Being Autistic in the Legal Profession: My Experience

Being Autistic in the Legal Profession: My Experience

Written by Jonathan Andrews. An autistic solicitor proves openness about how neurodivergence strengthens, not hinders, a legal career.

Neurodiversity in Law Apr 14, 2026 1 1 Share As a champion for Neurodiversity in Law over several years, I have seen first-hand the impact that the charity has had in increasing the visibility of neurodiversity across the legal profession. So I was very pleased to learn that Neurodiversity in Law was launching a journal to further increase awareness and acceptance of neurodiversity and showcase the work and experiences of neurodivergent people throughout law, and even more pleased to be able to share my experience of working as an autistic solicitor as part of its inaugural edition.

I’ve spoken to many lawyers who knew from a young age that they were destined for a career in the profession – including autistic lawyers whose special interest in the law was evident both to themselves and to others very early on. This wasn’t quite my experience, however. I certainly had, from a young age, a number of interests that have proved invaluable during my legal career, from English language, literature and the written word to a desire to learn and analyse as much as possible about a specific area. But it wasn’t until I was a 17-year-old sixth former, considering next steps after school, that I first seriously turned my mind to the possibility of a career in law and what I might need to do to achieve this. Ultimately I studied English literature and language at university, not law, although this was a decision made with the knowledge that this wouldn’t prove a barrier to qualifying as a lawyer should I decide to take that path.

I did know something else integral about myself from a young age, however, as I was diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum aged nine. Back then it seemed like a diagnosis that had taken some time, as my parents had by then sensed for a number of years that I was different to others and it had taken some pushing on their part for this to be recognised, but having since met a number of neurodivergent people who have had to wait far longer, often to adulthood, to receive their diagnoses, my diagnosis in retrospect seems rather early in comparison. I was certainly lucky enough to know that I was autistic growing up, rather than realising I was different but not knowing why, as is the case for too many.

I was also never raised to believe that being autistic made me lesser to anyone else in any way, nor that it should prevent me from achieving my ambitions. As such, when the time came at university to consider next steps and I turned properly towards considering a career in law, I chose to apply not just to standard firm open days, but also to insight day events for disabled applicants (’neurodiversity’ was not a term widely used at the time, let alone ‘neurodivergent’), at which attendees could speak with law firm representatives about both the opportunities and support available. Hearing from others who had succeeded in qualifying as solicitors (and in many cases excelling in their fields) certainly helped motivate me to consider a career in law. And whilst it was difficult to find lawyers open about being autistic at these events – this being over a decade ago now, before Neurodiversity in Law, Neurodiversity Celebration Week, or similar initiatives – this only made me more determined to succeed, and to be open about being autistic whilst doing so. I ended up volunteering for a disability consultancy which had spearheaded many of these insight days, and ended up speaking directly with representatives from graduate recruitment at various law firms, discussing the barriers that existed for autistic and neurodivergent people and what adjustments firms could make to support people.

It was at this time that I also became aware of Reed Smith’s work to remove barriers to entry for disabled people, with the firm founding its Disability Task Force (now its disability inclusion group LEADRS) back in 2012, following the London Paralympic Games and having since overhauled its recruitment process and hosted several insight days and events for disabled applicants. Reed Smith’s interest in and engagement with the work of the disability consultancy, and its desire to attend its regular meetings with fellow firms to discuss how to further inclusion, made its commitment clear to me, and (also being very interested in the firm’s market-leading Entertainment and Media practice) I decided to apply for a vacation scheme, ending up securing an interview. I was impressed that, having previously mentioned that becoming uncertain and nervous in new situations can be a common autistic trait, graduate recruitment had clearly taken this on board and suggested that I visit their office prior to my interview, in order to get used to the surroundings. This meant that when the interview came around I was able to focus on the questions being asked of me rather than having to focus energy on acclimatising, removing a key barrier, and I ended up securing one of Reed Smith’s highest interview scores that year, the vacation scheme itself and, upon its completion, a training contract offer. This was followed by a successful training contract experience which ended in me securing multiple internal offers from various departments and ultimately qualifying into the Entertainment and Media team, my department of choice, despite facing strong competition – and seven years later I am still with the firm, having undertaken numerous secondments, enhanced my specialism in litigation (including qualifying as a solicitor-advocate) and securing promotion.

I have very much found that openness about my neurodivergence has helped rather than hindered my progression. Choosing to be open about being autistic, whether on application forms or more widely, has allowed me to take ownership of how this aspect of my identity was presented, explaining the strengths it brought me (from a strong focus on completing a job at hand to a desire to learn as much as possible about an area – an extremely useful skill as a lawyer and particularly in litigation) and the benefits of diversity of thought to work and decision-making. And this has also allowed me to offer advice and support to clients in respect of their DEI initiatives, commitments and strategy, from one-off calls to serving as an advisor and external member of client DEI forums (and even, from time to time, personal advice to individuals with autistic or neurodivergent children or family members, or who are themselves autistic or neurodivergent), which simply would not have been possible had I not been open about who I was and my experiences.

Just as my career has progressed over the last ten years, since I first began applying to insight days, I have been pleased to see a steady increase in the number of lawyers choosing to be open about being neurodivergent (both from new entrants to the profession but also from established lawyers, at all levels, including partner) and a real growth in initiatives focused on greater visibility and acceptance – although this growth has of course come from a low base, and there is still a lot more to be done. It is precisely for this reason that initiatives such as this journal are a fantastic opportunity to further increase visibility of neurodiversity in law and to demonstrate to aspiring solicitors that ‘if you can see it, you can be it’ – I look forward to reading many more testimonies from fellow neurodivergent lawyers (and others across the legal profession) in this and future issues.

Jonathan Andrews is an associate solicitor in Reed Smith’s Entertainment and Media team, specialising in litigation. Openly autistic throughout his legal career, he has received numerous accolades for improving neurodivergent employment opportunities and serves as a Neurodiversity in Law Champion. Contributor, The Journal (2025)

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