Barrister Diego Soto-Miranda, immobile from the neck down since birth, learnt early on in his career the challenges he would have to overcome to succeed at the bar when a senior barrister told him ‘do not speak to me in public’.


Now 30 years old and five years called, he is frustrated by lack of work in his speciality of commercial law. ‘My experience is that solicitors who don’t know me personally have little or no confidence in instructing a barrister as disabled as I am.



‘So my work comes via personal contact and references. I feel at the same level as a second-six pupil – still doing lots of small potatoes and waiting for my friends and contacts to throw me the odd bone now and then. But, at the risk of sounding egocentric, I am good at my job.’



He welcomes the launch of BADS, provided it does not turn into ‘just a talking shop’. He says: ‘There needs to be change and it needs to be led from within the profession, with some kind of command from the Bar Council that heads of chambers and senior clerks actively promote disabled barristers with the same vigour as they do their able-bodied members. The Law Society also needs to exert pressure on solicitors as to why they are so wary of instructing disabled barristers.’



He reserves his praise for clients – ‘they are not bothered by my disability because I think they have faith that if I managed to become a barrister, I must have made the standard required’ – and judges. ‘They have been remarkably good. They are quite surprised to see someone as disabled as I am appearing in front of them but they go the extra mile to accommodate me.’



Mr Soto-Miranda was just eight when he came to London from Colombia. After leaving school, he read law at the London School of Economics before going to the Inns of Court School of Law. ‘It was a nightmare getting pupillage, though that is true for everyone. Chambers were honest in saying they thought I would have difficulties finding a place because of concerns that I would not be economically productive enough.’



However, he was offered a pupillage at 39 Essex Street, later moving to 1 Essex Court where he is still a tenant. His current chambers is in a listed building with no lift, so he uses the neighbouring building which has a stair lift down to basement offices. He has a PA working alongside him, while an earpiece connected via infra-red to his mobile allows him to use the telephone without help.



However, despite the difficulties and frustrations, being a barrister has exceeded his expectations and, refusing to be discouraged, his long-term ambition is to become a judge.