Duncan Lewis is very pleased to announce the return of Director Vicash Ramkissoon following his time with KPMG. Vicash, a specialist in Privately Funded Clients & Business Immigration returns to the Company to co-lead the Business Immigration Department with Ayan Yalchin & Mandip Hayre.
James Packer’s Law Gazette Article challenges the Government to ensure Judicial Review proposals provide both an effective and lawful mechanism for individuals to challenge the decisions of public bodies
Solicitors, Kat Hacker & James Packer deliver Duncan Lewis’ first full judgement in European Court of Human Rights as it tackles the issue of Disabled Persons and Article 3 ECHR Expulsion to Afghanistan. Press Release available shortly.
We are delighted to announce that Duncan Lewis has successfully been awarded the Law Society’s Lexcel Accreditation Quality Mark for the 14th year running.
Duncan Lewis is pleased to announce its successful tender for CLA Telephone Legal Advice Services contracts.
In the latest Legal 500 edition announced on 20th September, Duncan Lewis’ Immigration Team received an impressive Tier 3 ranking in Immigration. Published for over 20 years, the Legal 500 Service provides the most comprehensive worldwide coverage available on legal services providers in over 100 countries.
In the latest Legal 500 edition announced on 20th September, Duncan Lewis is pleased to announce rankings received in the practices of Family/Child Care; Immigration & Public Law. Published for over 20 years, the Legal 500 Service provides the most comprehensive worldwide coverage available on legal services providers in over 100 countries.
Following its lead representation in the 2011 reported cases of Re D and Re S, Duncan Lewis’ Family and Child Care Law Department is ranked in Legal 500 2012 with Tooting based Director/Solicitor Advocate, Laila Bhunnoo singled out and recognised as ‘a key contact’ for the second year in a row.
Following its lead representation in the landmark case of Bahta & Ors v SSHD [2011] EWCA Civ 89, the Legal 500 2012 edition announced on 20th September ranks the Duncan Lewis’ Public Law Department and regards it to have a ‘significant Public Law practice’ lead by ‘good solicitors’.
To assist in driving the Company forward, the Management Board are pleased to announce the appointment of an additional 5 Directors to the Board.
Duncan Lewis is pleased to announce the opening of additional premises in the City of London, EC2 as of today. The office which is based at 21 Garden Walk, London, EC2A 3EQ is close to Old Street and Liverpool Street stations. Duncan Lewis will be housing its Public Law, Personal Injury, Private Client and Dispute Resolution team at the new city office.
Duncan Lewis is pleased to announce the employment of Julie Leslie, an experienced Assistant Solicitor in the Personal Injury Department. Julie qualified as a solicitor in 2004 and joined TV Edwards where she spent 8 years.
Well done to Aklema Begum, Angela Smith, Charanjit Dhami, Sarah Stimson, Lucinda Broad and Umar Kankiya for recently successfully achieving their Mental Health Panel Memberships; an illustration of the expertise and client diligence they each bring to this area of law.
We look forward to working with Adeeba Naseem, a highly experienced and able Family/Child Care Solicitor with Children Panel Membership, who will be joining us at Duncan Lewis from 1st August 2012 in our Harrow branch.
Many congratulations to Kohitoor Alam for recently achieving her Family Panel Membership; an illustration of the expertise and client diligence they each bring to this area of law.
The firm has made arrangements for an In House session to be delivered at the Harrow Branch on Saturday 22 September 2012
I was able to finally hand over the cheque of £1267 to the Helen Bamber Foundation – Duncan Lewis Charity donation.
The Board is very proud to announce the recent internal appointment of 5 new Directors. We congratulate Jenna McKinney, Ofonimeh Umoh, Shahida Ilahi and Veejay Sharma in their new positions as Directors and Heads of Department for Immigration and a huge well done to Anthony Okumah, as Director of our Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution Department. This is an excellent achievement and these appointments illustrate not only their hard work for Duncan Lewis over the years, but their dedication, loyalty and willingness to embrace responsibility. We sincerely look forward to working with them all in moving both the Immigration and Dispute Resolution Departments from strength to strength in the years to come.
