Autistic with ADHD
At Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, we’re committed to inclusivity and diversity. For us, it’s not just about finding ways to become more successful as a firm; it’s about creating a better place for everyone to work.
Our Ability Network is focused on supporting our people with long-term health conditions or disabilities, with specific groups that focus on topics such as Mental Health, Dyslexia and Dyspraxia and Autism.
We work in partnership with other networks such as MyPlus Consulting to shape our workplace adjustments and to ensure that everyone is supported in their role if they’re affected by a physical or mental disability.
We have also teamed up with PurpleSpace to build disability confidence within the firm and beyond by offering a professional development hub for individuals within our Ability group. We recently hosted a ‘Recruitment Roundtable’ with Autism Forward, focused on helping autistic people find paid or voluntary employment and reach their full potential.
Last year, we made a commitment to the Valuable 500 to continue to prioritise global disability inclusion.
We want everyone at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer to have the support they need to fulfil their potential. As well as assisting students with their job search, we seek to accommodate the needs of each and every applicant throughout the application process. No matter who you are or what challenges you face, we’re committed to responding to your needs and helping you enjoy a rewarding career with us.
Please click on the link to find out more about the culture at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer: https://careers.hsfkramer.com/global/en
“At Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, we don’t expect our people to be or think the same – indeed, diversity and inclusion drive our success and the innovative solutions we deliver with our clients. That’s why fostering an inclusive culture where our people can be themselves, contribute their perspectives and perform roles which are meaningful and aligned to our shared values is a core business priority”. Justin D’Agostino, CEO
At Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer we recognise the power of diversity and inclusion to drive innovation, collaboration and business outcomes. By enabling you to be your unique selves every day – we are Leading for Inclusion.
Here, you’ll be a part of an open working environment where you’ll be valued for what makes you different and accepted for who you are. Upholding a culture of inclusion that fosters these differences is imperative for our business and the diverse clients and communities in which we live and work. Embracing a diversity of views and experience means we attract and retain the best talent and provide our clients with the most considered and innovative advice.
We are a founding member of PRIME, an alliance of law firms across the UK, committed to improving access to the legal profession through work experience.
Our pro bono and citizenship initiatives reflect that global outlook by focusing on building the rule of law, social inclusion, capacity building and the far-reaching implications of climate change. We advise the Human Dignity Trust to help challenge anti-LGBT+ law across the world. In 2018, we became the first law firm to provide trans-inclusive private medical insurance.
: Recognised with 'Gold' employer status as part of Stonewall's Top Global Employers scheme
Aspiring Solicitors Award for 'Best Mentoring Scheme 2025' for our Disability Mentoring Scheme
Aspiring Solicitors Award for 'All Star Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion 2024'
MyPlus Most Successful Business-wide Engagement Award winner
MyPlus Best Disability Speaker / Advocate Award given to Adam Dempsey-Doyle
: Recognised in the Social Mobility Index – Herbert Smith Freehills ranked 7th
Recognised in the Social Mobility Index – Herbert Smith Freehills ranked 3rd
Minds Count Award for our Mental Health Champions Programme
Recognised by Stonewall as just one of fourteen top global employers for LGBT+ inclusion
Stonewall's Global Community Engagement Award
Women in Law Empowerment Forum - Gold Standard Certification
Times Top 100 Graduate Employer
Stonewall Top 100 Employers Index - Herbert Smith Freehills ranked 33rd
Stonewall Top 100 Employers Index recognised consecutively since 2008.
A systematic approach to supporting employees with disabilities is helping to create a culture where everyone can thrive at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer.
For partner Tim Leaver, encouraging greater diversity in the workplace is an open and shut case.
“Without embracing diversity at all levels, and across all themes, how can we hope to best serve the needs of our clients? We need to consider problems from a diverse range of perspectives to come up with innovative solutions to our clients’ most challenging problems. The work of the Ability Network in supporting our colleagues with disabilities, from the recruitment stage all the way through to partnership and senior business services ranks, is fundamental to ensuring that the firm’s aims and day to day practices are inclusive and representative of our whole workforce”.
