Bahar Ata

I am an experienced director and lawyer specialising in all areas of public law with a niche practice in immigration and human rights judicial review claimant matters. I am a fearless and dedicated advocate for human rights, which is demonstrated through my leadership in high-profile cases and extensive experience in representing clients before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), Administrative Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court and the resulting judgments having far-reaching implications beyond the immediate, individual clients. I pride myself on going the extra mile for vulnerable individuals in order to ensure that their voices are heard.

The complexity of my work is demonstrated by the significant cases I have managed, which have not only had a profound impact on my clients but have also influenced legal standards, and are frequently cited in both UK and European courts.

In a recent notable case, I led a team that successfully challenged the Home Office's decision, which had deemed an Albanian asylum seeker's claim as unfounded without merit. This individual, known as 'H', was escaping potential violence related to a blood feud and threats from money-lenders in Albania. Despite guidelines suggesting Albania's limited protective measures against such feuds and the challenges of relocating within the country, the Home Office's stance has been to classify similar claims as baseless, typically preventing appeals. This certification had led to 'H's detention and the risk of deportation.

I have particular expertise and experience in representing clients before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) where I represent clients against deprivation and exclusion decisions, where individuals are deprived of their status in the UK and are excluded from the UK on either national security grounds or serious organised crime grounds. I am a Fellow of the Chartered Institutes of the Legal Executives and a Director within the Public Law Department. I was promoted to lead the Immigration and Public Law departments shortly after qualifying, and at the time, I was the only Legal Executive to hold the post of Director within Duncan Lewis.

The Lord Chancellor appointed me as an Independent Funding Adjudicator and cost assessor to the Legal Aid Review Panel in 2021. A Legal 500 recommended lawyer since 2017 in the field of immigration and public law, I was also the winner of the Legal Expert award in 2019 awarded by the Chartered Legal Executives.

I am one of only 63 individuals in England and Wales to be accredited as an Advanced Caseworker in Immigration Law by the Law Society.

• Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives - CILEX Law School

• Appointed as Director of Public Law and Immigration at Duncan Lewis Solicitors (2016 - Present)
• Qualified as a Fellow of the Chartered Legal Executives (2016)
• Accredited as a Level 3 Advance Caseworker - Law Society Immigration and Asylum Accreditation Scheme (2016)
• Caseworker at Duncan Lewis Solicitors (2011 - 2016)
• Caseworker at Hersi & Co Solicitors (2005 - 2011)

• "Bahar Ata has an expert eye for spotting the winnable issues in unattractive cases. She is brilliant, inspired, energetic and compassionate, but she is also safe and reliable."


• "Bahar Ata is a true advocate for human rights and cares passionately about vulnerable members of society. Her commitment is second to none and she is a true leader in the field."


• "Bahar Ata has great experience in asylum cases including the most complex and in human rights."


• "Bahar Ata’s immigration team in the Luton office are an exceptional team in a crowded field. The team has been involved in numerous notable cases in the higher courts, and stands out because of its extraordinary commitment to their clients, particularly when they represent vulnerable individuals."


• "They are very well-known for their work in providing high-quality representation to vulnerable asylum seekers who arrived by “small boat” and who resist return to European countries that they have passed through before coming to the UK. Bahar Ata’s team have persistently and expertly challenged removal."


• "They stand out because of their extraordinary commitment to their clients. They give vulnerable individuals a voice they may otherwise lack, and, they succeeds in winning the cases of clients where others may not. Their dedication to their clients is unflinching."


• "Bahar Ata, whose team really takes a lot of last-minute work – without their support there are a lot of people would have been removed or deported unable to access legal advice."

• Recommended Lawyer - The Legal 500 UK since 2017
• Finalist Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Awards (2020)
• Awarded Legal Expert Award at the CILEX Awards (2019)
• Finalist as a Lawyer of the Year at the Modern Law Awards (2019)
• Finalist and Highly Commended as a Legal Expert at CILEX Awards (2018)

Supreme Court

• R (on the application of Hemmati and others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2019] UKSC 56
• Ahmed Mahad & Others -v- ECO [2009] UKSC 16

Court of Appeal

• AEB v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] EWCA Civ 1512
• Secretary of State for the Home Department v Starkey [2021] EWCA Civ 421
• GB v R. [2020] EWCA Crim 2
• Hemmati & Ors, R (on the application of) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] EWCA Civ 2122
• N (Afghanistan) & Anor v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Court of Appeal [2018] EWCA Civ 1059
• HK (Iraq) & Ors, R (On the Application Of) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWCA Civ 1871
• AM (Jamaica) -v- SSHD [2008] EWCA Civ 1408

High Court

• H v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 2758
• QH v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] EWHC 2691
• Osadebay, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] EWHC 2086
• EK, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] EWHC 2111 (Admin)
• Baraka, R (on the application of) v SSHD [2018] EWHC 1549
• Waheed v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWHC 3080
• Thompson v Director of Legal Aid Casework [2017] EWHC 230
• Ibrahimi & Anor v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2016] EWHC 2049
• Khaled v SSHD No 1 [2016] EWHC 857
• Khaled, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (No 2) [2016] EWHC 1394
• Muse and others (by their litigation friend Ali) v Entry Clearance Officer [2012] EWCA Civ 10
• Odawey -v- ECO [2011] EWCA Civ 840
• R (on the application of QB) -v- SSHD [2010] EWHC 483