Following excellent feedback from their clients and peers, Immigration Judicial Review Solicitor Nicola Burgess is to be recommended by Chambers UK as a ‘Leader in her Field’ in the forthcoming edition of Chambers UK 2013.
Duncan Lewis is pleased to announce that its Immigration Department has been ranked in the forthcoming edition of Chambers UK 2013, which will be published in October
Duncan Lewis is pleased to announce that it has received a firm ranking in the forthcoming edition of Chambers UK 2013, which will be published in October.
Duncan Lewis is very proud to be announcing that the following Trainee Solicitors will be offered positions as a Newly Qualified Solicitor at the end of their training contract with Duncan Lewis this summer.
Duncan Lewis, through its Charity Committee, donates £1000 per a month to its ‘charity of the month’.
Olu Ayodeji, Solicitor and Mental Health Accreditation Panel Member joins Duncan Lewis at our Lewisham branch practicing in Housing Law, all Social Welfare Law and Mental Health Law.
We are very pleased to have Karen Hyman on board in our Housing Department based at our Harrow branch, a leading Housing Law Solicitor with over 20 years PQE.
Our Employment Law based in Harrow welcomes the arrival of Private Client Solicitors, Grace Nugent and Reehan Chaudhry.
27th May 2012 was a scorching day when the Duncan Lewis ladies set off with the 8500 people taking part in the Kim Race for Life at Hyde Park.
A huge congratulation goes to Welfare Benefits Caseworkers Sarah Patel and Hina Patel, Housing Caseworker, Harbinder Singh and Ramandeep Dhillon from our Family Department in successfully obtaining a Training Contract with Duncan Lewis.
As a champion of Equality & Diversity, Duncan Lewis recognizes the importance and benefit of being able to offer Part-Time Contracts to our staff; ensuring equal opportunities.
We are very pleased to announce that Public Law Solicitor and Duncan Lewis LALY 2012 Nominee, Nicola Burgess has become Duncan Lewis’ New Chairperson for its Gold Standard Investors in People Employee Forum.
Duncan Lewis Race for Life Ladies’ team, co-ordinated by Tooting Child Care Solicitor Dounia Arstim gets ready for Race for Life at Hyde Park on 27th May 2012 for Cancer Research UK.
The London Legal Walk 2012 for the London Legal Support Trust is taking place on Monday, 21st May 2012 after work.
Duncan Lewis’ Immigration Department enjoys the expertise of over 90 Level 2 Senior Caseworkers.
Expanding its Public Law Department in North London, Duncan Lewis welcomes Raja.
Charanjit Dhami is a member of the Mental Health Tribunal Review Panel and returns to Duncan Lewis with a specialism in Mental Health Judicial Review matters.
Legal 500 Duncan Lewis is pleased to announce the opening of a new office from 1st May 2012, in Southall – UB1 2JL
Expanding its presence in private client work, Legal 500 Firm Duncan Lewis & Co is pleased to announce that it has acquired a new City of London office at 88 Wood Street EC2 from April 2012.
Duncan Lewis is proud to announce the launch of its first TV Commercial advertisement. Watch it now by clicking this link.
Duncan Lewis, successful Legal 500 Firm and largest civil legal aid provider in the UK has recently opened an office in Uxbridge as it continues its commitment to offer its high quality legal services to vulnerable members of society throughout Greater London and the South East.
The Helen Bamber Foundation was nominated by the Immigration department as the Duncan Lewis & Co Charity of the month for February 2012. The Charity Committee, first established in 2009 to celebrate Duncan Lewis becoming one of the first law firms to be awarded Gold Investors in People, enjoyed much fun and success liaising with staff and co-ordinating events to ensure an excellent donation of £1300 for such a worthy cause.
A number of Duncan Lewis fee earners volunteered to assist guests, at Crisis for Christmas 2011. The fee earners donated up to two days of Duncan Lewis’ time, over the festive period, to the “guests” at centres all over London.
Brian Naumann, Director at Legal 500 Firm Duncan Lewis specialising in Immigration Court of Appeal matters recently obtained his civil Higher Rights of Audience; an excellent achievement.