Ensuring that applicants and employees with disabilities receive appropriate support, from the get-go, is a key part of the Ability Network’s remit. That includes sending out a strong message to potential recruits.
As Network Chair Sarah Hawes puts it, “Talent goes across the board, whether you’ve got a disability or not. It’s about making opportunities accessible to whomever is the best person for a particular role; and then making sure we create an environment where people feel comfortable to tell us what they need”.
Sarah believes that people with disabilities in fact often have something “over and above” to contribute to the firm.
“If you have a disability the chances are you have had to overcome significant challenges in your life, that someone without a disability may not have had to face. That experiences can assist in honing the skills of tenacity and determination – in this working environment, a refusal to give up or take an easy way out is a valuable quality to have.”
HSFK has a number of formal adjustment policies in place in respect of its London and Belfast offices, relating to any changes people need at work, whether permanent or temporary, and in 2022 rolled out its first global commitment on adjustments across all of its 24 offices/19 countries.
“We recognise that to enable our staff to work at their very best, we need to work with them”, says Tim. “You can’t help someone to reach their potential unless you really understand the barriers they face”. Sarah agrees. “I’m happy to ask for what I need. We sort it out and we move on. As a result, it isn’t an issue for me or the people I work with. That’s what we want to achieve for everyone.”
Tim believes the Ability Network has had, and continues to have, a significant, positive impact on attitudes across the firm. “The awareness campaigns and events we’ve run are, without question, having an effect.” he says. “People are now much more willing to talk about challenges they face and to ask for any assistance or adjustments that may be needed to help them to perform at the very top level. We have a really positive culture of support for colleagues with disabilities, which is borne out by the results of our annual staff survey, which show a significant increase in the number of people disclosing a disability.”
Personal stories have proved a particularly powerful tool for increasing understanding and stimulating discussion.
“We’ve had colleagues volunteer to talk to a group of their peers about their disability; what it is, how it affects them and what adjustments they need”, says Sarah. “I know of one group of colleagues who attended one of our awareness raising sessions. They’d been having lunch together for years but it was only after that session that they realised three out of the four of them had a hidden disability. The impact really has been phenomenal.”
Tim has some advice for potential applicants:
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer (HSFK) is one of the world’s largest law firms, with 24 offices spanning Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and the US. HSFK prides itself on offering world class professional services, supporting its wide client base in their most important transactions, disputes and projects.
Vacation Schemes
Our Vacation Schemes don’t just show you life as a trainee associate — they let you live it. Over two to three weeks, you’ll work on real cases, for real clients, with real responsibility. You’ll choose two practice areas to explore, share an office with your supervisor, and be supported by a trainee buddy throughout. Alongside hands-on work, you’ll join presentations and social events — building skills, confidence and connections across the firm. If you perform well, you’ll be offered a place on our Trainee Associate Programme.
You’ll be guided, challenged, supported — and encouraged to grow into the kind of lawyer you want to be. We want to hear your perspective whatever your background or degree. You’ll be welcomed into a culture that’s open, inclusive and invested in helping you succeed.
First Year Workshop
Each spring, we run two, two-day workshops at our London office. You’ll join interactive sessions on corporate negotiation, alternate dispute resolution, and learn more about headline-breaking deals and our pro bono work — developing practical skills and professional insight. You’ll also attend an exclusive careers fair, shadow a trainee for an afternoon, and join evening social events that give you the chance to experience our culture first-hand.
Campus Ambassador
Becoming a Campus Ambassador is a great way to make early connections at HSF Kramer. You’ll help organise events and share insights about life at HSF Kramer on campus — and in return, you’ll gain valuable experience and build a deeper understanding of our culture and opportunities. These positions are open to first-year students (you’ll act as a campus ambassador during your second year).
Trainee Associate Programme
Our Trainee Associate Programme is built around your ambition and fuelled by ours: we want to see you thrive, grow and shape a career that’s meaningful to you and valuable to our clients. Over two years, you’ll take on real responsibility, rotate across four dynamic practice areas, and gain experience that sets you apart. You’ll be challenged and supported in equal measure, working with some of the best minds in the business, and open to a wealth of opportunity.
