When Russell Kennedy senior associate Rebecca Johnston-Ryan realised she was losing her hearing she was terrified of disclosing the fact to prospective employers. 

DALA submission on the National Disability Employment Strategy (Australian Department of Social Services).

For the longest time, I have known that I want to be a lawyer. This is despite the fact that I didn’t meet another lawyer until I started law school, let alone another disabled lawyer. One thing I always craved was some sense of community within the legal industry.

After struggling to find organisations supporting lawyers with disability, Ella Alexander, Natalie Wade and Abbey Dalton started their own. The trio formed the Disabled Australian Lawyers Association (DALA) in March 2021 and already it is a thriving network helping to make the law more accessible and representative. It is a remarkable effort given the three women have never met face-to-face.

The challenges faced by lawyers with disabilities are not something that is spoken about often enough by Australia’s legal profession. Three lawyers are looking to change that…

In the hiring process, particularly during the clerkship season, it is vital that firms and other legal workplaces are taking the right approach to hearing from disabled lawyers, including rethinking new and innovative interview practices and having the right training and insights into what an inclusive workplace should look like.

With clerkship season in full swing, co-founders of the Disabled Australian Lawyers Association have shared with Lawyers Weekly their best tips and tricks for securing a position, including being confident in asking for reasonable adjustments, knowing their own worth and evaluating which workplaces are worth the application.