Duncan Lewis & Co welcomes Emine Mehmet and Kelly Rogers, both previously Directors at Pollecoff Solicitors, to its Family/Child Care & Housing Department respectively.
Since its first Lexcel accreditation in 1999, Duncan Lewis & Co continues to champion Lexcel having successfully passed its recent annual monitoring visit in November 2011.
Duncan Lewis’ successful Employment Department Private Client Team moves to Harrow-on-the-Hill. If you require advice and/or assistance then visit us our Employment Department on our website at www.duncanlewis.co.uk
Legal 500 Firm Duncan Lewis’ Practice Manager, Jason Bruce’s speech at the Law Society Immigration Conference 2011: A common approach for challenging times, was deemed a huge success, a highly encouraging speech on how Legal Aid firms can both survive the recent Civil Legal Aid cuts of 10%, and also prosper.
David Head and Louise Taft, senior Employment Solicitors with Duncan Lewis and leading members of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee, had given a talk on Redundancy back in May 2011 that was so popular Law Works asked them to come back and deliver another session and received excellent reviews.
Duncan Lewis has been listed in the 2011 Legal 500 in four categories. The firm was listed as a Legal 500 law firm for Family in the 2010 Legal 500 and have now managed to show their strengths by being listed in 3 other sections of the Legal 500.
With over 400 employees, Duncan Lewis expects some level of staff turnover. It is reassuring to know that Duncan Lewis are doing something right as we are proud to welcome back former Duncan Lewis employees back to the firm.
The Board of Director at Duncan Lewis has great pleasure in announcing the appointment a new Practice Manager
Duncan Lewis donated £1,000 to the chosen charity, Refugee Youth Project to assist them in the fantastic work that they do.
Duncan Lewis are pleased to announce and congratulate the following individuals for achieving their Level 2, Immigration Accreditation
Duncan Lewis Solicitors are proud to announce the appointment of an additional 23 trainee solicitors in its recent summer intake.
Duncan Lewis is pleased to announce the outcome of our most recent annual audit by the Job Centre Plus has resulted in the the firm being awarded the Disability Symbol accreditation for a further 12 months.
Duncan Lewis raise almost £2,000 for Cancer Research with a team of ladies running in the Race for Life at Hyde Park in rainy conditons.
Duncan Lewis had a team of over 20 riders for the second year running to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation. They beat last yeays fundraising effort and managed to raise over £4,000 for the chairty.
Duncan Lewis has opened a new office in Tooting Broadway on Monday 13th June 2011. Duncan Lewis has relocated from their office in Clapham Junction (which is due to be redeveloped) to Tooting to maintain the firms presence in the South West of London.
Kate Luscombe of Duncan Lewis has been shortlisted for the 2011 LALY Mental Health Lawyer of the Year award.
The walk was led by the Lord Chief Justice, the Master of the Rolls and the Attorney General. Duncan Lewis raised £750 for the London Legal Support Trust
The Laila Salehzehi Charitable Foundation (LSCF) was set up in 2008 by the family and friends of the late Laila Salehzehi. Duncan Lewis donated £750 to the LSCF.
Mediation is now at the forefront of family law in England and Wales. In February 2011, Justice Minister Jonathan Djanogly announced that before making an application to court couples must first attend a meeting with a mediator to learn about mediation.
Duncan Lewis has an extensive team of immigration workers, consisting of immigration solicitors and specialists to provide help in a variety of different languages.Duncan Lewis congratulates members of the immigration team for their efforts and hard work to achieve their Level 2 IAAS accreditation.
Duncan Lewis holds dress down days regularly to raise money for charity. This month Duncan Lewis Charity Committee chose to raise money for the victims of the Japan Earthquake.
Duncan Lewis were today granted permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal against decisions refusing to award costs to the Claimants in the High Court in a test case.
Duncan Lewis Bake off raises over £200 and a further £1,000 was donated by Duncan Lewis' charity committee.
A patient in Broadmoor Hospital who has spent more than two decades alongside some of Britain's most dangerous criminals has won the right to have a review into his detention heard in public.
