Daniel Holt LLB (Hons), LLM (QMUL), LLM (City Lond)

I am Daniel Holt, a barrister at Farrar’s Building. I dedicated most of my life to building a career as a barrister despite being told that my speech impairment, use of a wheelchair, and special needs education would be insurmountable obstacles. Undeterred, I studied Law at City University and Queen Mary University of London, obtaining a bachelor’s and two master’s degrees.

My passion for removing barriers for others has always driven me. At university, I joined the founding committee of Queen Mary’s Ability Society and later became its President, overseeing all its activities. I was also elected the Disabled Students Representative. In these roles, I spearheaded a successful campaign to allocate £400,000 to campus accessibility and was awarded Campaign of the Year.

Upon graduating, I became a Board Trustee of Disability Rights UK, the nation’s leading voice for disabled people. I co-authored its response to Parliament’s inquiry into key unimplemented provisions of the Equality Act 2010 for disabled people.

Now, I lead the Association of Disabled Lawyers, where I engage with individuals, organisations, and regulators to improve the experiences of lawyers and students with health conditions. The Association was nominated for Outstanding Disability Network of the Year at the 2023 British Diversity Awards. I still remember my roots, too. I sit on the Pictor Academy’s Advisory Committee, my former special school.

These roles form my biography but are largely unimportant in the grand scheme. Disabled people have endured a difficult 14 years after being scapegoated in the austerity measures that led to many of us not having the support we need. It was apparent that the system was broken when up to 75% of Personal Independence Payments Appeals were successful. Many of us were also told that we should get to work, even when it was impossible. Then, we were hit by the pandemic, where we were amongst the most vulnerable and the last to regain freedom. Alas, we persevere as a community and remember those who did not survive. It is this characteristic that makes us resilient and brilliant problem-solvers. My advice to you is: “Never give in”.