By Lucy Barnes, Pupil Barrister at East Anglian Chambers and CEO and Co-Founder of Lawyers Who Care
By far the most common question I receive from our community is “Should I disclose my care experience and, if so, how?”
While sharing your care experience is a personal decision that only you can make, in this article I seek to help you by sharing my experience. When I applied for legal roles, I had no guidance. So I hope to be able to impart the wisdom I learned along the way.
This blog is split into three parts. Firstly, I share my own experience, before going on to discuss the decision to disclose on a) a UCAS application form and b) a legal/career application. Secondly, I discuss how I spoke about my care experience on a legal application as well as how I reached the decision to share. Finally, I share ten top tips I learned for drafting applications for pupillage (and beyond).
Our YouTube video on 'Ethically owning your care experience story'
This article should be read alongside watching our LWC August 2024 webinar with care-experienced speakers Rebekah Pierre, Sophia Alexandra Hall and yours truly found on our YouTube channel here. This video covers the topic far more broadly, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of disclosure in both applications and in the media.
Background - my experience:
Drafting legal applications as a care-experienced person was tough. Until later in my career, I did not have anyone to review my applications as a supportive parent would, nor did I have any emotional support with rejections (which are inevitable even for the most amazing candidates which you will be!). At the beginning of my legal journey, I let the stigma get to me. I let the world telling me no one would understand my care experience get to me. After graduation, I had a sudden mindset shift.
What if, on top of other aspects of my talent, care experience was one part of what made me a strong candidate? Instead of asking “What if they will judge me?” I instead started to ask myself “What if resilience, resourcefulness, dedication, independence, time management skills and grit could set me apart from my competition? For sure, I did not go to Oxbridge or a redbrick university (though I went to the amazing University of Surrey which first enabled me to be proud of my care experience). Nor did I have the benefit of attending a private school. I came from a council estate and foster care. I am neurodivergent. But I realised I was comparing myself when I had a completely different and advantageous set of skills.
Disclosing your care experience:
For UCAS:
I didn’t realise this when I was applying to university, but ticking the box to say you are care-experienced for UCAS can be important for the support you can receive. I am grateful to my friend and care-experienced all-star Sophia-Alexandra Hall for bringing the work of the The Fostering Network to my attention. They have successfully campaigned to get care experience included. If you tick the box, universities can easily identify you for bursaries/scholarships you’re eligible for.
Plus, if you tick the box in the UCAS form, the only people who will know are the admissions team, so if you did not feel ready to disclose, this reduces fears of judgement but enhances your ability to be financially supported.
Sophia has filmed a video in her YouTube days about UCAS applications with another care-experienced person. Jessica-Rae, a care-experienced student wrote a blog on ticking the box recently, both are recommended by me. I didn’t get any extra financial support at university and worked two part-time jobs to survive, so that added financial support would have been huge.
For legal/career applications:
For a career-related application, it is a decision for you. I have included a list of questions and thoughts below to help you make this decision.
Sometimes, ticking the box can enable you to receive more support. I noticed recently that, since Lawyers Who Care launched, Inner Temple (one of the four Inns of Court that support barristers) have included care experience in membership applications to enable further support, which is fantastic.
Other times, whilst we are making waves at LWC to ensure a more inclusive profession, people still have unconscious bias. People still have pity as the “backhand of prejudice” (as I call it). Even if care experience is nothing to be ashamed of, recruitment panels are not yet trained in understanding care experience (we’re working on it…), and they vary in their levels of understanding.
Our mentorship organisations, would, however, have a greater level of understanding because our mentors must undertake mandatory ‘Care Aware’ and ‘Trauma-Informed’ training to enrol on our scheme. It is worth researching our organisations for their commitment to our community. It may ease your mind and assure you that you may receive further support.
My list of thoughts/questions to consider that (I hope) help:
As LWC’s Gemma Creamer says “It’s your story, only you should have the pen to write it.” Making a narrative about your life can be empowering and helpful at coming closer to the question of what you’re comfortable sharing and what you are not. Sometimes, people who are not care-experienced themselves may not understand care experience. Whilst we are erasing those barriers and the stigma here at LWC, we should be mindful to protect ourselves in the process of sharing. If the pen is yours, what will you write about your experiences in a way that makes you feel both empowered and safe?
There is a fantastic blog by The Transformed You by care-experienced all-star Judith Denton on this, which asks the question “Why am I sharing?” This is an important question. Here, it would be in the context of an application, so a panel would potentially understand your achievements as even more amazing due to the context. But there is also a risk of their lack of understanding.
One thing that helped me was finding a way to mention it that did not make me feel exposed or like I had overshared. For example, I said I spent time in foster care and overcame adversity but I did not discuss the details.
Another fantastic question posed by Judith’s blog is “Am I therapeutically supported in sharing?” This is an important question to ask. Even writing about our lives down can cause anxiety (sometimes without realising it at the time, as I realised much later). There should be no shame in receiving therapeutic support. It helped me to narrate my life and decide my story for myself and what I was comfortable sharing and what I was not.
To wrap up, thinking about whether you are in a good place to share, and what you would feel comfortable sharing, is important. It is ok to want to share. It is ok to not want to share. It is ok to not be ready to share too.
If I choose to disclose, how do I do it?
Again, this is and can only be a question for you, as care experience differs widely. I can only share what I did. When I first went to university, I didn't share. I let societal views creep in. It felt alien to not have family in a profession all about who you know, and I knew no one. I am glad I did that looking back as I had not undergone any inner work at the time and could have overshared.
