often law firms recruit the same model of person for example people from very similar backgrounds, with the same skill set. This does not make for a good team formula or succession planning. Firms and recruitment agents need to bear in mind the challenges candidates face when applying for roles as mentioned above. Recruitment processes need to be fair to everyone. For example having provisions to allow candidates to spell check their application forms, not using psychometric tests, asking well thought out relevant questions at interview, keeping candidates informed and providing feedback when requested. Alternative assessment methods could include using role plays, getting the candidates to exhibit a previous piece of work or portfolio, team exercises, problem solving or strategy creation. The Benefits Dyslexic legal professionals have talents highly relevant to the legal profession. Because their brain functions differently, they are generally excellent at improving processes, communications, problem solving, trouble shooting, strategy creation, lateral and creative thinking. Assigning tasks relevant to their key strengths will help both the individual and the law firm. A dyslexic legal professional may also be better suited to a certain practice areas for example litigation where strategy is key rather than corporate when it is drafting heavy. Law firms should help lawyers to change practice area if they feel it would enhance what they can offer to the firm. Dyslexic legal professionals normally make great strategists and business advocates because this allows them to use their creative side and communication skills. Firms need to look at what professionals are good at and enjoy doing to make them as productive as possible. In some professions, dyslexic people are sought out by employers because they are so creative and innovative.
The Reasonable Adjustments People often don t understand the challenges dyslexia people face day to day. This article has only just mentioned a few common ones. There are many strategies legal professionals can use to help them with the day to day activities. Below are noted some reasonable adjustments where benefits far outweigh costs. Having all instructions written down in a memo in large font on creamy or coloured paper, verbally recorded or both. Using Access to Work Provisions for example having someone to help you with proof reading or organisation tasks. Coloured paper, coloured tabs, coloured over lays and coloured pens. Using a Livescribe Pen in meetings and to share information. Computer software for example Dragon Legal naturally speaking software, Inspiration, Read & Write, text to speech. Coaching managers on how to work best with the dyslexic employee. Using time planners, reminders and mind maps. Having a quiet place to work with no interruptions including a do not disturb sign. Making sure the lighting in the office is right. Having background music or noise cancelling headphones. Having a hands free telephone. Using a folder holder for reading so the pages are at an angle. Having a designated secretary who has outstanding English skills. Managing a Dyslexic Employee The most important thing is to understand having dyslexia may be a big issue for the employee. They may become stressed quickly, distracted, frustrated and defensive. It is extremely important to sit down with them and ask them the challenges they face no matter how big or small. They may ask to have a work place assessment and speak to a dyslexic specialist to better understand the things which may help them. Having instructions come from more than one person can be a cause of stress. It is important that if this is happening the bosses should decide who is given priority. Ask the employee if they prefer to have instructions verbally or in writing. This could be done in an emailed audio file. Factor in extra time in advance so deadlines can be met easily. Do not overload the employee as they are likely to go into overwhelm and get very little done. Make sure the person has a quiet place to work with all the reasonable adjustments they ask for. Allow them to have regular breaks to re-focus. Be flexible on hours. Some people are more productive at certain times of the day.
Be minded that employees may get their words mixed or go blank when trying to get words on to paper. This can be extremely frustrating for them because in their head they know what they want to say but it comes out all wrong. Having someone who is exceptionally good at English for example a secretary who they can go to in confidence will really help. Interestingly many dyslexic lawyers are excellent proof readers as they can spot misspelt words quickly. However they can only do this for other people s work. As they tend to read that they think is there rather than what is there in their own documents. Keep them up to date with their progress. Let them know when they have done a good job. If they make a mistake, don t leave it until the yearly appraisal to let them know. Deal with it straight away and move on. Remember they may be extra sensitive to issues relating to their dyslexia. If the employee s work is not up to the expected standards sit down with them and talk. Often dyslexic Solicitors end up in disciplinary proceedings because the law firm has failed them. Allow them to bring someone with them to the meeting. Formulate a clear plan stating the expectations of the firm and allowing the employee to state how they can meet them. As soon as employees feel victimised and underappreciated they will lose interest in their work. This can then lead to legal action or a valuable employee leaving. Strategies to help Clients As mentioned above 10% of the UK population are thought to have dyslexia. With this in mind law firms could be doing more to help their clients understand the legal advice they are giving. Clients often come out of meetings not having a clue about what they have just been told. Overloading them with too much information at once will cause them to switch off and not take things in. Using long sentences and legal jargon will quickly confuse them. When signing documents they will often just sign them to get it over and done with rather than reading them or really understanding what they mean. The following strategies will help lawyers provide a better service for not only dyslexic clients but clients in general. Provide a written note of meetings. Ask your client upfront if there is any particular way they would prefer to have communications for example: typed into an email, by large font letter on coloured paper, audio recorded into an email or face to face. When asking clients to sign documents read them to the client pausing at main points and get them to repeat back main points to show they understand the document. Explain any legal jargon in plain English and give examples.
Offer clients a recording of the meeting so they can play it back and pause it when they need to. Split long meetings into segments with a coffee break / chance to stretch your legs. For example maximum segments of 30 minutes. Focus will be much better and meeting more productive. Keep to the point and don t go off topic as this leads to confusing. Provide a follow up phone call the next day to check whether they have any further questions. Often clients talk to friends and family, who ask them questions. The client then doesn t know the answer and end up wishing they had asked the Solicitor at the time. Ask clients for feedback on how the solicitor got information over to them and what can be improved. As you can see, understanding dyslexia is becoming more important as more people are found to process information in different ways. Dyslexic legal professionals have amazing talents which often are unused and underappreciated. They use many strategies to compete at the same level as their peers. Law firms can easily obtain advice and funding to assist in this process and ensure they are providing a level playing field for all candidates applying to their firm. With law firms wanting to gain new instructions and increase profitability, there is definitely a place for talented dyslexic Legal Professionals. For more details about the issues and strategies in this guide please email ruth.fenton@inspiredstar.net. References: http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk http://www.lawcare.org.uk http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7531132.stm Why people with Dyslexia can t do multiple choice https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work/overview http://www.arkellcentre.org.uk Ruth Fenton works as a Legal Business Strategist and Coach with Inspired Star and specialises in coaching Legal Professionals. Ruth regularly mentors disabled law students and lawyers through the Law Society of England and Wales Mentoring Scheme. Learning about the challenges facing legal professional who have dyslexia, Ruth has compiled this guide to help Lawyers and Business Managers understand more about dyslexia so they can better support their staff and clients.