Overall Objectives:

1. Connect disabled aspiring barristers with practising barristers who can provide guidance in the pursuit of a career at the Bar.

2. Consenting mentees may share their experiences of living with disabilities for the benefit of mentors and their chambers/ employers.

3. All dialogue over the course of the mentorship will have the intention of raising awareness on disabilities, accessibility, reasonable adjustments, and what support is available.

4. Where support is not available, mentors and their chambers/ employers may learn how to better serve and engage with aspiring barristers who have chronic conditions and/or disabilities.

5. All participants will be mindful that the scheme promotes accessibility at the Bar, and when accessibility is currently limited, innovation rather than pessimism is the appropriate approach.

6. Increase opportunities for aspiring barristers to build lasting connections and build their networks with professionals at the Bar.

What is the Purpose of the BDABar Two-Way Mentorship Scheme?

• The primary purpose of the scheme is to enable aspiring barristers, with any form of disability, to gain support from a practising barrister in their pursuit of a career at the Bar.

• The secondary purpose of the BDABar Two-Way Mentorship Scheme is to give the opportunity to practising barristers, and their Chambers or employers, to gain an insight into their mentee's disabilities and the various hurdles that they encounter in their pursuit of a career at the Bar.

Application procedure for mentees:

The application system for mentees will be flexible and prospective mentees will be asked to share relevant information to support their application; relevant information will include academic attainment, work experience, volunteering, whether they have joined a Bar-related mentorship program previously, and professional experience. Importantly, prospective mentees will also be invited to share any mitigating circumstances which they consider relevant to their application.

Within the application form, there will also be a section where individuals can express the areas of legal practice that they are interested in. Moreover, within the application form there will be questions on why applicants want to join the Bar and how they feel that this program will be beneficial to them. 

It is hoped that all applicants will be able to be assigned a mentor in the program; in the event that there are more applicants than there are mentors available, the Schemes Team will select applicants based on who they believe will benefit the most from the scheme based on the application submitted.

What happens once a mentee has been selected for the BDABar Two-Way Mentorship Scheme? 

Once a mentee has been accepted onto the scheme, they will be contacted by the Schemes Team and be informed of their confirmed place at the BDABar Two-Way mentorship scheme. The mentees will then be asked to complete an Equality and Diversity monitoring form and also disclose any accessibility requirements they have; BDABar wants to ensure that the Two-Way mentorship is accessible to everyone. BDABar Schemes Team will then attempt to allocate them a mentor who is in that area of law; however, this will not be guaranteed. 

Once a mentee has been allocated their mentor, the two will arrange a preliminary meeting. Furthermore, BDABar Schemes Team will encourage all mentors to be aware of key Bar deadlines; these deadlines include, but are not limited to, Bar Course application deadlines, GDL deadlines, Scholarship application deadlines, and Pupillage deadlines. During the preliminary meeting, and mindful of Bar’s calendar of deadlines, the mentor and mentee will agree on a bespoke set of aims towards which they will work over the course of their mentorship. Overall, there is an expectation that mentors will be virtually meeting their mentees once per month.

The decision of mentees on whether to disclose their experiences of living with a disability/disabilities is entirely voluntary. Any information disclosed by the mentee, which relates to their personal condition will be disclosed under the strictest confidence and it would not be disclosed by the mentor without their expressed consent.

The length of a BDABAr Two-Way Mentorship cycle:

The mentorship cycle will last approximately 12 months (September- August), but the pairs are encouraged to develop and maintain their relationship beyond the official structure.