Assistive Technology in the Legal Profession
17/02/2025 16:57:54The Law Society Technology Committee and the DisAbility Legal Network share insights on breaking down barriers to entry using assistive technology.
Why is this important?
Any of us can acquire a disability at any stage of our lifetime, either on a temporary or long-term basis. An individual’s disability (whenever it arises) should not be a barrier to employment; at the hiring/recruitment stage or when that individual starts in the workplace or acquires their disability.
Disclosing the existence of a disability to a prospective or current employer is not an easy task, and in the legal profession, possibly even more so given the competitive landscape[1]. However, it can also be a very positive experience for employees who choose to disclose their disability and ask for the supports they need to thrive in their employment.
Once on notice of an employee’s disability, there is a positive duty on employers to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities under section 16 of the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015. This may involve altering the employee’s tasks and duties, adjusting their working pattern, providing assistive technology or adapting the workplace environment (which since Covid, now extends beyond the four walls of the office to an employee’s home) to enable that employee to be treated equally to their colleagues, have equal opportunities for promotion and access to training.
Work and Access is a new scheme of supports for persons with disabilities in the workplace provided by the Department of Social Protection. The aim of the scheme is to remove or reduce barriers in the workplace for people with disabilities. The supports available to jobseekers, employees and self-employed persons include a workplace needs assessment; communication support; various forms of in-work support; personal readers and work equipment. Employer supports include workplace needs assessment, workplace adaptation and disability, equality and inclusion training. Further information about the scheme and how to apply is available on the Department's website.
How can technology help?
With more and more of our workplace interactions taking place online (from the hiring stage to engaging with our colleagues and clients on a daily basis), and with the increased use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by many businesses, technology can be harnessed by law firms, large or small, to bring about greater accessibility and inclusion for people with disabilities.
To that end, the Technology Committee in collaboration with the disAbility Legal Network (dLN) has gathered a non-exhaustive list of software tools that are available, some of which are already in use in Ireland’s law firms and some which may be hiding in plain sight in software packages you are already paying licensing fees for but never knew included accessible functionality in their operating systems
How it started / how it’s going…
The Technology Committee first published a list of assistive technology in legal practice back in September 2021, and this list has now been updated to take account of some recent advancements in technology.
In the intervening years, the Irish legal profession has experienced a welcome shake up in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) space with the launch of the dLN on 3 December 2021. Its mission is to promote equal opportunities for people with disabilities within the Irish legal sector.
The dLN has since enlisted the support of Irish law firms and other employers and representative bodies in the Irish legal sector (Allies) to promote this mission of accessibility and inclusion, including the Law Society of Ireland. All dLN Allies are asked to sign up to its Pledge to, amongst other things, promote the use of assistive technology in the workplace to bring about greater accessibility and the Technology Committee’s list of AT in the legal profession from 2021 proudly formed part of that Pledge.
The Technology Committee and the dLN hope that this list will be developed over time to bring about greater awareness of the software solutions available in the legal technology market that can be incorporated into firms’ IT systems up and down the country.
In many instances, these tools require minimal infrastructural change or expense; but may bring about an inclusion by design approach in legal workplaces, for the benefit of all.
Assistive Technologies (ATs) List; categorised for ease of reference
- Omnipage Ultimate Software converts paper, PDFs and images into editable searchable text and even audio files.
- Windows 11 Narrator reads aloud the text on your PC screen. It also describes events such as notifications and calendar appointments, which lets you use your PC without a display though it’s worth noting that in a professional working environment, JAWS (see above) would be the preferable product to use.
- Microsoft Accessibility Checker analyses documents and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 recommendations for improving accessibility of web content.
- Microsoft Edge Immersive Reader simplifies web pages and assists users with dyslexia and dysgraphia.
- Grammarly is a widely used AI-driven English language writing assistant. It checks spelling, grammar and tone of writing.
- Texthelp Read&Write a toolbar for text to speech and writing support, useful for those with dyslexia and ESL users.
- Mind Mapping software, such as Ayoa or MindView allows the creation of mind-maps including flow-charts, timelines and GANTT charts to help organisation, time management and planning projects.
- Voice Access is a built-in Windows feature enabling you to control your Windows computer entirely with your voice. Includes navigation, interaction, and dictation.
- Dragon Pro Anywhere is a cloud-based speech recognition tool for creating legal documentation.
- Dragon Dictate Legal Edition (speech to text) enables you to create, edit and format case files, contracts, briefs and more - all by voice - for improved efficiency, reduced transcription time and costs, and faster document turnaround.
- Dictation for Microsoft 365 integrates with Office app to allow voice-based content creation.
- SpeakSee, or Live Transcribe captures the speech in conversations, meetings, events etc, and transcribes it into text on a smartphone or computer. OCR (Optical Character Recognition) apps, such as Google Lens or O365 Lens: allow you to take a photo of text and read / listen to it on your device.
- Scan Pen: This tool allows you to scan text in a book by moving the nib of the pen over text. Then it can read back the text and even save it.
- Livescribe pens: These can allow you to audio record while taking notes, and then listen back to the audio by tapping on the writing in your notebook. They can also create a digital copy of your handwritten notes without scanning them with a phone.
Compatibility considerations
Something to note and raise with your IT team is the need to ensure that a chosen AT tool is interoperable with your firm’s current software provider. This means that, before you purchase a tool, make sure your IT team has tested the software’s ability to also interact with, for example, your firm’s Microsoft Operating System, billing, time management and/or CRM software.
AHEAD, the independent non-profit organisation working with and for disabled people to shape inclusive and empowering environments in education and employment provides a great overview of the general range of Assistive Technology available in the market.
Financial supports and grants
Remember, reasonable accommodation doesn’t mean making changes that mean the cost of doing so is excessive or disproportionate. Look into the support and grants provided by the Department of Social Protection when assessing the cost of a particular accommodation. A poignant note on the Employers for Change website provides that “Rather than assuming that the costs will be high, it is critical to establish what accommodations are needed, as not all supports require financial outlay. Research shows that most accommodations cost nothing and involve task adjustments.”
With these technological solutions in place firm-wide, it gives people a choice to disclose their disability or not. The hope is that such accommodations would make people more comfortable in disclosing their disability in the workplace which in turn can only have a positive effect in fostering a more diverse and inclusive workforce in the Irish legal profession.
Other useful tools
Please contact either the dLN or the Technology Committee to let us know of software tools you are using that are not included above but which you believe should be.
[1] At the dLN’s inaugural event, out of 100 attendees, 63% had not disclosed their disabilities to their employer.
