Jessikah Inaba has smashed through a “triple-glazed glass ceiling” to become Britain’s first blind and Black barrister.
She completed her tough five-year course using Braille to read legal texts and at one point ended up in hospital after working herself to breaking point to achieve her dream.
She also faced racist attitudes when prison officials repeatedly assumed she was a visiting relative rather than a lawyer come to interview a client.
Jessikah, known as Jess, qualified on October 13 during Black History Month and has now joined the Bar.
She told the Sunday Mirror: “It’s been crazy. I still can’t really believe I’ve done it. It was hard and I often thought of giving up, but my supportive family gave me courage and strength.
“I know I’m giving hope to others in similar situations to mine. There’s a triple-glazed glass ceiling.”
Jess, 23, is completely blind due to the eye condition bilateral microphthalmia, which results in babies being born with smaller than usual eyes.
She started an accelerated law degree at the University of Law in, Bloomsbury, London, in September 2017, followed by a Master’s alongside a professional training course.
During her studies she read Braille, from a special computer screen or from specially printed books.
But Jess says it took seven months for her university to obtain one of her two key study texts for her computer, five months for the other, and her Braille screen missed huge chunks of tables or picture material. A printed Braille version would have been 10ft tall, so totally impractical.
At times she resorted to making her own Braille materials from lecture notes and relied on friends reading books to her, along with one-to-one tuition at the university.
She recalls getting by on around three hours sleep a night for two years and eating at her desk.
After repeatedly fainting she spent a night at Lewisham Hospital in October 2019 and was diagnosed with anaemia. She said: “My blood count was really low and they had to give me an emergency iron infusion.”
Jess, from Camden, north London, also faced extra hurdles due to her race. She explained: “I would arrive to interview a detainee and I’d always get told it isn’t ‘visiting hours’ because they assumed I was a relative. I always had to explain that I was the lawyer.
“Before I can see a client I have to prove I’m a lawyer and justify my need for my specialist equipment.”
Jess said that she is “very proud” to have qualified this month but wishes the journey had gone smoothly. “I feel because of disabled access problems my results aren’t a true reflection of my ability,” she said.
The Bar Standards Board’s Report on Diversity at the Bar, published in January, says that just 14.7% of working barristers are from minority ethnic backgrounds. With so few Black barristers, Jess says little thought has been given to how hard it is to pop a wig over her hair. So she has to have it plaited.
In court she uses a tiny electronic machine with a Braille keyboard which leaves her free to listen as she reads and edits using just her hands.
Jess, who plans to apply for a pupillage – a step on the way to practising independently –admits: “I have to accept I might never be competing on a level playing field. That’s hard.”
Jess’s “commitment and tenacity” has won praise from Mrs Justice McGowan DBE, treasurer of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, who wished her success and added: “Being called to the Bar is a remarkable achievement; being called to the Bar as a blind person is truly remarkable.”
Sam Mercer, head of diversity and inclusion at the Bar Council, said: “Role models like Jessikah within the profession have an important part to play in helping us to break down barriers to the Bar and encourage a more diverse profession.”
The University of Law said Jess is its first Black and blind student to study there.
A spokesman said there had been “challenges” sourcing materials in Braille” but it had provided them eventually along with additional support for Jess.
They added: “We are extremely proud of Jess’s achievements and we know she will be an inspiration to all students.”
