Bar Council appoints Mark Henderson as new Chair of its Disability Panel

Doughty Street Chambers is delighted to announce that the Bar Council has appointed Mark Henderson as the new Chair of the Bar Council Disability Panel. 

The Disability Panel is responsible for the Bar Council’s disability work and seeks to have a wide-reaching impact on combatting disability discrimination in the profession and in courts and tribunals. The Panel’s work involves promoting disability rights and access throughout the Bar, the Inns of Court and justice system, and developing guidance for practitioners on reasonable adjustments and legislative and regulatory disability obligations. The Panel also supports disability bar-based networks and offers guidance to barristers and law students on disability issues. 

In addition to leading the Disability Panel, Mark has also accepted an invitation to join the Bar Council’s Equality, Diversity and Social Mobility Committee. 

Mark said: “It is an honour to become Chair of the Disability Panel, particularly following the inspiring leadership of my predecessor Faisel Sadiq. I have seen as a member both how much the Panel has achieved and how much there still is to do to promote disability rights across the Bar and the court system. I look forward to working with the highly committed Bar Council secretariat and fellow Panel members as we continue to embed disability-related issues into the Bar Council’s work and support the increasing number of disabled barristers and students asserting their rights.”

Mark has chaired Doughty Street’s Disability Working Group since 2021. In addition to being a member of the Disability Panel, he was a member of the Bar Standards Board’s Disability Task Force until January 2024, from which he stepped down upon becoming Bar Council Disability Panel Chair.