As a blind solicitor, Richard Godfrey describes how technology has been a career aid - but visually impaired lawyers could still be better served

My life as a totally blind solicitor now involves many more efficient methods of working than it did 30 years ago, but there is still some work to do. Unfortunately, the main obstacle to taking the final steps to total independence is often the ignorance of service providers of what can be achieved at almost no additional cost.


When I first walked up the steps of Queen's College, Oxford, to start my jurisprudence course in 1973, I came armed with two reel-to-reel tape recorders, a cassette machine and a cast-iron Brailler known as a Perkins. It soon became clear to me that I needed a structured method of study. In summary, it was this:


  • Lectures: record onto cassettes, re-listen to them during the evening, and make Braille notes.


  • Reading: as so little up-to-date material was available either in Braille or on tape, a retired history teacher volunteered to read most of the lengthy textbooks onto reels of tape. As for the weekly reading lists handed out at tutorials, fellow students read much of the material to me, attending on a rotor basis and according to a strict timetable.


  • Essays: I first wrote out the usually twice-weekly essays in Braille, and then typed them for my tutors to read.



    • These procedures served me well throughout my studies, and for about 16 years' practice in the commercial property field.


    Things started to change in the mid 1990s, when a PC was unceremoniously dumped on my desk, and I was told to get on and 'use it'. Little did I then appreciate how important technology would become in revolutionising the ways in which I was to work.


    For the comparatively modest sum of £600 at today's values, I acquired software that allowed the PC to 'read' to me through synthetic speech - in the sort of voice nowadays associated with Stephen Hawking. I learnt how to word-process competently, to complete my own draft documents, and to read both those sent to me by other practitioners via e-mail and letters prepared by my secretary. Next came a scanner, which enabled me to place any printed document on its glass and have it read aloud.


    Another exciting development was the trend towards using on-line research tools. Lawtel delivers a daily e-mail with latest developments, and LexisNexis provides much of the material that an assistant used to read to me.


    Thirty years ago, I was much more on my own in terms of making arrangements to ensure that I had the necessary support to practise as a lawyer. Although it was a harder life, the laborious methods of study resulted in greater retention of information.


    Not having the computer-generated Braille print-outs I now take to meetings meant that I had to be better prepared and on top of the matters discussed. Much more material is now available to me without the need for sighted help.


    Recently, the Gazette launched an e-mail version for visually impaired lawyers, and this is one more step along the long road to being able to practise without sighted assistance.


    Unfortunately, software developers and service providers are often unaware of the help they can give by considering the simple needs of visually impaired lawyers in the provision of products/ services. The AIM time-recording system is still totally inaccessible to me, and LexisNexis is not easy.


    Let us hope that raising awareness of the problems and the simple solutions will mean that many more blind solicitors will be able to enjoy the profession as much as I do.


    Richard Godfrey is a solicitor with Bridgend County Borough Council, specialising in commercial property work. He is a trustee of the Royal National Institute for the Blind and chairman of RNIB Cymru


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