A law firm is pairing up with the East Lancashire Deaf Society to train staff.

Zenith Lawyers has launched a campaign to make their services more accessible for the deaf community.

The firm says it is working towards making legal services more accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing community.

Managing Partner Zairab Zabier said: “We as a firm have initially taken the steps of learning basic sign language through the frontline British Sign Language Course (BSL).”

“The staff have really taken to the idea of learning basic sign language and have thoroughly enjoyed the course.

“We have also learnt so much about the deaf community”.

With 10 million people suffering from some sort of hearing problem in the UK, Zairab says the need for such a service was imperative.

BSL was recognised by the Government as a language in its own right in March 2003.

BSL is the first or preferred language of an estimated 70,000 deaf people in the UK.

It is a visual-gestural language, with its own grammar and principles, which are completely different from the grammatical structure of English.

A report in 2009 by the Equality and Human Rights Commission found that the advice system of CABs, union sources and private firms of solicitors “are often still inaccessible to profoundly deaf customers” though the Disability Discrimination Act has been on the statute books since 1995.

Now the Equality Act 2010 requires service providers to make adjustments to ensure that a disabled person can use a service as close as it is reasonably possible to the standard usually offered to non-disabled people.

In preparation Zairab explained that the firm is currently enhancing its technology so that it can improve its communications and services.

The firms will be rolling out webcam facilities, txt relay, MSN Skpe, twitter as well as providing on site interpreters.

“It is all about making sure we can provide a service to the wider community that is both efficient and meets their needs.

“It is wonderful that our staff have picked up these valuable set of skills.”