Profile / Experience
I am the Practice Director at Duncan Lewis and I have been a member of the Duncan Lewis’ Management Board of Directors since 2011. I am responsible for the day-to-day running of the legal practice with a primary focus on maintaining quality mark standards, legal, regulatory and data protection compliance, risk management, performance, change management and process implementation, marketing and brand management.
I provide training, development and support to our legal directors across all offices UK-wide to ensure that the company’s strategic objectives are met and that the quality of services being offered by our respective legal departments is second to none. I also, on behalf of the company, provide development support to external stakeholders on various aspects of legal business management & quality standards compliance through leading pilot management schemes and undertaking media work, seminars and presentations. In terms of media, most prominently, I appeared as an expert commentator on BBC Panorama: DIY Justice, a 2015 BBC documentary exploring the impact of legal aid cuts on society and the legal profession. Committed to the equality of access, I am a member of the National Mentoring Scheme Consortium and regularly mentor through a number of bodies, including with the Ethnic Minority Legal Undergraduate Scheme.
My legal specialism over the years has very much been advocacy and litigation. I am a qualified Solicitor Advocate in both civil and criminal higher court proceedings, with over 10 years’ post qualification experience in a career which was committed to helping the most vulnerable. Prior to my current role, I was a Director (Partner-Level) of the firm’s Immigration & Public Law Department (2008-2011) and since joining Duncan Lewis in 2001, have practiced as a legal aid and advocate specialist, representing individuals in a broad range of immigration, EU, judicial review, civil liberties, human rights and criminal defence litigation matters. I continue to be accredited with the Law Society Immigration & Asylum Accreditation Scheme and have previously been recommended for my work by the independent legal directory, The Legal 500.