Sustainability allies: meet Jemima Banks and her assistance dog Albert

Meet Jemima Banks, legal apprentice at Gowling WLG, who joined the firm in March 2021 and is currently training in the Housing, Development and Regeneration team.

In this, the next in our ‘sustainability allies’ blog series, we talk to Jemima about her experience in joining the firm and how her assistance dog, Albert, is helping her to pursue her career ambitions. We talk career goals, a typical day in the life of an assistance dog, and the positive impact of the firm’s new assistance dog policy.

To find out more about our ESG initiatives, take a look at our Sustainability report 2023.

Your name and role at Gowling WLG:

Jemima Banks, legal apprentice, Housing Development and Regeneration team, Gowling WLG.

What made you choose Gowling WLG and a career in law?

I applied to Gowling WLG after seeing a video of an associate with a disability at the top of its careers web page. I was worried about whether the legal profession would be accessible to people with disabilities – at the time, SRA data showed that only 2% of solicitors declared a disability in comparison to 20% of the working-age population having a disability. The thing that struck me about the Gowling WLG lawyer in the video was that she wasn’t just talking about her disability; she was talking about doing her job like anyone else would.

I think it’s really important in the workplace to engage in discussion about diversity and inclusion. We must strive to create working environments where a disabled person can get on with their work, without facing additional barriers. Sometimes it’s about making small adjustments that allow us to do things in a slightly different way.

Tell us a little about you and how your condition changed your route into law?

In sixth form I became unwell and did not get better. Eventually, I was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome – conditions that affect connective tissue and the heart, respectively. This causes chronic pain, dizziness, migraines, stomach problems, fatigue, and joint dislocations.

When my friends were planning university and their futures, I was stuck. 

While it was a difficult time, I enjoyed my A-Levels and a highlight of sixth form was winning a ‘mock trial’ competition at Birmingham Crown Court.  This encouraged me to pursue a legal career.

As university was not an option for me physically, I started working part time as a junior paralegal at a local firm.

Having seen an associate with a disability featured on the Gowling WLG careers page, I applied to the firm and joined as a paralegal. Just over a year later, I started a legal apprenticeship. I’m looking forward to the challenges ahead in the solicitor programme.

How has Gowling WLG supported you and Albert since joining?

When I applied to the firm, I was on the waiting list for an assistance dog from the charity Dogs for Good. A key part of my application was that my assistance dog would accompany me to work.

Albert and I have been a catalyst for creating an assistance dog policy at Gowling WLG. The firm’s HR and Diversity, Equality and Inclusion teams worked closely with me to understand my needs and how Albert supports me in my everyday life. The resulting policy clearly sets out the firm’s inclusive approach, where adaptations are made to aid successful assistance dog partnerships, access rights and available support.

Three pieces of advice you would give to someone starting a legal apprenticeship?

• Embrace every opportunity and get involved in everything you can. 
• Your work as an apprentice will prepare you for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) route and, ultimately, becoming a solicitor once you’ve qualified. I learn best by doing things and an apprenticeship provides constant opportunities to learn on the job.
• I love that the firm has lots of apprentices and we all support each other. I’m lucky to have more experienced apprentices in my team and I have learnt a lot from them.

What is a typical day in the life of an assistance dog?

Albert’s day in the office: Albert wakes up early for breakfast and a walk before getting the train to Birmingham. When we get to the office, he helps me to take my coat off by pulling the sleeves. He’ll then settle on his bed for his first nap of the day.

As I go about my work Albert will come along with me to meetings and likes to say hello to everyone before settling down for a snooze.

At lunchtime, he goes out for a short walk and a toilet break on some grass near the office. Assistance dogs are trained to only go to the toilet on command. Throughout the day Albert helps me by picking things up, pulling doors open and fetching my medications. He knows that when he’s got his Dogs for Good jacket on, he’s working and so will ignore other people. Please don’t distract him when he’s wearing his jacket. When he’s not wearing it, you can ask to say hello to him and Albert’s always happy to meet people.

At the end of the day, Albert tidies up his toys in the office and has another nap on the train home. When we get home, he has his dinner and then gets the zoomies! He’s quiet and calm in the office but at home, he runs around like a normal dog.

In what ways can people help you and Albert when working together?

The best way to help is to ask if there are any adjustments I need for an event or meeting.

I might need somewhere to sit; Albert will need a quiet space to lie down next to me. It’s also really helpful to know the structure of an event in advance, so I can plan things like taking my medications, taking Albert out and whether there is going to be food that might be a distraction to a Labrador!

Tell us about Albert and the difference he makes to your work/home life?

Albert is absolutely life-changing. For example, he loads and unloads the washing machine at home and, while doing laundry might not be the most exciting job for most people, for me it’s a key part of my independence. Albert’s happiness when he’s doing the laundry is infectious – he loves his job!

Having chronic pain and fatigue can be debilitating and isolating. Albert has quite literally opened doors for me, and he’s given me independence. I wouldn’t be doing my apprenticeship without him.

I’ve had Albert for two years and I can hardly believe how different my life is now; he’s changed everything beyond recognition. I can’t thank Dogs for Good and the volunteers enough for the work they do training life-changing dogs like Albert.

Describe what the new assistance dog policy means to you?

The assistance dog policy makes everyone’s responsibilities clear. Not everyone is comfortable around dogs, but the firm is there to support anyone with an allergy or fear of dogs.

Albert’s been through lots of training to be an assistance dog and, most of the time, when he’s in the office you wouldn’t even know he was there!

The assistance dog policy also means that it will be even easier for someone else who needs an assistance dog to join the firm. Last year, Gowling WLG was the first law firm to be recognised as a Visibly Better Employer by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). Albert’s hopeful that this will mean he might have a Guide Dog or another assistance dog colleague in the office one day.

More than that, sharing the policy with Dogs for Good has seen it be adopted by other companies in different sectors too. I want to contribute to removing barriers to the workplace for other disabled people, and the assistance dog policy is doing this. It is a small ripple for accessibility which is spreading to other organisations that adopt the policy. Having an employer that has welcomed both Albert and me into the workplace means that I now have professional independence and a bigger, brighter future than before.

What are the wider benefits?

“The new assistance dog policy not only makes a huge difference to Jemima but ensures we continue to adapt how we work to be as inclusive as possible. It’s been a learning experience for us and one we have been keen to share, as Dogs for Good are now using our policy as best practice for other businesses to benefit from. Most of all it’s been rewarding to see the change it brought for Jemima – she’s pursuing her ambitions, she’s in the office and she’s enjoying our apprenticeship programme, which is magnificent to see.” Emma Dennis, DE&I and wellbeing senior manager, Gowling WLG.