Neurodiversity in Law
Trustees Annual Report
From 26 April 2024 to 30 August 2025
Charity registration number: 1208013
Company number: CE035982
Trustee’s Annual Report
Period: 26 April 2024 to 30 August 2025
Reference and administrative details
| Charity name | Neurodiversity in Law |
|---|---|
| Other name the charity uses |
NDL; ND in Law |
| Registered charity number |
1208013 |
| Charity’s principal address |
3 Paper Buildings, London, EC4Y 7EU |
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
| Trustee name | Offce (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole year |
|---|---|---|
| Emily Mae Christie | Chair | |
| Alice de Coverley | Treasurer | |
| Adam Richardson | ||
| Christopher Porter-Blake | Until 22 November 2024 | |
| Joe Royster | ||
| Luke Deal | ||
| Richard Gerrard | From 25 September 2024 until 21 October 2024 |
|
| Sophie Stevens | From 25 September 2024 |
Page 1 of 13
Trustee’s Annual Report
Period: 26 April 2024 to 30 August 2025
Structure, governance and management
Type of governing document:
The charity is governed by a constitution adopted on the Charity Commission's Association model.
How the charity is constituted:
Neurodiversity in Law is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) of the association type, registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales on 26 April 2024.
Trustee appointment
Under the constitution the organisation must have at least three and at most eight trustees. Trustees are appointed by the members of the CIO, normally by election at the annual general meeting. At every other annual general meeting, one-third of the elected trustees (those longest in office since their last appointment) retire by rotation, and the resulting vacancies may be filled by the members at that meeting. In addition, the members or the trustees may appoint a new trustee at any time, whether to fill a vacancy or as an additional trustee, provided the maximum of eight is not exceeded. Retiring trustees are eligible for reappointment, and no outside person or body has the right to appoint a trustee.
In practice, the charity recruits’ trustees through an open application process. Applicants complete a written application, which the board then sifts, before interviewing shortlisted candidates.
Induction and training of trustees
New trustees are asked to review the constitution and the charity's trustee code of conduct, which sets out what is expected of trustees and the time
Page 2 of 13
Trustee’s Annual Report
Period: 26 April 2024 to 30 August 2025
commitment involved, and to read the relevant guidance documents published by the Charity Commission. New trustees can then raise questions with the chair before taking up their duties.
Organisational structure
The board of trustees is the charity's decision-making body and met around 10 to 12 times during the period, taking decisions either at meetings or by written resolution as the constitution allows. The trustees appoint a chair from among their number, and the board operated with a chair and vice-chair(s) during the period. The charity is neurodivergent-led and run by volunteers, with trustees mostly practising lawyers who give their time outside their day jobs.
During the period the charity ran several volunteer teams covering administration, social media and projects, together with a working group set up to develop a lasting volunteering structure. As the year progressed the charity found it could not sustain this number of teams, and active volunteer contribution reduced; a smaller group of volunteers has continued to support the charity's work.
Funds held as custodian trustee
The charity held no funds as a custodian trustee on behalf of others during the period.
Page 3 of 13
Trustee’s Annual Report
Period: 26 April 2024 to 30 August 2025
Objectives and activities
Purposes
The charity's objects, as set out in its constitution, are the promotion of equality and diversity for the public benefit by:
-
promoting awareness of neurodiversity within the legal profession;
-
supporting neurodivergent individuals within the profession, as well as law students;
-
enhancing relationships between the neurodivergent community and legal professionals; and
-
conducting research into the representation of neurodivergent individuals in the legal profession.
Neurodiversity in Law began as a community in 2020 and became a registered CIO on 26 April 2024. This report covers the charity's first period, which runs from registration to 30 August 2025.
Activities in the period
This first period combined building the charity's foundations with active work towards each of its objects.
To raise awareness and educate within the profession, trustees spoke at a number of events, including on a panel at the Bridging the Bar 2023/24 Graduation Event in July 2024.
The charity also announced its intention to publish The Journal and launched an essay competition between June and August 2024.