The Shaw Trust is an organisation that helps those who are at a social disadvantage to obtain full time employment. Duncan Lewis supported this charity by making a donation of £1,000.
Rhea Edes has just attained her Mental Health Panel Membership. Rhea undertook her training contract at Duncan Lewis and qualified as a solicitor in May 2008.
Duncan Lewis held their annual office party at the Queens Tower Room at Imperial College London. The firm hosted the event for 300 guests who enjoyed a champagne filled reception and a three course sit down dinner and dance.
Duncan Lewis’s application to the European Court of Human Rights for an injunction preventing the removal of our client ‘VG’ to Jamaica has today been granted.
Duncan Lewis has maintained a constant commitment to support career progression within the firm, assisting with the formal training of new legal professionals within the legal aid world environment. This is under pinned by Gold IIP, Lexcel accreditation and a number of legal aid franchises.
Duncan Lewis is committed to providing training and has shown in the past that there are career progression opportunities at the firm. Sonia Lenegan recently completed her training contract at Duncan Lewis and has since been offered a solicitor role in the Public Law team at Duncan Lewis' Shepherds Bush branch.
Duncan Lewis offered a select number of Indian solicitors to participate in their Dual Qualifying scheme. The Dual Qualifier program is the first program of its kind and is aimed at Indian Solicitors who want to gain experience with a reputed London firm and go on to qualify as a solicitor in the UK.
Duncan Lewis has had a successful annual monitoring visit from Lexcel. The annual visit checks the firm’s compliance on many levels including; structure and policies, financial management, people management, supervision and risk management, client care and file and case management.
Duncan Lewis is happy announce that Crime Solicitor Andre Crump and Duncan Roberts, both based at Duncan Lewis Hackney Branch have recently become Crime Duty Solicitors.
Ms Pengayo was studying with Leave in the United Kingdom. She enrolled upon a course at an approved college in accordance with Home Office Guidelines. Later however the college was removed from the register because it had been found to be issuing some bogus qualifications.
On November 1st 2010, Duncan Lewis had a training contract monitoring visit from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). The visit proved very positive – Duncan Lewis was complimented on the current arrangements. It was noted that there was no forthcoming suggestion on how these could be improved.
Duncan Lewis has been awarded contracts for onsite surgery rotas and in immigration services for fast track scheme rotas at many immigration removal centres. Duncan Lewis has one of the largest immigration departments in the UK.
Adam Makepeace, Practice Director at Duncan Lewis comments on Catherine Baksi's blog "Where will the legal aid lawyers of the future come from?"
Duncan Lewis’ Mental Health department have achieved a peer review rating of 2. This result is exemplary of Duncan Lewis Mental Health department as many of our solicitors are accredited as Mental Health panel members.
Duncan Lewis Director Jitender Birah presented a cheque for £800 to the Director of Asian Women’s Resource Centre on behalf of Duncan Lewis. The Asian Women's Resouce Centre were extremely pleased to received this amount particularly given they had recently been told their funding was being cut from the government and they were desperately trying to raise funds to continue this vital service.
Duncan Lewis is pleased to announce the appointment of Ian Powell to join us as the Crime Practice Manager at Duncan Lewis from 4 January 2011.
As Britain's biggest provider of legal aid services, Duncan Lewis is shocked at today’s announced cuts in the legal aid budget which fared worse than many other departments. Despite the fact that over 2 million vulnerable people depend on legal aid for access to justice, the Minister of Justice Kenneth Clark MP has clearly been unable able to put their case sufficiently strongly during the comprehensive public spending review.
Over a year has passed since Duncan Lewis Charity Committee has been set up and over £20,000 in total has been raised for various charities as nominated by employees of Duncan Lewis.
Duncan Lewis has recently recruited 14 Mental Health consultant freelance solicitors to make their Mental Health freelance team reach 18.
Duncan Lewis is committed to providing training and has shown in the past that there are career progression opportunities at the firm. Mandeep Sahota did her training contract at Duncan Lewis and has just been offered a permanent role in the Housing team in Hackney, where she will be supervised by Housing Partner S K Sivapunniyam.