Civil Court

• D5, D6 & D7 v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] UKSIAC 2
• PS (cessation principles) Zimbabwe [2021] UKUT 283
• TM (A Minor), R (on the application) v SSHD (Minor - asylum - delay) [2018] UKUT 299 (IAC)
• ZMM (Article 15(c)) Libya CG [2017] UKUT 263 (IAC)

• Chartered Institute of Legal Executives
• Level 3 (Advanced) Immigration and Asylum Accreditation Scheme
• Supervisor Immigration and Asylum Accreditation
• ILPA - Co-convener - Removals, Detention & Offences Working Group

• In-principle Leave Outside the Immigration Rules protects Afghan family from Taliban Regime (6 November 2024)
• Duncan Lewis secure substantial damages for estate and family of deceased client following unlawful detention and deportation (4 October 2024)
• Home Office agrees to consider asylum claims for everyone in Rwanda cohort (23 July 2024)
• Duncan Lewis Secures Court of Appeal Victory in EU Settlement Scheme Case (19 July 2024)
• Duncan Lewis Secures Damages for Falsely Imprisoned Client (16 July 2024)
• Duncan Lewis Secures Damages for a British National Unjustly Detained by the Home Office (22 May 2024)
• Bahar Ata and Nicholas Hughes Named as Finalists for the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Awards 2024 (20 May 2024)
• Duncan Lewis Secures Right to Challenge Home Office Certification Decision for Asylum Seeker (2 February 2024)
• Duncan Lewis Secures Rare Victory with Right to Challenge Albanian Client’s Certification and Detention (9 November 2023)
• Secret Courts: Duncan Lewis Immigration Expert Explains The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (26 May 2023)
• Secretary of State for the Home Department v Starkey [2021] EWCA Civ 421 (26 March 2021) - First-tier Tribunal failed to consider expert evidence before dismissing appeal (2 February 2022)
• PS (cessation principles) Zimbabwe [2021] UKUT 283 (IAC) (21 September 2021) (31 January 2022)
• Access to justice: The Home Office’s response to Channel crossings, and the use of temporary accommodation and detention during the pandemic (ILPA) (17 December 2020)
• QH v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] EWHC 2691 (Admin) (20 October 2020)
• Osadebay, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] EWHC 2086 (Admin) (29 July 2020) (14 August 2020)
• EK, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] EWHC 2111 (Admin) (31 July 2020) (5 August 2020)
• Directors Bahar Ata and Krina Parmar shortlisted at this year’s Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Awards (21 May 2020)
• Duncan Lewis Solicitors Statement on Tajay Thompson (12 February 2020)
• GB v R. [2020] EWCA Crim 2 (16 January 2020) – Public interest safety and quashing criminal convictions for confirmed victims of trafficking (31 January 2020)
• Supreme Court unanimously uphold clients were detained unlawfully and entitled to damages under domestic law (27 November 2019)
• Public law director Bahar Ata wins the Legal Expert Award at the CILEx National Awards 2019 (6 September 2019)
• For the second year running Public Law Director Bahar Ata is shortlisted for the Legal Expert Award at the CILEx National Awards (24 June 2019)
• Bahar Ata visits HMP Peterborough discussing foreign national detainee’s rights under the UN refugee convention (21 March 2019)
• Duncan Lewis’ client, a Sudanese victim of trafficking, has case referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (4 March 2019)
• Clients of Duncan Lewis see success in landmark Dublin III Court of Appeal case (Multiple Sources) (10 October 2018)
• JA Iraq et al v SSHD approved judgment - Duncan Lewis Solicitors involved in landmark judgment involving the detention of individuals under Dublin III Regulation (5 October 2018)
• TM (A Minor), R (on the application) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Minor - asylum - delay) [2018] UKUT 299 (IAC) (23 August 2018) (1 October 2018)
• Duncan Lewis assisting the Calais Refugee Community Kitchen (11 July 2018)
• Duncan Lewis Public Law & Immigration Director Bahar Ata is a finalist for the Legal Expert Award at the CILEx National Awards 2018 (5 July 2018)
• Complex Bail Accommodation in Baraka, R (on the application of) v SSHD [2018] EWHC 1549 (Admin) (20 June 2018) (2 July 2018)
• ZN (Afghanistan) & Anor v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Court of Appeal [2018] EWCA Civ 1059 (1 June 2018)
• Opelo Kgari: Government thwarted in second bid to deport woman brought to UK from Botswana (Independent and Mmegi) (13 April 2018)
• Waheed v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWHC 3080 (Admin) (30 November 2017) (6 February 2018)
• HK (Iraq) & Ors, R (On the Application Of) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWCA Civ 1871 (30 November 2017)
• Duncan Lewis Solicitors appoints Bahar Ata as Director of Public Law & Immigration for Luton Office (19 January 2017)
• A Member State of the European Union is not complying with its obligations under the Common European Asylum System (9 August 2016)
• Dublin Regulations and the escalation of the migration crisis (28 January 2016)
• Third Country Removals and Open Borders (7 July 2015)