At Irwin Mitchell, we are committed to providing accessible legal advice to everyone, including those with health challenges or disabilities. We understand the importance of clear communication and always strive to tailor our support to meet your individual needs with compassion and respect.
Accessibility of our Website
Our website has been designed with accessibility in mind and aspires to meet and exceed the Double-A standard of compliance as outlined by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). We ensure our web content is accessible through:
- Providing captions for live videos
- Ensuring high contrast between text sections and their backgrounds
- Allowing text to be resized to 200% without loss of content or function
- Maintaining functionality when text spacing is adjusted
- Ensuring compatibility with screen readers and other assistive technologies
- Supporting keyboard-only navigation
- Indicating language changes in code
- Using clear headings and labels
- Ensuring our website is responsive
Supporting Accessibility
At Irwin Mitchell, we believe accessibility is important at all points of your legal journey. We support this by:
- Providing regular training to colleagues to better understand and support accessibility needs
- Developing accessible video content, including subtitles or transcripts where possible
- Using plain English in communications and providing EasyRead documents where possible
- Providing disabled parking bays at our office locations
- Offering large print communications upon request
- Having a dedicated team of experts to support access to external services such as rehabilitation, housing, care, and benefits.
Neurodiversity and Inclusion
At Irwin Mitchell, we are dedicated to making our services accessible to everyone. Embracing neurodiversity means recognising and valuing neurological differences, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and fostering an inclusive environment.
Understanding and Supporting Neurodiversity
Neurodiversity refers to natural variations in the human brain, such as ASD. Key characteristics of autism may include:
- Social Communication Challenges: Difficulty understanding social cues and maintaining eye contact
- Repetitive Behaviours: Engaging in repetitive actions or routines
- Sensory Sensitivities: Heightened or reduced sensitivity to sensory stimuli.
Supporting Autistic Colleagues
We create an inclusive workplace by understanding unique needs and providing appropriate accommodations. We work individually with colleagues to ensure their needs are met.
Supporting Colleagues and Clients
We offer neurodiversity training through the North East Autism Society and continually develop our knowledge to support colleagues and clients.
Supporting Autistic Clients
We take a person-centred approach, tailoring support to meet specific needs. Examples of adjustments include:
Initial Contact:
- Offer multiple communication options
- Provide clear, detailed information about meetings
- Ensure quieter spaces are available for face-to-face appointments, if required.
During Meetings:
- Send an agenda ahead of the meeting
- Give the client time to process information and respond
- Use visual aids or written summaries
- Respect sensory preferences and make accommodations as needed.
Ongoing Support:
- Maintain regular, consistent communication
- Be flexible and open to feedback
- Ensure all staff interacting with the client are aware of their needs and preferences.
Supporting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
We believe that accessibility should be for everyone. Examples of how we do this include:
- Including accessibility throughout our internal policies
- Working towards Autism accreditation
- Sharing gender-inclusive language guidance with all colleagues
- Providing continual accessibility training to all colleagues.
In addition to the above, we continue to strengthen our commitment to Diversity & Inclusion through the following charters, frameworks and partnerships:
Have Your Say
We welcome your feedback on our accessibility efforts. If you encounter any barriers or have suggestions for improvement, please contact us.