Duncan Lewis is happy to welcome six crime freelance consultants to Duncan Lewis who have all joined us from AP Law.
Duncan Lewis are pleased to announce that their Child Care and Family team in Shepherds Bush has expanded.
Now thousands more stand to benefit as Duncan Lewis are acting in a test case that will establish the basis upon which damages should be awarded to those wrongfully excluded from the employment market, which will be heard on 26th October.
Whilst the High Court has found in favour of the Law Society, the decision only adds to the general climate of uncertainty in the legal aid system. Duncan Lewis believes the system needs the government to safeguard its future, not court cases.
Duncan Lewis has an extensive team of immigration workers, consisting of immigration solicitors and specialists to provide help in a variety of different languages. All of our immigration team; solicitors, trainee solicitors and caseworkers will have completed their Law Society’s Immigration & Asylum Accreditation Scheme (IAAS), which is mandatory to perform immigration related work for legal aid clients.
Duncan Lewis is proud to announce the growth of their immigration department with the addition of six more level 2 immigration accredited solicitors.
Every law firm gets reviewed regularly to make sure that they are maintaining a set standard. Duncan Lewis’ Family department were peer reviewed in September 2010. Outcome of the audit was level 2 competency plus.
Duncan Lewis has been nominated for excellence in equality and diversity. Duncan Lewis represents the society around us by including a variety of characteristics, which contribute to make each of us unique. Two thirds of our workforce defines themselves as other than white, we speak 41 different languages and six
On Friday 10th September Duncan Lewis took part in a dress down day to raise money for the children’s appeal with Unicef after the Pakistan flood.
Duncan Lewis held a dress down day on Friday 10th September to raise money for the children’s appeal with Unicef after the Pakistan flood. Almost £600 was raised for the children’s appeal.
‘ZO’ was a lone, vulnerable, young single female who had suffered truly terrible treatment in her home country of Somalia. Refused asylum on an initial application, she submitted a second claim based on previously unavailable evidence. This claim, once considered, was highly likely to result in a grant of leave to remain in the UK.
An estimated 45,000 will be entitled to work in the UK as a result of the Supreme Court ruling in “ZO” – in a case brought by Duncan Lewis solicitors.Delays in the time it takes for the UK Border Agency (UKBA) to process asylum claims causes hardship to thousands. These hardships were exacerbated by the inability to find lawful work during the time spent waiting for a decision.
Duncan Lewis Charity and Social Committee joined forces to hold the first Duncan Lewis sports day/picnic. Overall over £500 was raised for Young Minds.
Duncan Lewis’ Immigration Department is set to expand across all six of their offices. More than 120 immigration solicitors, trainees and caseworkers make up the current Duncan Lewis immigration team to cover three of their offices; Hackney, Harrow and Shepherds Bush.
Duncan Lewis opens surgery doors on SaturdaysThe UK's leading Legal Aid practice Duncan Lewis has extended its Drop-in Service and is now opening its doors of their Hackney branch to the public on Saturdays.
Duncan Lewis’ ever growing Crime department is set to expand further. The Legal Services Commission (LSC) has awarded a Crime contract for their office in Shepherd Bush.
Duncan Lewis’ Family Department is set to expand the provision of its service further, having been awarded a Family Mediation contract, due to start in October 2010.
Duncan Lewis Ladies run 5 Km for the Race for life in Richmond Park. They raised almost £1,000 for Cancer Research.
Duncan Lewis sympathises with the unfortunate circumstances in which the RMJ have found themselves
Duncan Lewis sent out a team of 23 to cycle 54 miles from London to Brighton on June 20th 2010. The race started at Clapham Common and the team were full of energy and raring to go. The team included Duncan Lewis’ CEO, Shany Gupta, and Practice director Adam Makepeace.
If you’ve had an accident, you may be due compensation. Injuries may occur as a result of accidents such as on the road, or when visiting someone at their home or place or work. Our new Personal Injury Department may be able to get you compensation.