In October 2024, three trustees attended the Bar Council Pupillage Fair, speaking with aspiring barristers, sharing resources and encouraging
Page 4 of 13
Trustee’s Annual Report
Period: 26 April 2024 to 30 August 2025
membership. For the fair, the charity produced a new tri-fold leaflet offering practical guidance on how to share neurodivergence with others.
In February 2025, the charity led an EDI qualifying session at Gray's Inn on the realities of practising at the Bar with a neurodivergent condition. Chaired by a trustee, with a panel of two further trustees and an external speaker, the session reached an audience of around 50 to 60 students and was designed so that every attendee left with a practical takeaway, whether on requesting adjustments, tackling stigma, balancing work and study, or supporting a neurodivergent peer.
To support neurodivergent individuals and build community, the charity reopened memberships in July 2024 and recorded 140 membership subscriptions across the period. It onboarded 21 new volunteers between August and September 2024.
During Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2025 (17 to 23 March 2025), the charity ran its 'Our Voice, Our Stories' campaign, a content series featuring nine neurodivergent legal professionals who shared their experiences of building careers in the profession with conditions including ADHD, autism, dyslexia and dyspraxia, structured around five themes: personal identity, workplace adjustments, career development, practical strategies, and creating change. This campaign has since won an award, which will be addressed in the charity's annual report for 2025/26. During the same week the charity co-hosted an event, 'Neurodiversity & the Bar: A Conversation' , with Lincoln's Inn on 19 March, and held a small social event for members in London on 21 March. All attendees at both events gave positive feedback.
To enhance relationships between the neurodivergent community and the profession's regulators, two trustees attended the Bar Standards Board roundtable on its Equality Rules consultation in September 2024. The charity
Page 5 of 13
Trustee’s Annual Report
Period: 26 April 2024 to 30 August 2025
then worked with the non-profit Bringing Disability to the Bar to draft and submit a response to the consultation.
In support of its research object, the charity ran a survey in October 2024 into the experiences of neurodivergent individuals on the Bar course. Although the response pool was small, it produced useful insight into the barriers this group faces, which informs the charity's awareness and advocacy work.
Alongside this delivery, from September 2024 the trustees began a strategic refresh, strengthening the charity's governance and planning for its longerterm sustainability, including preparing for a further round of trustee recruitment in August 2025.
Public benefit statement
In setting the charity's objectives and planning its activities for the period, the trustees have had due regard to the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit, including the guidance "Public benefit: running a charity".
Page 6 of 13
Trustee’s Annual Report
Period: 26 April 2024 to 30 August 2025
Achievements and performance
The charity's main achievement in its first period was establishing itself as an active, neurodivergent-led voice within the legal profession, while delivering real benefit to its beneficiaries and to the wider profession.
It built a growing community of neurodivergent legal professionals and law students, founded on shared experience and mutual support, together with a base of volunteers to sustain its work.
The charity's advocacy produced a concrete result. After it submitted a response to the Bar Standards Board's Equality Rules consultation, prepared with Bringing Disability to the Bar, the BSB withdrew its proposed amendments in light of the responses it received, including the charity's. This gave the charity early evidence that it can influence regulatory decisions affecting neurodivergent people across the profession.
The 'Our Voice, Our Stories' campaign reached well beyond the charity's existing community. On LinkedIn it generated more than 7,000 impressions and 380 reactions, a substantial increase on the charity's usual engagement, and its blog posts drew 1,269 views from 1,069 unique visitors, with reading times that pointed to genuine engagement. As far as the charity is aware, a content series of this kind, built on the lived experiences of neurodivergent lawyers, was a first in the profession. Contributors' chambers shared the content, organisations including IP Inclusive amplified the stories, and individual readers described feeling "seen", with one saying the campaign gave them confidence that "the Bar really can be a place for them". The content continued to attract engagement in the months that followed.
