Protégé: Navigating neurodivergence and supporting emerging lawyers

Annabel Biscotto — both on a personal level and as president of the Australian Law Students’ Association — is on a mission to let the legal profession know that neurodiversity, and disability more broadly, is “nothing to be ashamed of”. It’s a conversation, she says, the profession needs to be engaging in more. On this episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Annabel Biscotto, a third-year law student at Curtin University and president of ALSA, about how and why she got involved in extra-curricular activities at law school, her diagnosis and experience with ADHD, why she sees it as being a significant ailment, and how she manages her condition and navigates it day-to-day. Ms Biscotto also reflects on the volume of neurodivergent persons in Australia, whether such conditions are the “new anxiety and depression” in the legal profession in terms of broader awareness, why advocating for better awareness and treatment of disability and neurodivergence is so important for Australian law students, the practical steps that employers can and should take (from a student perspective), and what she would say to profession leaders about these all-important issues if she had them all in a room. If you like this episode, show your support by rating us or leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (The Lawyers Weekly Show) and by following Lawyers Weekly on social media: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you have any questions about what you heard today, any topics of interest you have in mind, or if you'd like to lend your voice to the show, email editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!