Duncan Lewis Solicitors — Wales

About

- Duncan Lewis Solicitors > E&W – Harrow on the Hill - Duncan Lewis Solicitors > E&W – Harrow on the Hill Duncan Lewis Solicitors is an acclaimed law firm headquartered in the City of London and proudly holds the distinction of being the largest provider of publicly funded (legal aid) legal services in the country, with offices spanning England and Wales. Founded in 1998, the firm has experienced rapid growth and currently employs over 500 dedicated professionals. We offer our legal expertise to both corporate entities and private individuals across 25 areas of law, including representing some of the most vulnerable and marginalised segments of society. Duncan Lewis also proudly holds a place among the Top 200 legal firms in the country, as recognised by The Times newspaper. Our team is firmly committed to delivering the highest quality legal counsel and client care to ensure access to justice for all. We frequently take on high-profile cases, many of which establish legal precedents, contributing to fairer judgments in the future. Duncan Lewis places great importance on staff training and development, and we are proud to hold the prestigious Investors in People Gold accreditation. We are also signatories to the Pro Bono Charter. Our motto, 'giving people a voice,' extends beyond our clients to permeate our entire firm through our dedication to equality, diversity, and inclusion. We firmly believe in providing equal opportunities, regardless of an individual's background or protected characteristics. We embrace the diversity of our staff, striving to ensure that our personnel reflect the rich diversity of the communities we serve. The dedication and excellence of our team have earned us widespread recognition through prestigious awards, including Law Firm of the Year at the LexisNexis Awards, Family Team of the Year at the Family Law Awards, Pro Bono Team of the Year at the LexisNexis Awards, and the Diversity Award at the Modern Claims Awards. ### Our fields include Immigration, Public Law, Civil Liberties, and Human Rights: Duncan Lewis' public law department stands as one of the UK's foremost in this field. Its willingness to take on some of the country's most prominent and intricate cases has earned the department a formidable reputation for challenging government policies perceived as wrongful. The team handles both publicly and privately funded matters, providing representation in immigration and asylum, education, mental health, environment and planning cases. The department boasts a niche expertise in immigration claimant judicial review cases and costs litigation, as well as unlawful immigration detention cases involving high-net claims for damages. Their scope also covers immigration removal cases, prison law claims, and the provision of social welfare services. ### Court of Protection Duncan Lewis' dedicated team provides comprehensive support for deputyship applications, powers of attorney, and issues related to the health, welfare and finances of individuals lacking capacity. We also handle domestic and international disputes concerning powers of attorney and deputyship applications. ### Business and private immigration As one of the UK's leading immigration firms, Duncan Lewis offers expertise in various business and private immigration matters. Our services cover right-to-work checks, visa applications and appeals, student and graduate visas, spousal visas, and visa overstays. We provide full support to SME business clients, including guidance on the Points-Based System (PBS), sponsorship licence applications, and immigration strategy and compliance. ### Family, matrimonial, and childcare One of the largest and most respected family and childcare departments in the country, our team comprises solicitors with Law Society accreditations in Children Law and Family Law. Notably, they have a niche practice representing domestic abuse victims and handling complex divorce and financial matrimonial matters arising from relationship breakdowns, and are respected for their client sensitivity and dedication to supporting charitable causes. ### Children/public law matters Our team represents parents, guardians, family members, and children through guardians in children public law proceedings. We handle cases on behalf of the official solicitor and are frequently appointed to represent vulnerable clients in various complex matters, including those involving mental health issues, severe non-accidental injuries, abuse, substance misuse, neglect, factitious illness, and rare conditions. Our team is often chosen by guardians to represent children in culturally complex care cases and are widely respected for the dedication to client care and sensitivity. ### Children/cross-border disputes Duncan Lewis is at the forefront of handling high-profile international child abduction cases and engaging in wardship proceedings for the return of children taken out of the jurisdiction. We are among the select few firms on the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit (ICACU) referral list. ### Housing Our highly regarded housing department serves both landlords and tenants, and boasts niche expertise in the full range of possession, disrepair, and unlawful eviction cases. We have a significant presence in county court possession duty schemes across London, specialising in defending social tenants facing possession and unlawful eviction cases. We offer representation in all proceedings, including reviews, appeals, and judicial reviews related to homelessness, tenant succession, and neighbourhood disputes with local authorities. ### Criminal defence Our criminal law department has a notable practice defending clients in complex criminal cases, particularly those involving gangs and drug importation. Our team also excels in representing clients with significant mental health issues in insanity defence cases. Additionally, we have established practices in motoring law, prison law, and actions against public authorities, with expertise in appealing convictions and sentences. ### Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Duncan Lewis possesses recognised expertise in advising corporate clients on litigation matters and providing legal counsel to individuals considering litigation. Our litigation and dispute resolution team delivers clear and concise legal guidance for resolving commercial disputes, whether for UK-based or international businesses. - Personal injury & Clinical Negligence Duncan Lewis' personal injury practice has a wealth of experience representing clients injured in various accidents, including workplace incidents, road traffic accidents, accidents abroad, and children's accidents. Regularly achieving positive results and winning substantial client compensation, we also focus on claims for fatal injuries. Our specialist areas encompass claims against local authorities for public space slips and trips, occupiers' liability, and asbestos-related illnesses. Our expert clinical negligence team handles a wide range of claims, including accident and emergency failures, GP negligence, misdiagnosis, wrongful death, and cases involving severe brain, spinal, or neurological injuries resulting from medical care failings. ### More areas of law Actions against Public Authorities, Commercial & Company, Child Care, Civil Liberties & Human Rights, Civil Litigation, Clinical Negligence, Court of Protection, Crime, Cross-Border Disputes, Debt Recovery, Education Law, Employment, Family, High Net-Worth Divorce, Housing, Immigration, Personal Injury and Public Law and Wills & Probate, and Professional Negligence. ### Languages - Punjabi - Urdu - French - Norwegian - Turkish - Bulgarian - Farsi - Twi (Ghanaian) - Swedish - Gujarati - Albanian - Italian - Dutch - Croatian - Spanish - Bosnian - Macedonian - Greek - Welsh - Czech - Slovak - Arabic - Hungarian - Afrikaans - Cantonese - Romanian - Malay - Swahili - Tamil - Marathi - Filipino - Portugese - Amharic - Bengali - Hindi - Creole - Dari - Pashtu - Kurdish - Shona - Somali - Telugu - Yoruba - Bangla - Polish - German - Russian - Lithuanian ### Memberships - Law Society of England and Wales - Resolution - CILEx - Association of Lawyers for Children - ELA (Employment Lawyers Association) - Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) - Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) ### Staffing Figures - 60 Number of UK directors - 500 Number of other UK fee-earners (including consultants)