The difference the charity made to its beneficiaries was practical and personal. Neurodivergent lawyers and students reported feeling less isolated, gained guidance through resources such as the disclosure leaflet, and were
Page 7 of 13
Trustee’s Annual Report
Period: 26 April 2024 to 30 August 2025
encouraged to think through their own decisions about being open at work. More widely, the charity's work helped shift the conversation about who belongs in law, contributed to a regulatory outcome affecting neurodivergent people across the Bar, and drew engagement from chambers, firms and institutions such as Lincoln's Inn and Gray's Inn, which can carry neuroinclusion further than the charity could alone.
Page 8 of 13
Trustee’s Annual Report
Period: 26 April 2024 to 30 August 2025
Financial review
Financial position at the end of the period
The accounts for the period are prepared on a receipts and payments basis. A summary is set out below.
Summary of receipts and payments for the period 26 April 2024 to 30 August 2025
Cash brought forward at start of period £2,174.71 Income (receipts) £1,483.86 Expenditure (payments) (£2,075.04) Net movement in funds (£591.18) Funds carried forward on 30 August 2025 £1,583.53
Review of the financial position
During its first period the charity received income of £1,483.86, mainly from membership subscriptions and donations, together with a £50.00 refund. Expenditure totalled £2,075.04, the largest items being the charity's website (£485.77), trustee expenses (£478.97), the essay competition prize (£400.00), software (£317.23) and merchandise (£245.10). This produced a net deficit for the period of £591.18, which was met from the funds the charity held at the start of the period. The charity carried forward £1,583.53 on 30 August 2025.
Reserves policy
The trustees aim to maintain unrestricted reserves sufficient to meet the charities anticipated running costs and existing commitments. As the charity has no employees and a relatively low-cost base, the trustees consider that the
Page 9 of 13
Trustee’s Annual Report
Period: 26 April 2024 to 30 August 2025
current level of unrestricted funds is appropriate and will review the position annually.
Amount of reserves held
As of 30 August 2025, the charity held reserves of £1,583.53, all of which are unrestricted funds available for its general purposes.
Funds materially in deficit
No fund was in deficit on 30 August 2025. The charity recorded a deficit for the period, drawing on the funds brought forward, but its overall funds remained positive.
Going concern
The trustees consider the charity to be a going concern. It holds positive unrestricted reserves, has a low and largely discretionary cost base, and receives recurring income from membership subscriptions. The trustees are aware that expenditure exceeded income in this first period and will monitor income and spending to keep the charity's finances sustainable. The trustees are not aware of any material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue.
Page 10 of 13
Trustee’s Annual Report
Period: 26 April 2024 to 30 August 2025
Declarations
Neurodiversity in Law has taken advantage of the small companies’ exemption in preparing the report above.
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees/directors:
SIGN Signature Full name MS EMILY MAE CHRISTIE Position Chair Date 28 June 2026
Page 11 of 13
Trustee’s Annual Report
Period: 26 April 2024 to 30 August 2025
Appendix 1: Accounts for the period 26 April 2024 to 30 August 2025
These are the charity's first accounts and are prepared on a receipts and payments basis. There are no comparative figures, as this is the charity's first period of operation.
Receipts and payments account
| Receipts | £ |
|---|---|
| Income (memberships) | 941.41 |
| Donations | 492.50 |
| Refund received | 50.00 |
| Total receipts | 1483.86 |
| Payments | £ |
|---|---|
| Website | 485.77 |
| Trustee expenses | 478.97 |
| Essay competition prize | 400.00 |
| Software | 317.23 |
| Promotional materials | 245.10 |
| Insurance | 96.00 |
| Print and PR | 33.48 |
| Phone | 10.00 |
| Bank fees | 8.49 |
| Total payments | 2075.04 |
Page 12 of 13
Trustee’s Annual Report
Period: 26 April 2024 to 30 August 2025
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Net movement in funds for the period | (591.18) |
| Cash at the start of the period | 2174.71 |
| Cash at the end of the period | 1,583.53 |
Statement of assets and liabilities on 30 August 2025
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Cash at bank and in hand | 1583.53 |
| Total funds | 1583.53 |
The charity held no other assets and had no outstanding liabilities at the end of the period.
Page 13 of 13