Legal Neurodiversity Network

Since the LNN was founded nearly two years ago, our aim has been to drive thought leadership on neuro-inclusive good practice within the #legalservices industry. We have spoken on panels, released articles, hosted multiple events, and participated in a nationwide governmental review. However, we have not produced our own publication on #neuroinclusion … until now! Without further ado, we are delighted to present our first official publication, the Legal Neurodiversity Network's 'Recommendations for optimising retention and career progression for neurodivergent individuals in the legal profession'. The aim of this publication is to provide #legal #employers with a digestible guide to the types of #adjustments they should be implementing within their organisations to maximise the potential of their #neurodivergent employees – and to promote a working environment where everyone feels valued, seen and understood. Our recommendations have been grouped into three keys themes – People, Processes and Place – each of which represent a fundamental part of neuro-inclusive good practice within the #workplace. The publication has taken us nearly a year to complete - starting with our roundtable event hosted at Linklaters in 2023 where we gathered opinions from neurodivergent stakeholders and allies from across the legal industry, followed by months of further discussions between committee members and LNN affiliates, and, finally, painstaking drafting by the LNN committee, with input from our wonderful friends at The Law Society, most notably Chris Seel. We are incredibly proud of what we have accomplished and extremely grateful for all of the hard work put in by everyone who contributed to the report’s completion. We hope you will all take the time to look at our report and consider how it applies to you and your organisation. If you are a legal employee, consider sharing it with any relevant committees or support groups. If you are a manager, consider showing it to HR or to your higher-ups. And, if you are a senior manager or part of the leadership team, please take the time to read and reflect on the contents, and consider how you can reasonably, and feasibly, implement some (if not all!) of our recommendations. We will be hosting a clinic-style event next month at Herbert Smith Freehills, where we will be discussing the report in more detail and sharing practical tips on how to implement our recommendations. We hope that by bringing employers together to discuss their progress, everyone will feel empowered to continue on their individual paths towards neuro-inclusion. Ultimately, we hope that by building inter-organisational support and consensus, our recommendations will quickly become accepted practice within the legal industry. #neurodiversity #neurodiversityinlaw #LNN

We're so proud of our amazing LNN co-chair Concetta Dalziel, who yesterday attended a ceremony at The Law Society in London celebrating her and all her fellow shortlisted Legal Heroes 2024! As was written in her nomination "The most tangible positive difference Connie provides is by serving as a proud, successful and visible role-model of neurodivergence in a profession where examples of autistic solicitors remain vanishingly rare. Connie goes beyond simply being “out” and vocal in her day-job, however – she also throws herself into as many opportunities as possible to provide tangible advocacy to inspire and encourage fellow neurodivergent lawyers and aspiring members of the legal profession." We love you Connie, we're so grateful for your role in our Network - and you'll always be our Legal Hero! 😍 Also on the shortlist alongside Connie were our lovely, and brilliant, LNN friends Reena Parmar and Charlotte Clewes-Boyne, which we think is a 'hat-trick' of recognition for outstanding #neurodiversityinclusion advocacy that is truly worth celebrating! Congratulations to all the winners and shortlisted individuals, who all make extraordinary contributions not just to our #legalservices industry but to British society more broadly. #LegalHero #LegalHeroes

📓🛎📅 BACK TO SCHOOL AUTUMN 2024: YOUR ICYMI REMINDER ABOUT OUR SUPPORTING PARENT-CARERS EVENT HAPPENING 6 WEEKS TODAY! 📓🛎📅 This week most* school-aged children in the UK return to their educational settings, and many* of their parents/carers return to their 'normal'* work routine after the disruption (excitement) of the long summer holiday. In case you missed it in that madness when we first promoted it last month, we wanted to remind everyone about our next LNN event that is happening over "lunch-break" on Thursday 17 October, at Freshfields' London HQ and online, which is all about how employers in #legalservices can best support those in their teams who care for #neurodivergent dependents alongside their day-jobs. It promises to be a valuable, fascinating session - incorporating both a "lived-experience" panel chat and a roundtable discussion where everyone who feels comfortable can share their perspective on challenges faced, or things that really help. *** Please contact James Smither or Lee-Ann Demarzo if you'd like to attend *** * Why the asterisk? Because "back to school" can be more complicated than excited doorstep photos and shiny new uniforms for the families that are the focus of this event. Many neurodivergent children will not in fact be heading off at all this week, due a special needs education infrastructure that is failing too many of them: exclusion, school refusal, failures to accommodate need and systemic under-capacity. Other parents/carers will be watching their kids head off (or taking them in themselves due to transport shortcomings) with heavy hearts, knowing the stress being in the wrong setting or with inadequate support inflicts everyday. These sorts of worries - and how they interact, often completely hidden from view with busy legal careers - are exactly why we're holding this session and hoping to advance the discussion on what leading-practice organisational support looks like. We really hope you'll join us. Chris Seel The Law Society The Law Society of Scotland Neurodiversity in Law neurodiversikey®Mindful Business Charter Crafty Counsel LawCare - the mental health charity for the legal sector #neurodiversityinclusion #parentcarers #parentscarers #neurodiversityinlaw