As I matured after graduation and developed myself, my mindset changed. I equipped myself with a solid understanding of my personal strengths and weaknesses, which included both the skills equipped from my background and the areas where I needed support. I came armed to my scholarship interview with those skills and I was successful that year, achieving a Major scholarship from the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple.
"Seeing my care experience holistically (i.e. in not a ‘black or white’ way) helped me more than anything. I wrote about my care experience in a similar way to how I wrote about my neurodivergence: in both the extenuating circumstances part of my application, explaining the ways I have been at a disadvantage, and in a section about the skills that I can bring to the profession."
Given that everyone’s strengths and weaknesses are entirely different, I cannot say what to write. It may be helpful to think about the ways (if any) that your background has hindered you, but also the skills you may have acquired through those hurdles. Ask your friends what they think your strengths are - I am sure they will say a lot.
I like to say “I do not identify as the woman who experienced adversity, I identify as the woman who overcame it.”
At the same time, I do not glamorise the barriers of being care-experienced. Growing up in a chaotic environment impacted my ability to study and achieve stronger GCSEs or A-Levels. I skipped over areas in school, for example perfecting grammar, because I was trying to survive and get the grades I could for the next step. I had to catch up, but I also went from D-C grades to one of my school's top 3 achievers, which is a strength. Likewise, having to work multiple part-time jobs at university because I had no bank of mum and dad impacted my ability to get a First degree. However, that also equipped me with strong time-management skills (if you ever look at me and wonder how I juggle it all, I owe that to my care experience!).
Likewise, my Dyspraxia hinders me as I process information slower than my peers and any form of auditory instruction gives me the facial expression version of a loading screen… but it also makes me more creative. There is a great book on this by Dr Gail Saltz titled ‘The Power of Difference’ which talks about the strengths (without underplaying the weaknesses) of disabilities, neurodivergence and mental health. This book can equip you with some examples that relate more closely to you.
These are just a few examples of my own experience. Ultimately, the key is to know who you are and to know your story. That takes time, introspection, self-accountability, mentoring, asking for feedback from friends, reading and self-compassion.
Ultimately, if you can press the ‘submit’ button feeling proud of who you are and what you have achieved, without feeling exposed or like you have overshared, you’ve nailed it.
TOP TIPS FOR CARE-EXPERIENCED APPLICANTS:
Identifying your strengths and weaknesses can be tricky. If you do feel you know them well enough, draw up a list of the top three. Include steps you’re taking to address your weaknesses (though no one is perfect, and they will be aware of that). If you are struggling to list your weaknesses, perhaps ask a friend who knows you well.
Have a post-it note in front of your laptop of your Unique Selling Point (USP) and remind yourself daily what you have to offer. Own your USP. If you’re not sure what yours is, ask a friend “What makes me shine the brightest?”
One of your strengths could be that you’re personable and down-to-earth. Remain formal throughout, but perhaps don’t quote Latin in your application if it’s not authentically you. It certainly wasn’t for me (and likely never will be).
Treat your application as a written piece of advocacy. If you are aspiring to become a barrister, the best piece of advice I was given by a mentor was to “treat it as if it is a skeleton argument” (the concise statement of case barristers use before they flesh it out in court with arguments).
Learn the difference between ‘affect’ and ‘effect’, 'judgment' and 'judgement', 'Counsel' and 'Council' and ‘practice’ and ‘practise’ (don’t worry…it took me forever to get my head around them).
Remember the STAR (Situation Task Action Result) technique. This can apply to lived experience too. For example: “I fell off the care cliff at 16. As a result, all local authority support stopped. To continue my A-Levels and save for university, I secured a part-time job and successfully achieved top grades to go to university as well as self-funding my living costs.” You don’t have to spell out “I’m independent/can solve problems creatively/am a badass and I work hard.” Show, not tell.
Write actively not passively. For example: “I led a team of…” not “I undertook the task of leading…” or “I had the opportunity to lead on...” Try to cut the words down and sound more authoritative. Back yourself.
Be clear on what is important to you and decide whether the firm/chambers you’re applying to are aligned with your values. If you feel unsure whether to disclose due to feared prejudice, research our current mentorship organisations. As part of our scheme, mentors from our MOs are required to undertake our bespoke Care Aware and Trauma Informed training specifically tailored to our community.
It is easier said than done but try not to compare yourself to others. We all have a USP and should lift one another up. Focus on what you have to give, not on others. People do not forget those who choose to collaborate rather than compete.
It’s not a tip but a truth: I am rooting for you. At LWC, we’re all rooting for you.
Reshare:
If this article helped you in any way, please reshare it on your social media to reach as many of our community as possible or share it with those you know who may benefit.
To receive feedback on applications as a care-experienced person:
At LWC, we are increasing our network of solicitors and barristers to review our mentees’ applications, so please do get in touch via our website contact form if this is a service that would help you (subject to capacity and availability of our legal network).
To support care-experienced people receiving feedback:
If you want to volunteer to review the applications of our care-experienced mentees and you are a practising barrister or solicitor, please get in touch via our website contact form. Your allyship is incredibly important to our community and our movement. By supporting care-experienced people, you are not only part of a new inclusion and diversity initiative, but you also have the opportunity to help foster care-experienced talent.
Become a mentorship organisation:
If you are part of a firm or chambers and want to commit to being a truly inclusive environment for care-experienced applicants, please enquire via the contact form on our website. You can also visit our website on our current mentorship organisations, as well as our blog on our mandatory Care Aware and Trauma-Informed training.
Join the LWC community. You too can be part of our movement for care-experienced aspiring lawyers.
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