The BSB’s Disability Taskforce was launched in December 2022, as a part of our commitment to promoting equality and diversity at the Bar, with disability being a key area of focus. This commitment has now been reaffirmed through the BSB’s membership of the Business Disability Forum.
The BSB believes that the Bar must reflect the society which it serves and harness diverse talent effectively. A Bar which comprises diverse lived experiences and perspectives will strengthen the quality of service provided. Diverse teams bring better problem solving, more creativity and innovation and ultimately are better placed to serve the public. Creating a more inclusive culture will help to ensure that people from the widest possible talent pool are able to join the profession and progress successfully.
The Taskforce is intended to be a practical, action-orientated taskforce that identifies priorities for the Bar and BSB in enabling disability inclusion and in creating or signposting to practical tools to support this.
The Taskforce will advise the BSB on:
- how regulatory tools can be used to improve conditions for people with disabilities at the Bar;
- reviewing and improving routes into the Bar, making it a more accessible and inclusive profession;
- improving the culture at the Bar to strengthen the retention of disabled barristers; and
- ensuring that the BSB is setting an example of best practice as an inclusive employer for people with disabilities.
Mary Griffiths Clarke
Mary spent the formative part of her career working as a public sector project change manager. She strategically advised ministers at the Ministry of Justice before working to deliver The Economic Plan for London and 2012 Olympics, leading on a £100m business support initiative before moving into consulting for HM Treasury.
After continuing her education at Central Saint Martins and The National Film and Television School, Mary worked as the leading digital producer for moving image projects in a bicameral position for the House of Commons and House of Lords.
Mary is passionate about social justice, human rights and community cohesion. She served as Equalities board member for the GLA and as a director of Lambeth Law Centre for several years.
With a keen eye for innovation and purposeful projects Mary is delighted to join the Bar Standards Board Disability Taskforce.
Daniel Holt
Daniel is a future Pupil Barrister at 39 Essex Chambers. He is also the Founding Chair of the Association of Disabled Lawyers (‘ADL’), which was the first independent, pan-profession organisation of people working in and studying law with impairments and physical and mental health conditions. The ADL is a community and network raising awareness of the fact that disabled people and people with health conditions can study and practice law. It also champions the welfare and rights of disabled people and people with health conditions in wider society. It achieves its aims through engagement, events, campaigning and research. He is also a committee member of AllBar, an organisation of disabled barristers.
Educated in special needs schools, Daniel became a seasoned disability rights activist. He has engaged with the Bar Standards Board, Legal Services Board, Solicitors Regulatory Authority, and many other organisations to help improve the experiences of lawyers and students with health conditions. He was a Disability Rights UK Trustee until 31st December 2019 when his second term came to an end. Daniel was ‘highly commended’ at the European Diversity Awards 2018 and is a recipient of Middle Temple’s Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Award, Blackstone Exhibition Award and Certificate of Honour. He had previously received a Campaign of the Year Award for his work on improving accessibility.
Daniel has a long-standing participation in pro bono cases and has volunteered with Queen Mary Legal Advice Centre, Hackney Community Law Centre, and the Free Representation Unit. He has a particular interest in social security cases and relishes helping those in vulnerable situations to access support. He completed an LLM in Clinical Legal Education with Distinction and attained 92% in his dissertation reflecting upon his cases.
Playing wheelchair football is a strong passion held by Daniel. He has played for 12 years and is currently plays for Greenwich PFC and Sale United PFC. He is also keen on fitness and attends Muscleworks gym. He is also a very proud Dad to his cat, Rio.
Mark Neale
Mark Neale has had a long career of public service. From 2010, he led the Financial Services Compensation Scheme for nine years, transforming its capability in the wake of the financial crisis to protect consumers in the event of major failures, and putting many of its services online. Before the FSCS, Mark was a civil servant in both policy and delivery roles. This culminated in Director General roles in both The Home Office where he was responsible for counter-terrorism, organised crime and international work from 2002 to 2005, and in HM Treasury where he was the Managing Director for Budget, Tax and Welfare between 2005 and 2010. Mark has also worked as a civil servant on education, employment and welfare issues.
Declarations of interest:
The Lending Standards Board – Non Executive Director
Froebel Trust – Chair
Dr Gregory Burke
- Disabled since the age of 16 following severe encephalitis.D
- MA (Cantab), MPhil, PhD as wheelchair-user; winner of several academic prizes and scholarships;
- Specialist equality and discrimination barrister (2012) listed as a leading junior in the directories;
- Listed for last four years in Shaw Trust’s 100 most powerful disabled people in UK;
- Winner of UK Bar Outstanding Contribution to Diversity & Inclusion Future Leader 2019;
- Founder and Chair of AccessAble: an information service for disabled people which serves c.5 million disabled people a year as well as helping c.400 major businesses and institutions as clients to become more accessible;
- AccessAble is itself listed as one of the 100 most powerful disability companies in the UK; and - Vastly experienced keynote speaker and conference chair; multiple returning appearances in influential mainstream media such as Radio 4 Today and BBC Breakfast News.
Poornima Karunacadacharan
Poornima Karunacadacharan is the Policy Manager for Equality and Access to Justice at the BSB. She has been leading on the drafting of the Equality Rules, as well as ensuring equality, diversity, and inclusion is embedded in all areas of BSB regulation. She has over 20 years experience working in the Charity Sector and as a consultant for public sector organisations on equality and human rights issues. Poornima has expertise in training public, private, and voluntary sector organisations on the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty.
Dee Sekar
Dee Sekar is a qualified solicitor (England and Wales) and has worked as a corporate solicitor at Pinsent Masons and Addleshaw Goddard. Dee has worked in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) space for 12 years, most recently as a Senior Manager at PwC. She also led the Global DEI department at Chambers and Partners for eight years as Global DEI Director. Dee is a global Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) and DEI expert with experience working across Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and North America.
Dee held the position of committee member for The Law Society's Ethnic Solicitors Network and is the former Deputy Chair of InterLaw Diversity Forum. She is an active mentor and enjoys supporting the next generation of talent through coaching and practical guidance. Dee is a strong advocate for pro bono work and has supported pro bono projects at PwC and the In House Pro Bono Group.
Haleemah Farooq
Haleemah is a visually impaired aspiring criminal barrister who studied her LLB at Brunel and went on to study the BPTC LLM at University of Law.
She is currently working as a casework officer for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner. Her role is to assist with day to day casework issues as well as reviewing complaints made against the Police.
She has previously worked as a Caseworker to Rt Hon David Lammy MP for Tottenham in his parliamentary office.
Haleemah is keen to raise awareness for people with disabilities and did this in her time in Parliament where her suggestions were implemented. Haleemah also co-hosts a podcast series called Disability’s Not a Bar where she interviews aspiring barristers, practising barristers and members of the judiciary with a disability. Haleemah started the podcast with her co-host with the aim of it being a knowledge sharing tool as this was not available when she embarked on her own legal journey.
Haleemah has passed her bar exams and was called to the Bar in March 2022 and is a member of the honourable Society of the Inner temple