📅 JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT LNN EVENT ON PARENT-CARERS! | 17 OCTOBER 12.30-1.30PM 📅 Please consider joining us in-person or online for our next LNN thematic event: our first to focus on the [often hidden] experience of #parents-#carers juggling busy careers in our #legalservices world with looking after neurodivergent dependents, and to discuss how organisations can best support this population as part of a genuinely holistic #neuroinclusion strategy. Proudly hosted by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer at its 100 Bishopsgate global headquarters in London and virtually, and supported by The Law Society, this event will take place from 12.30-1.30pm on Thursday 17 October. It features a scene-setting panel discussion sharing lived experiences of the tribulations and triumphs of parent-carers working in the Law, before its main focus: a roundtable discussion in which we will invite all participants to share their thoughts on obstacles that can be faced along this journey, and how inclusive employers can best help with navigating through these, with the aim of circulating identified good practices afterwards. If you're interested in joining or have questions, please contact James Smither for more information - including how to register. Please note that indicating a plan to attend via LinkedIn does not guarantee your participation. And if you know others for whom this topic will be of interest, including support groups for parent-carers in your organisation, please kindly share this information with them. We look forward to seeing you in two months' time! The Law Society Chris Seel Reena Parmar The Law Society of Scotland LawCare - the mental health charity for the legal sector Mindful Business Charter Crafty Counsel Neurodiversity in Law The ND Lawyer Project neurodiversikey® GAIN (Group for Autism, Insurance, Investment & Neurodiversity) #neurodiversity #neurodiversityinclusion #neurodiversityinlaw #neurodiversityinlegalservices #neurodiversityinbusiness #parentcarers

⚠ CANCELLATION OF LONDON SOCIAL ON 8 AUGUST ⚠ The Legal Neurodiversity Network and Gateley Legal have decided to postpone the Legal Neurodiversity Network’s Summer Social event, which was due to take place tomorrow evening at 17:30pm.  In light of the anti-Muslim, racist, and xenophobic violence which has been witnessed over recent days, we understand the concerns of those who were intending to attend the event and we seek to prioritise their safety and wellbeing.   While we acknowledge the importance of not letting those who are leading the demonstrations and violence win by us not holding the event, the safety of those working at the event and those in attendance is of paramount importance.   Gateley Legal will look to reschedule the event when it is safe to do so.  Take care and stay safe!

Happy Monday everyone. Some interesting reading to share today from our 'sister' industry, #accountancy, in the form of a major new report about neurodiversity in the accounting profession... Some of the clear similarities include: 🤝 A competitive landscape composed of high-profile global giants ("Big Four", "Magic Circle") and an array of smaller and "high street" players 🤝 Famous (notorious) for a long-hours, late-nights 'work hard / play hard' work-life - and the #mentalhealth and #wellbeing pressures that can create 🤝 Partnership ownership model (and career ladder), and the 'quirks' in culture those create 🤝 Populations that are often characterised by a 'fee-earner' / business support professional divide 🤝 One of the most popular destinations for higher education graduates and, increasingly, school leavers entering professional training and qualification programmes 🤝 Arguably, a core skillset that is particularly appealing to brains that work differently - resulting in a likely higher concentration of #neurodivergent talent than the national average Lots to digest here, and some key findings and recommendations that certainly resonate in our #legalservices world. We're curious to hear if any of our followers have worked in both worlds and notice any other overlaps or differences. Likewise, if there's an equivalent to the LNN in the accounting world that we're not aware of we'd love to know about it and say "hi"! #neurodiversity #neurodiversityatwork #neurodiversityinclusion https://lnkd.in/eZyXDTvm

Great to see member firm Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP signing up to the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower 💜 initiative! Congratulations to the firm's UK Disability Network, including its amazing ND champions and LNN friends Emily Cox and Michelle Essen, for making this happen 👏 WBD join other leaders in our #legalservices sector including Addleshaw Goddard, Clifford Chance and HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) in promoting visibility and inclusivity around #hiddendisabilities. Who's going to be next?! 🌻 If you're not aware of this fantastic scheme, you can find more information here: https://lnkd.in/ds2eb2mW

Really pleased to share the below competition from our friends at Neurodiversity in Law who are celebrating the launch of their new publication, The Journal - how exciting! 🎉 All the details for the competition are below... good luck! 🤞

Thanks to The Law Society Gazette for again sharing a feature article from the LNN spotlighting different aspects of our recently published recommendations report "Retaining and Developing Neurodivergent Talent". In this latest piece, published this morning (26 July), LNN committee members JJ Thompson and James Smither share their perspective on the ways a focus on "PLACE" 🏢 can help neurodivergent colleagues thrive - emphasising the role #sensory challenges can play in many individual profiles and how inclusive employers can support their neurodiverse teams by looking at factoring #inclusionbydesign into office moves and refits, through workplace configuration and layout, provision of assistive equipment, and through normalising mindful working practices that are accepting of difference. 🎧 Let us know your thoughts on this topic in the comments. Relevant links are included there as well.

Echoing the words of our super co-founder Richard Fisk and supplementing our thanks to his to everyone who hosted, presented and attended last night - and also adding him squarely to the recipients of our profound gratitude for helping make yesterday evening's event in Leeds happen! ➿⚪💛➿⚪💛➿⚪💛➿⚪💛➿⚪➿⚪💛➿⚪💛➿⚪💛➿ We are a proudly UK-wide Network, and getting outside London to hold events and meet old friends and make new ones is really important to our Committee. Making this happen in Yorkshire has been a particular passion project for Rich' and our co-chair Concetta Dalziel, who formed part of the fabulous panel. Never any doubt they'd absolutely nail it! We'd love to come to Greater Manchester, Bristol and Scotland next so please hit us up if you've got ideas for how and where to make this happen!