In Jane’s latest thought leadership blog, she explores the advantages law firms can gain by hiring disabled professionals. Continue reading to discover the five key competitive benefits she emphasises for recruiting disabled people.
Business benefits of disability inclusion in law firms
Disabled people are significantly under-represented in UK law firms. Only 6% of lawyers and 7% of other staff declare a disability, compared with 16% of the UK working-age population. And the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is clear this is likely under-reported (SRA, Disability inclusion in the workplace, 2025).
At the same time, clients, regulators and procurement teams are raising expectations around ESG, workforce data and inclusion, moving disability from a “people issue” to a commercial and governance priority (Harbor Global, Key Procurement Priorities for Law Firms in 2024).
Business benefits include:
1. Access to talent you are currently missing
Disability is common, often invisible, and frequently acquired mid-career. Firms that fail to design roles, assessments and working practices inclusively exclude capable lawyers and business services professionals by default.
Evidence from the legal sector shows many disabled lawyers do not disclose at recruitment, despite being disabled at the point of entry (DRILL, Legally Disabled).
Benefit: wider talent pools, stronger lateral hiring, and better retention of experienced people who would otherwise leave when barriers emerge.
2. Retention, performance and cost control
The DRILL research found:
- 60% of disabled solicitors/paralegals experienced ill-treatment, bullying or discrimination
- 80% believed this was linked to disability
(DRILL, Legally Disabled)
This translates directly into:
- avoidable attrition,
- sickness absence,
- grievances and claims,
- under-performance masked as “capability” issues.
Benefit: keeping trained people productive is one of the highest-return investments a law firm can make.
3. Reduced legal, conduct and reputational risk
Disability engages clear duties under the Equality Act 2010, including reasonable adjustments and protection from discrimination and harassment. The SRA expects firms to manage these risks proactively (SRA, Disability inclusion in the workplace, 2025).
Firms with slow, inconsistent or manager-led adjustment decisions expose themselves to claims, complaints and regulatory scrutiny.
Benefit: more defensible decisions, fewer disputes, and stronger governance.
4. Stronger client relationships and service quality
Disabled clients — and clients with disabled employees — notice whether their advisers understand:
- reasonable adjustments,
- accessibility,
- how systems fail people in practice.
Inclusive teams bring lived insight into employment, regulatory, public law and disputes work, improving advice quality and credibility.
Benefit: deeper trust with clients and differentiation in panel reviews.
5. Competitive advantage in procurement and ESG scrutiny
Procurement functions increasingly expect evidence of workforce inclusion, data and controls, not just policy statements. Supplier diversity and people risk are moving into mainstream evaluation criteria (Harbor Global, Key Procurement Priorities for Law Firms in 2024).
Benefit: stronger ESG narratives, fewer awkward client questions, and better positioning in competitive tenders.
The leadership takeaway
Disability inclusion is not about “doing the right thing”. It is about:
- Attracting and retaining scarce talent,
- improving performance,
- reducing risk,
- and staying competitive with clients and regulators.
The SRA is clear that a more inclusive profession is good for legal businesses. The data shows that firms failing to act are absorbing avoidable cost and risk — quietly, but consistently.
Next step?
Contact Evenbreak to learn more about how we can support you with your inclusive recruitment and accessible workplace.
Want to read more?
Check out Jane’s blog on ‘Is your job advert accidentally costing you great candidates?’.
A photo shows Jane speaking into a microphone. To her left, text reads: “Employing disabled people in law firms: the competitive advantage.” Below this, five bullet points highlight the benefits of hiring disabled people. The bottom of the image features the Evenbreak logo.
