Reed Smith and Mayer Brown strike Aspiring partnership

The event, which is the first of its kind, will be dedicated to increasing understanding and awareness of disabilities within the legal sphere, and will be open to both students and employers.

Alongside Aspiring’s Ambassadors and members, over 100 legal professionals will be in attendance, in order to discuss the logistics of disabilities in the workplace – debating topics such as disclosure to employers, adjustments for trainees and future challenges facing disabled lawyers.

Carolyn Pepper, who is a partner at Reed Smith, as well as the chair of the firm's Disability Task Force, commented: “The challenge is to ensure that people with disabilities feel comfortable disclosing their disabilities in the recruitment process and trust the employer so that any necessary adjustments can be made. We hope this event will help employers to meet those challenges and increase recruitment and retention of solicitors with disabilities."

Annette Sheridan, Mayer Brown’s chief HR officer, added: "Lawyers with disabilities is one of the most under-represented groups in the legal profession. We are delighted to host the first AS Ability event, which promises to stimulate meaningful debate, challenge assumptions and provide greater understanding of the steps that will enable more disabled people to pursue a legal career."

Both firms are affiliate members of the Aspiring Solicitors programme, and have recruited from their talent pool over the course of the last year. Reed Smith in particular have offered five training contracts to disabled candidates, all of whom came through the Aspiring Solicitors membership scheme.