My legal life: Reena Parmar, counsel at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, London

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Counsel, London

This has been a year of pride for me for several reasons. I was promoted to counsel at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in May; this was a notable achievement because there are few openly disabled role models in positions of seniority within the legal profession.

Reena Parmar

My efforts to advance disability and neurodiversity inclusion were acknowledged by INvolve in the April launch of the Enable role model list. This champions role models across global organisations who are using their experiences of disability, neurodiversity or mental health to drive inclusion. As a south-Asian disabled woman from a lower socio-economic background, I find it challenging that I can’t see others in my profession, particularly those in positions of seniority, that I identify with. I hope to be that role model for those that follow in my footsteps, and to use my platform to raise awareness of disability as an important (but often sidelined) aspect of diversity.

I was also shortlisted for the inaugural Law Society Legal Heroes Awards 2023 for my efforts in driving disability and neurodiversity inclusion. More recently, I was named Champion of the Year 2023 at the Inspirational Women in Law Awards – a real and unexpected honour.

My interest in disability stems from both my own experience and supporting my family. I have non-visible disabilities which developed during my career. These are dynamic conditions that can affect my working life in different ways. I am also a parent to neurodivergent children and a carer to a disabled parent.

I have faced barriers since the onset of my disability (environmental, societal and physical). While I was learning to live with my diagnoses and trying to figure out how to manage work alongside my health, I felt alone because few people spoke openly about health or disability within the profession.

The pandemic gave me the impetus to reflect on what I could do to create a more inclusive culture within the law, rather than focusing on what I couldn’t do as a result of the barriers that I faced. I chose to use my skills to become a disability advocate within Freshfields and the broader profession.

'I felt alone because few people spoke openly about health or disability within the profession'

I became aware of the Law Society’s Disabled Solicitors Network (DSN) after I was approached to contribute to the reasonable adjustments best practice guidance. This was co-produced by Cardiff University, the Law Society and the DSN (which built on their co-produced Legally Disabled? research and recommendations that were published in 2020). I became a DSN committee member in 2021 and chair in 2022.

I am proud to lead a DSN committee that is passionate about building on Legally Disabled? and that seeks to help the Law Society to drive the agenda. I use social media to promote the great disability and neuro-inclusion work being of the DSN, the Society and other organisations and individuals within the profession.

The Freshfields Enabled network was formed to bring colleagues with lived experience of disability together as a community for mutual support, to promote disability as a key part of the diversity and inclusion agenda, and to discuss ways in which the workplace could be more supportive of our community. I and other founding members established a network focused on supporting, advocating for and championing disabled and neurodivergent colleagues, those with long-term health conditions, and parent/carers who support disabled or neurodivergent family members.

We had the support of senior sponsors along the way. They were our allies when we were not in the room, they used their networks to advocate for us, they supported us with unblocking barriers, and they were our sounding boards.

If someone is disabled, has a long-term health condition or is neurodivergent, the chances are that this will negatively impact on their mental health. My own mental health fluctuates according to the severity of symptoms from my health conditions, and my caring responsibilities can also impact my mental health. In my podcast with LawCare, we discuss my journey with non-visible disabilities and caring responsibilities; the intersectional dynamics between mental health and disability; the cultural sensitivities that can exist around this topic; and strategies to protect against fatigue and burnout.