Jack Boswell - Our Voice, Our Stories
- Neurodiversity in Law
- Mar 20
- 3 min read
We asked Jack to share their experiences as a neurodivergent legal professional. Their story is part of 'Our Voices, Our Stories' - our series for Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2025 featuring authentic experiences of neurodivergent legal professionals.
Watch the full video here:
Transcript:
Hi, I'm Jack Boswell and I'm a barrister at Matrix Chambers practising in public law, human rights, crime and extradition.
I'm also dyslexic and I was one of the co-founders of Neurodiversity in Law in 2020. For this series of videos marking Neurodiversity Celebration Week, I'm asked to reflect on my personal experiences as a neurodivergent person at the bar and also on Neurodiversity in Law's risen for change.
So starting with my personal experience, I was assessed as being dyslexic while I was training for the bar, so relatively late in life, which I know is a shared experience for many people. But it didn't come as a surprise for me when I was assessed as being dyslexic, because there were certain traits which I'd always recognised in myself, which were consistent with dyslexia. And so being ascribed that label didn't change the way that I perceived myself, it just gave me a useful shorthand for those traits which I always knew existed. I think of dyslexia as being a description of the way that my brain is wired.
But I did find that being described as dyslexic changed the way that some other people perceived me, and I started receiving questions like whether I still wanted to be a lawyer even though I was dyslexic. And I can understand how, for some people, those kinds of questions might deter them from wanting to be candid about their status as a neurodivergent person.
But for what it's worth, I've always taken the view that it's better to be honest about it and to control the narrative, and then leave other people to draw their own conclusions about my ability as a lawyer. And I've found that although some people come to those conversations with preconceived notions, most of them are willing to listen to my experience and to learn about what my perspective is on being a neurodivergent lawyer.
I'm also able to explain to people that being neurodivergent doesn't necessarily impede your ability as a lawyer. So for example, for me as a dyslexic person, I know that I'm able to approach complex litigation in a creative and strategic way that other people might not be able to. And I have friends and colleagues who are autistic who use their impressive recall and their attention to detail to brilliant effect in evidentially heavy trials.
And I think the truth is that all of us have strengths and weaknesses because we all think differently. And the key to success as a lawyer, as in any aspect of life, is to be able to harness the strengths and mitigate the weaknesses. And that applies with equal force whether you're neurodivergent or not.
In terms of Neurodiversity in Law's vision for change, my hope is that we will continue to raise awareness of the fact that neurodivergent people can be brilliant lawyers. Because when we started Neurodiversity in Law in 2020, there were relatively few people who were willing to speak openly about their experience as a neurodivergent lawyer. But gradually people started to come forward, started to participate in initiatives like this and speak at our events, and I'm really pleased to see that trend continuing.
And lastly I just want to say that for anybody who is considering whether to pursue their ambition of becoming a lawyer but they're worried about whether being neurodivergent will hold them back, I would urge you to have confidence and have the courage to give it a go because you might be surprised
This was part of ‘Our Voices, Our Stories’, a content series for Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2025. Explore more stories in this series at www.neurodiversityinlaw.co.uk/ncw2025
Together, we can raise awareness and reduce the stigma surrounding neurodiversity in the legal profession because there is strength in all ways of thinking, and no mind should be left behind.
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