Office locations

Practice areas

Lawyers in this office

Vanessa Delgado

Immigration consultant solicitor Vanessa has over 13 years of experience in immigration and asylum law. She is highly experienced in dealing with all aspects of immigration, nationality, asylum, and human rights law. She conducts advocacy in both the First-tier and Upper Tribunal of the Immigration Asylum Chamber and is regularly instructed in Court of Appeal matters. Vanessa has had successful conduct of complex cases involving; asylum matters, EEA regulations, victims of trafficking and cases under the Points Based System. She frequently identifies arguments in cases that have been deemed to be without merit by other legal representatives, going on to achieve successful outcomes for clients. Furthermore, she has succeeded in seeking permission to appeal First-tier Tribunal decisions to the Upper Tribunal and represents clients at error of law hearings. She had key involvement in a reported case on the risks on return for Iranian asylum seekers who had been critical of the regime through social media activities, as well as in a trafficking case which led to a change in policy regarding the amount of leave given to those who were granted residence permits. · Immigration

Vinita Templeton

Vinita is a director of immigration and public law at Duncan Lewis Solicitors. She specialises in a wide range of complex asylum, immigration and human rights matters, including cases involving vulnerable individuals such as victims of torture and human trafficking. She has a broad practice in immigration judicial review claimant matters, frequently achieving success for clients in challenging cases where appeal rights had previously exhausted. She also has an excellent track record of turning around cases that had been deemed without merit. Vinita also litigates in unlawful immigration detention cases and removals to European countries under the Dublin Regulations. She has significant experience leading immigration appeal cases before the Upper Tribunal of the Immigration Asylum Chamber and the Higher Courts. Additionally, she works closely with charity organisations in South Wales committed to helping asylum seekers. · Immigration