Spearheading systemic change with disabled people

Disability organisation Scope estimates that disabled people face an average of £975 more per month in extra costs than non-disabled people. We've partnered with City Law School's Community Legal Advice Centre on their Personal Independent Payment (PIP) project. PIP is a government benefit that supports disabled people with extra living costs. Often these applications are complex; our collaboration with City Law School increases the chance of clients being awarded PIP upon first application, avoiding protracted and stressful appeal processes.

Since 2019, Fieldfisher has provided clerking support to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for classification appeals and ethics committee hearings. The programme plays a pivotal role in promoting discourse surrounding disability within sports and fostering fairness and equity for disabled athletes.

"Classification of athletes is of fundamental importance to the success of Para sport. With the increase in athletes appealing against their classification, the IPC has faced an increased demand for appeal hearings. Receiving clerking support from trainees at Fieldfisher has greatly assisted us in being able to meet this demand. The trainees provide clerking support to our appeals, making sure that parties get their cases heard and that they receive a decision which is not only quick but is comprehensive. This has been invaluable to the Paralympic Movement." - Liz Riley, General Counsel at the International Paralympic Committee.

The Manchester Innocence Project with the University of Manchester's Justice Hub intersects with disability rights as 30% of the prison population in the UK are disabled. We assist students at the University to gather evidence for individuals wrongly convicted of serious crimes. The partnership assists those who have suffered miscarriages of justice and promotes positive change in the legal system. The firm is also supporting the Project's podcast, 'The Innocence Podcast', giving public attention to the issues of miscarriages of justice.