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“If sharing my experiences and what I’ve achieved can help inspire people, then I think it’s important for me to do”: Mark’s story
I was diagnosed with CF by the time I was about 15 months. Being born in the early 70s with CF was very different to being born with it today. Back then it was a fairly grim prognosis. But I was lucky in a number of ways. My parents worked phenomenally hard to look after me. They talked very openly about the condition; I think to make sure I took it seriously. And as a child and young adult, I was reasonably healthy. I had various complications, but to give you an idea, I didn’t need to have IV antibiotics until I was 23. That’s quite late in the day, for someone born with CF in the 70s.
But CF became a much more demanding issue for me when I started work in the legal profession, and I had to combine the demands of looking after myself on a day-to-day basis with a very high-pressured job. It all started to unravel, my health deteriorated and I started to need to be hospitalized every few months. Fortunately, I had a very understanding employer, Browne Jacobson, who enabled me to be flexible and take time out when I did need to get myself well again.
“We just want to be treated fairly”
I think on the whole, in recent times, employers have unquestionably become more understanding of conditions like CF. I’ve been very fortunate in my law firm, having been managed by some very supportive, empathetic people, who wanted me to do the best I possibly could and who treated me as normally as they possibly could. I think I have that in common with many others with CF – we don’t want to be treated differently, we just want to be treated fairly, and given the opportunity to look after ourselves and get ourselves well when we’re not having such a good period of health.
I think we’re in a position today where fewer people need to rely so much on being fortunate enough to have supportive, sensible line management, or relying on individuals doing the right thing. More employers are committed to and well informed about diversity and inclusion. There are plenty of employers out there that aren’t so enlightened, and we can’t assume that everybody is doing what they should, but we’re certainly generally in a better place than we were when I first entered the world of work.
“It’s an enormous privilege to support education clients”
I became an education lawyer back in 1996. Back then it was a very niche area of law and there were only a handful of people doing it around the country. I’m a schools and academies lawyer, so we advise schools on a very diverse range of legal issues. My role today is to head up the firm’s national education team, so I do a bit less of the legal advice now. The clients are what I think make it an incredibly interesting area to work in. I get to make a contribution by supporting education clients, many of whom are incredibly passionate, committed individuals trying to do their very best to improve and support positive outcomes for children and young people. It’s an enormous privilege to have the opportunity to do that.
I’ve never been someone who could engage myself in something that I don’t feel really makes a positive difference. It’s just the way I’m built. I wonder if having CF has influenced that mindset, and why I’ve chosen to work with the education sector, where people are so passionate about what they do.
“I’ve felt a developing a sense of responsibility”
My wife nominated me for this year’s Disability Power 100 list and my firm, Browne Jacobson, made the nomination for The Lawyer Hot 100. My wife has been a fantastic ally. I tend to have a habit of not stopping and thinking about what I’ve achieved, always moving on and driving myself forward to the next thing. I think the experience of living with CF is a big influence here. Time has felt quite short during a lot of my life. My wife has sometimes encouraged me to stop and look around and enjoy the journey and its milestones a bit more, for which I am grateful.
My firm has also been a huge supporter of my ambitions over many years and another key ally I have benefited from is my long-standing CF consultant, Dr Jane Dewar. She, along with many other brilliant members of the CF team, has not only provided wonderful medical care to me for over 20 years but she has also been a big source of encouragement to me during good and bad times alike. I remember that when I was starting out in the legal profession, I felt quite dispirited by the lack of role models with disabilities or long-term conditions. They will definitely have existed, but they weren’t very visible. I found that very challenging.
It’s not necessarily something I’m completely comfortable with yet, but more recently, as I have been fortunate enough to become quite a senior and high-profile lawyer, I have felt a developing sense of responsibility to not necessarily stay in my comfort zone but to share my experiences to stand up and be counted in some way.
If I can even in a small way be a role model to people who are at an earlier stage in their life or career, then that feels like the responsible thing to do. If they’re asking themselves if they can achieve what they want to achieve or having difficult conversations, then it can be useful to have role models and external reference points. What I’ve achieved – in no way single-handedly, but with a lot of good luck and much support – if that can help motivate and inspire people even a little bit, then I now think it’s important for me to try and do that.
“It’s been a catalyst for conversations to happen”
I think the other benefit of my being included in the Disability Power 100 and The Lawyer Hot 100 and in doing so my being open about my having CF is that it’s started conversations about CF. I've had some interesting recent conversations with people who have been very open and transparent with me about their understanding of the condition or lack of understanding of the condition. It's been a catalyst for conversations like that to happen, which wouldn't have happened otherwise, because CF is largely an invisible condition.
I think if I had one piece of advice for a young person with CF today, it would be to focus on what you want – not just professionally, but in your whole life. What are your ambitions? What are your priorities? What motivates you? And what do you want to leave, I suppose, by way of a legacy? And then be absolutely focused on achieving that. Go into that journey knowing that there will be times when it's easier and times when it's more difficult, so look after yourself medically, be careful to pace yourself and let your allies support you, because they’ll also want you to ultimately become the best possible version of yourself that you can be.
“I’ve been able to lead a very fulfilling life – and I still have much more to give”
When I stand back at this juncture and look at the big picture, while there have certainly been periods that have been very challenging, I’m fortunate to be able to reflect on having had quite long periods of time overall during which I’ve been able to lead a very fulfilling and enjoyable life, both personally and professionally. I have a wonderful family and my twin daughters are grown up and now at university. And going forward, I feel that I’ve still got much more to give in my career – and hopefully I can also continue to be a positive role model and make a contribution to the success of others.
Mark Blois is National Head of Education at Browne Jacobson. He has been included in the 2021 Disability Power 100, the 2023 Disability Power 100, which recognises successful and influential disabled role models, and the 2022 Lawyer Hot 100, which identifies “excellent and relevant” legal professionals who have played a critical role in shaping the legal profession over the past 12 months. In 2025, he was named as global role model for disability in the workplace in the 2025 Enable Role Model List.
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic condition which causes sticky mucus to build up in the lungs and digestive system. It affects more than 10,800 people in the UK. One in 25 of us carries the faulty gene that causes it, usually without knowing.
If you’re struggling with any aspect of CF, we’re here to help. Contact our Helpline for support, a listening ear or just someone to talk to.
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