A dyslexia snapshop for legal professionals

An estimated 10 per cent of the population have dyslexia, so it’s not surprising that 13 per cent of the Law Society’s Lawyers with Disabilities Division have indicated they have this learning difficulty. But what is dyslexia, how can the legal profession do more to support dyslexic staff, and what are the benefits of doing so?

Specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and attention deficit disorder, affect the way the brain processes and learns information. This is a neurological issue, which can be inherited. Dyslexia affects everyone differently – it may be mild or severe, and may be related to visual or auditory processing of information. Dyslexia has strong links with speed of recalling information and memory. It often impacts on writing, reading and spelling. People can be diagnosed at any stage in their lives.

Dyslexia is a ‘protected characteristic’ under the Equality Act 2010, which means dyslexic people should not be treated less favourably than others and should have access to reasonable adjustments, so that they are not disadvantaged. This applies not only to legal professionals but also to clients using a law firm’s services.

Law firms should be aware of common dyslexic-type errors and recommend that employees are tested, so that reasonable adjustments can be put in place before their work is affected (more details on testing for dyslexia and reasonable adjustments can be found on the British Dyslexia Association website).

Finding out you are dyslexic can be extremely emotional and stressful. Under stress, dyslexic legal professionals will see their coping strategies start to crumble. Even a small change to their working environment can have a massive impact – for example, if a lawyer who has his own office is then forced to work in an open-plan office where it is noisy and there are frequent interruptions.

Indicators that someone might be dyslexic include: form filling and drafting may take longer, time keeping and understanding directions can be challenging, as can interpersonal and organisational skills, they may get confused easily, and their desk may look messy.

Dyslexic people often work very hard but do not get the credit they deserve because their written work may not be up to the expectations of others. They are often perfectionists as they realise they make mistakes and want to get things right to avoid the criticism of others; as a result, they take longer to do things. Being dyslexic can be very draining as you tend to use more energy focusing on a task.

Recruiting considerations

As it is a ‘hidden disability’, candidates may not disclose dyslexia because of the attached stigma.

Many online application forms do not have a spell-checking option, so errors may occur.

Psychometric testing puts dyslexic candidates at a disadvantage. Verbal and numerical reasoning may be difficult as they are not allowed to use their normal, day-to-day coping mechanisms in the test. Extra time is not the answer.

Interview questions should not have more than one part, because a dyslexic candidate’s working memory is unable to process all the information at once.

HR professionals need to realise this and put in place fairer assessment methods, such as questions and answers, exhibiting previous work, role plays and team exercises.

Reasonable adjustments

There are numerous strategies that dyslexic legal professionals can use to help with their day-to-day activities. Dyslexic specialists can assess an individual’s working environment and make recommendations. For example:

• having all instructions written down in a memo in large font on coloured paper, plus verbal instructions;
• using coloured paper or coloured overlays;
• using technology such as smart pens and legal speech recognition and mind-mapping software;
• coaching managers on how to work best with dyslexic employees;
• using time planners and reminders;
• using coloured tabs and pens;
• having a headset telephone;
• not overloading the employee with tasks;
• using Access to Work provisions – for example, having someone to assist dyslexic employees with proof reading or organisation tasks;
• making sure the lighting in the office is right;
• having background music or noise-cancelling headphones;
• having a quiet place to work with no interruptions;
• using a folder holder for reading; or
• factoring in time extensions.

Dyslexic legal professionals have a mix of talents that are highly relevant to the legal profession. Because their brains function differently, they are generally highly skilled in problem solving, communications, strategy creation, trouble shooting, improving processes, and lateral and creative thinking.

Assigning these employees tasks relevant to their key strengths will help the law firm to grow and improve the service that is being offered to clients. Dyslexic legal professionals may also make excellent business advocates and strategists.

With law firms hoping to gain new instructions and increase profitability, there is a way of accommodating talented dyslexic legal professionals. SJ

Ruth Fenton is a legal business strategist and coach with Inspired Star