Who says hard work and determination don’t pay off? Naim and colleagues attended the Society of Asian Lawyers 15th Annual Ball at the Mariott Grosvenor Square. The night was well attended and an enjoyable night was had by all. Naim who joined the firm in 2003 qualified as a solicitor in June 2006 was presented with the award for Young Lawyer of the Year 2010 by the Vice President of the Law Society of England and Wales, Linda Lee, and the Chairman of the Society of Asian Lawyers, Sundeep Bhatia. He is currently a Partner and Joint Head of the Public Law department, based at the Hackney office.
Andrea Spyrou of Duncan Lewis has been shortlisted for the 2010 Mental Health Lawyer of the Year award.
In total the bake off successfully fed the hungry herds of Duncan Lewis and managed to raise £1,440.70 for FRU.
Phuong qualified as a solicitor in December 2000 and has specialised in all areas of family law since, including divorce, financial disputes, cohabitation, S14 TOLATA and all private law children matters, contact, residence.
Stacey qualified as a Solicitor in 2004 and joined Duncan Lewis in April 2010 specialising in Criminal Law. She has gained Police Station Advisor Accreditation as well as the Magistrates Court Duty Accreditation and joins Duncan Lewis as a Qualified Duty Solicitor.
Duncan Lewis is proud to be able to deliver a high standard of legal advice across a wide range of areas whilst conducting its business in a socially responsible manner. Our day to day practice highlights to us the growing severity of the unmet legal needs of the disadvantaged in the communities we serve, and we are responding to it.
Melita joined Duncan Lewis Solicitors in March 2010. She is a senior Child Care Solicitor based at the New Cross Gate office.
Richard House is a purpose built children's hospice in east London. It was registered as a charity in 1996 and was London’s first Children’s Hospice. On the 24th February 2010 Ilana Hutton and Jitender Birah attended Richard House Hospice and met with Alex and Ali and proudly presented them with a cheque for the sum of £1,470.00 on behalf of Duncan Lewis.
Siobhan joined Duncan Lewis in January 2010 and is a Criminal Solicitor based at the Clapham Junction office.
The Launch Party saw a large turnout of Duncan Lewis staff, who also brought along with them very generous donations and together we raised £1,954 for the Haiti victims of the earthquake through Unicef which included our CEO, Shany Gupta donating the equivalent of whatever was raised.
Georgina qualified as a Solicitor in 2004 and joined Duncan Lewis in January 2010, specialising in Family Law. She is a member of the Law Society Family Law Accreditation Panel.
Laila Bhunnoo and Dounia Arstim visited the offices of Action for Children in Hackney and proudly presented them with a cheque, for the sum of £1,400. Action for Children were chosen as the recipients of Duncan Lewis’ ‘Bake Off’ that was held on the 13th November 2009, to raise as much as possible for Action for Children.
£1,406.95 was raised amongst Duncan Lewis employess on Wednesday 14th October 2009 at the first inter-branch football competition.
Hope is such a simple word but is not so easy delivered. As we entered through the glass doors into an open plan reception it is clear this is not a normal doctor’s surgery. Small paper doves hang from the ceiling, and the waiting room opens out into a peaceful garden. For those who have suffered abuse and torture, having been detained, processed, and released into modest NASS accommodation or are sleeping on someone’s floor, this could very well be the first place they have been to which feels safe.
In September 2009 Duncan Lewis will open its 6th office. The office “New Cross Gate” office is based near New Cross station in an area which has a significant unmet need for legal aid advice.
Duncan Lewis has established a Charity Committee with a mandate to coordinate and develop all the charitable work undertaken by the company. The committee has its own budget of £1,000 per month .......
Duncan Lewis employees raise over £2,000 for Cancer Research by participating in the Race for Life in Hyde Park.
Leading local firm, Duncan Lewis & Co Solicitors, has been awarded a founder membership of an exclusive nationwide alliance of high quality solicitor firms, .....
On 19 September 2008, the firm sent a delegation to attend a function hosted by Jobcentre Plus at Stratford Town Hall. .....
Duncan Lewis has completed its first acquisition. Up until now the growth of Duncan Lewis has been organic .....
Duncan Lewis has undergone further expansion in the vicinity of its largest office on Kingsland High Street in Hackney. .....