This is your foundation to become an excellent lawyer, trusted advisor, confident collaborator and resilient leader. But also, your route to becoming the person you want to be.
We recruit trainees exclusively through our Vacation Schemes.
Have a look on the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer websites to see more hints and tips for applying – Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Application Hints & Tips
This will enable us to provide support and adjustments to maximise your potential.
Dealing with a disability on a daily basis will have led you develop skills that could be very valuable in the workplace.
First impressions are important; always be positive when you go into an interview.
You don’t need to study law to be a brilliant lawyer. In fact, we recruit from a whole range of academic backgrounds. The only thing we’re looking for is exceptional people with the desire and ability to become truly brilliant lawyers. And there’s more to that than just a great academic record. It takes confidence, empathy, diligence, drive and an international mind set.
Demonstrate an interest in client relationships and how you would go about building on these. You should also be able to demonstrate good active listening skills and persuasive skills to gain support for ideas.
As well as considered reasoning and a desire to learn, using initiative is a key skill for a trainee. Think about how you seek out new opportunities in order to gain a deeper understanding of the role.
Academic excellence should be demonstrated through degree classification. Whilst a minimum of a 2:.1. is preferred, we take mitigating circumstances into account. There is space on the application form to include these details which are taken into consideration throughout the application process.
Communication skills are critical for trainees, think about examples where you have been able to bring about positive outcomes by communicating and collaborating with colleagues.
Students can demonstrate this competency by giving examples of organisational skills and showing that they are able to cope well under pressure.
Think about why you have chosen to pursue a career in commercial law, and why Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer in particular.
Talent goes across the board, whether you’ve got a disability or not. It’s about making opportunities accessible to whoever is the best person for that particular role and then making sure we create an environment where people feel comfortable to tell us what they need.
We don’t have a set list of adjustments in place, we very much take the lead from the individual. The below are some examples of adjustments that we have made in the past.
You may like to refer to the following webpage telling you about our assessment process, including the test and the assessment day, here: https://careers.hsfkramer.com/global/en
Extra time
We can provide additional time for our verbal reasoning tests and extended preparation time for other parts of the assessment process.
Separate room for preparation
We can provide a private room for preparation away from other candidates.
Software
If you use particular software to read documents, please let us know; we have experience of accommodating this.
Mobility or accessibility support, access to disabled parking places. – our buildings are wheelchair accessible and we provide a map to the office in advance of the assessment day. We also provide information on the closest lifts to use if you are travelling by public transport, but we can also reserve a parking space for you if you are travelling by vehicle.
Support for applicants with Asperger’s or anxiety in terms of the opportunity to have a visit to the building/offices where the assessment centre will be held. – applicants attending an assessment centre can certainly have a tour of the office prior to their assessment day. Candidates just need to contact the Graduate Recruitment team to set this up.
Dyslexia Support for our Case Study Exercise – we can print our case study materials on coloured paper and changed the font / font size for candidates with Dyslexia.
Adjustments to scheduled timings – we can provide extra time for the case study preparation as well as the interviews themselves.
Discussions on adjustments will always remain confidential and we will only disclose any information to interviewers at the candidate’s request.
Our success depends on your skills, knowledge and ideas. That is why we will invest heavily in your development. Through formal training, pro bono opportunities and the chance to work with inspiring people who are leaders in their fields, we will help you grow personally and professionally. You will be part of a working environment that is supportive and open and allows you to be yourself.
A key part of our approach is our employee networks. We have a range of networks, including our Women Lawyers network, Women in Business Services network, Multiculturalism network (which celebrates diverse ethnicity, religion and faith and cultures), IRIS our LGBT network (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender), Social Mobility Network, Family network and Ability network.
Our Ability network is focused on supporting our people with long-term health conditions or disabilities, as well as those with caring responsibilities, and has specific groups focused on topics such as Mental Health, Dyslexia and Autism.
We teamed up with PurpleSpace to build disability confidence within the firm and beyond by offering a networking and professional development hub for individuals within our Ability group. We hosted a ‘Recruitment Roundtable’ with Autism Forward, focused on helping autistic people find paid or voluntary employment and reach their full potential.
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