My cousin committed suicide, aged 35. He took an overdose and left two children and a wife, but no note. My uncle’s theory was that he killed himself because he was going deaf. ‘Deafness isolates you,’ said my uncle, who himself wore a hearing aid. ‘It’s easy to become lonely and depressed.’

I mention this autobiographical detail because it may have helped give me some small insight into the RAD (formerly Royal Association for Deaf People) team I met last Wednesday evening.

They were launching, at the Law Society, the RAD Deaf Law Centre. And their constant theme was inclusion: making the law work for deaf people, ensuring justice and equal access, building relationships, empathy.

Why do deaf people need their own law centre? Because, according to RAD, discrimination claims brought by deaf people in the second quarter of 2012 climbed 37.5%. RAD spokesman Jeff Brattan-Wilson told me: ‘Society has changed, with the recession disproportionately affecting deaf people who cannot always find deaf-friendly advisers to help them. British Sign Language (BSL), not English, is the first language for most deaf people, but law firms rarely know where to find interpreters.’

Brattan-Wilson added that many deaf clients feel they have to ‘win a battle with their own advisers’ before they can succeed in a legal action, blaming firms’ ‘lack of preparation and consideration’ and failure to take into account their special needs.

The RAD Deaf Law Centre, headed up by deaf solicitor Rob Wilks, plans to change all this. It will litigate on behalf of individuals and take on test cases. It is going to educate deaf people about their legal rights, as well as educate legal professionals about deaf issues. It will advocate by way of lobbying, campaigning and signposting individuals to groups that provide services that the law centre cannot.

It is going to collaborate with the deaf community and regulate the Deaf Law Quality Mark (more of which later). And it will advise organisations that need advice about access for deaf people.

Rob Wilks said: ‘There is a pressing need for our services, but we have a strong team of two deaf solicitors, two deaf caseworkers and a deaf money adviser, all of whom can advise clients in BSL. And we can provide legal advice through webcam, text chat and face-to-face to deaf people right across England and Wales.’

The RAD team also launched two other initiatives on Wednesday evening. One was a report ‘Making the law work for young deaf people’, which examined the kinds of legal issues that young deaf or hard of hearing people face. It researched their awareness of their rights, and examined the impact of advice upon them and how services can ensure the best outcomes. It also proposed ways of moving forward.

The other initiative, which directly affects law firms, is the Deaf Law Quality Mark, a form of accreditation that says your firm is ‘deaf aware’ - that it gives quality advice to deaf clients, provides interpreters, is accessible and has a welcoming culture. The RAD team will provide training to interested firms, carry out an on-site assessment and award a quality mark for three years renewable.