n aspiring criminal law barrister has launched a court accessibility survey in a bid to create an accessibility map for legal professionals and court users.
Konstantina Nouka, who was diagnosed with Ulrich muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair, founded Bringing [Dis]Ability to the Bar (BDABar) in 2021 after her own ‘unfortunate’ experiences when trying to apply for mini-pupillage.
Nouka, who hopes to start pupillage at Nexus Chambers later this year, said: ‘I got a lot of questions about “how will you visit clients in prison” because I want to go into criminal law, “will you be able to work extensive hours that the bar requires”. It felt your ability was overshadowed by your disability.
‘People with a disability are utterly unrepresented [in the legal profession and judiciary]. We want to make the profession more inclusive. We understand that the problem is lack of knowledge.’
To improve accessibility, BDABar is collating data on court accessibility by asking legal professionals to fill out a short survey. Courts and tribunals are also being contacted for information.
Nouka said limited information on court accessibility meant she had to contact the court beforehand to check she would be able to access it.
She said: ‘One of the big struggles for me and my chambers is where shall they send me, to which court. There is limited information available [about accessibility].’
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