Meet & Greet Jonathan Andrews: Raising Awareness for Disability As A Lawyer

In this week’s Meet & Greet, Jonathan Andrews, Associate Solicitor, Entertainment and Media at Reed Smith, shares his experience working as a lawyer with disabilities, and how it has been helpful in his work in the diversity and inclusion sector with myGwork.  

Image credit: Jonathan Andrews

Can you tell us a bit about your career?

I’m an associate solicitor in Reed Smith’s Entertainment and Media Industry Group in London, specialising in litigation (from pre-action correspondence to court claims on topics from defamation to breaches of contract) but also with experience in advisory and transactional work. I’ve been a qualified lawyer for 3 years and prior to that was a trainee at Reed Smith.

I’m also a proud advocate for fair access to the profession for all, including disabled and LGBT+ people, and work both within and outside Reed Smith (with a range of initiatives, from the Miranda Brawn Diversity Leadership Foundation to Ambitious about Autism and the Commonwealth) to further this. I’m also an elected Law Society Council Member, representing Junior Lawyers 0-6 PQE.

What's the biggest highlight of your career to date and why?

That would have to be my recognition by the Shaw Trust Power List 2020 as the fourth most influential disabled person in the UK. I was diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum when I was nine years old but was raised never to feel that this would hold me back. When I first considered a career in law, I was concerned by the seeming lack of visibility of openly autistic people in law, but I persevered and, after securing a training contract, have worked to raise awareness and boost employment opportunities.

I’ve found my career progression itself has helped to raise awareness and it feels like there are now established lawyers ‘coming out’ about autism in a way they haven’t before – I’m pleased to have helped drive real progress in this area and very pleased to have been recognised for this by others in the disability community.

What are the main challenges facing people with disabilities?

As I’ve touched on above, access to employment opportunities is still a struggle for many, and it’s even more of a struggle for autistic individuals (who have the lowest employment rates) to secure quality employment. I’m therefore very proud of Reed Smith’s long-standing support of greater disability employment, including overhauling its recruitment systems and partnering with various charities and organisations to remove barriers and attract applicants, which has resulted in a substantial increase in the number of trainees and solicitors with disabilities at the firm.

Other challenges include access to justice (such as accessibility when enforcing rights in the courts), which Reed Smith has also worked to tackle through pro bono initiatives, and the lack of visibility/awareness and stigma which still exists – although events like these are vital to tackling this.

How has your experience as a person with disabilities shaped your worldview?

I’ve found it’s helped me to better understand others who may have faced barriers in some way, whether those were the same as the ones I’ve faced or otherwise; and as someone on the autistic spectrum, I also find that as well as being very committed to my work and interests I also tend to look at matters in a different way to others.

This can be very helpful in adding diversity of thought to discussions and bringing alternative solutions to the table which might be the route we ultimately go down, or might not, but wouldn’t have been raised at all without people who think differently being in the discussion.

Do you have any advice for people looking to be better allies to people with disabilities?

The same advice that I would give to people who want to be better allies to any group – make sure to listen to what it is that people want and need and that you are supporting them in achieving this. This can be a particular issue with disability, as it is not uncommon for people to try to show allyship in ways which are well-meant but may not be taken the right way.

That said, I also think people should be careful not to be so worried about saying the wrong thing that they don’t end up taking positive action out of fear it will be misinterpreted – I’d advise that if you’re unsure, being open about that and making clear people can speak up if they need to correct anything, whilst offering to listen and to work with them to drive positive change in a way that they support.

What's next for you?

I’m looking forward to continuing to develop my career in Reed Smith and deepening my expertise in Media and Entertainment litigation, an area which I find very interesting and rewarding.

I’m also keen to continue advocating for disability employment and inclusion generally; I now serve as a judge of the Shaw Trust Power List following my recognition, allowing me to support others working to further disability inclusion, and have recently been appointed as the UK’s representative to the Diversity Council of the International Trademark Association, an exciting opportunity to further DEI throughout the profession globally.

I very much look forward to continuing to support initiatives to improve access to the workplace whilst also working in an area of law that I very much enjoy (and, of course, continuing to serve junior lawyers of all identities and backgrounds as one of their Law Society Council Members).