Public Law

Awards Recommendation for Public Law Department

"In addition to challenging the legality of the government’s policy on detaining pregnant women, the firm has brought a high-profile judicial review on behalf of six individuals, who are challenging the Secretary of State for the Home Department’s use of a definition of torture that was derived from the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment for the government’s policy on detaining adults at risk."

Legal 500 2017 Edition.
Administrative and Public law / Administrative and Public law

"Duncan Lewis Solicitors is best known for its legal aid practice, and specialises in immigration, asylum and public law, and has offices across London and the UK."

Legal 500 2017 Edition.
Civil Liberties and Human Rights / Civil Liberties and Human Rights

"At Duncan Lewis Solicitors, Toufique Hossain is a ‘genuine star’ for challenges in the immigration and civil liberties space."

Legal 500 2016 Edition.
Administrative and Public law / Administrative and Public law

"James Packer and solicitor Toufique Hossain are key names at Duncan Lewis Solicitors, which has particular experience advising on immigration and civil liberties challenges."

Legal 500 2015 Edition.
Administrative and Public law / Administrative and Public law

If you think a public body (like a government department, the local authority or a tribunal) has treated you unfairly, we may be able to help you challenge this treatment. Public bodies frequently make unlawful decisions or policies; these can be damaging and life-changing.  It is our job to help you challenge these decisions, to hold public bodies to account and to ensure that you get the justice you deserve. 

How can you challenge the decision that has affected you?

We can help you to challenge a decision by a public body, where there is no other right of appeal, by way of judicial review. In a judicial review, we ask the courts to examine the decision or policy that has affected you, and to decide whether or not it is actually lawful.

We do this in a wide-variety of situations with clients of all backgrounds, from women and men who have been held in immigration detention, to people who have been refused, or forced to pay for, NHS treatment.

What kind of experience do we have?

You can be confident that public law specialists at Duncan Lewis have experience in all aspects of judicial review claimant work, and we work tirelessly to prevent a breach of your human rights.  If your human rights have already been violated or you have otherwise been treated unlawfully by a public body, we work to ensure that you receive the justice and compensation.

We can act for you in the County Court, the High Court, the Court of Appeal and even up to the Supreme Court. Due to our broad client base we have expertise in running high-profile and strategic test cases. As a consequence, our public law specialists have developed a reputation for professionalism, unwavering commitment to our clients, and absolute fearlessness in fighting injustice.

Our Public Law Department is recognised as a leader in our field by Chambers and Partners and Legal 500 for our depth of experience in immigration and civil liberties challenges. As a large and well-established firm, we are well known to the Legal Aid Agency (LAA), the Courts, and the Government Legal Department (GLD).

We also collaborate with other firms on funding and case management issues, and have a close working relationship with a number of barristers’ chambers with relevant expertise in public law.

This all means that we can help your case move forward as smoothly and quickly as is possible in a complex field at this time of cuts to legal aid and an overstretched court system.  

Who are our lawyers?

We have a uniquely large team of public law caseworkers who receive regular training to stay up to date. As a result, our public department boasts a depth and breadth of knowledge covering a wide variety of public law issues, and with an ability to closely monitor government policy. We also have a broad client base which means that we are able to pick up on patterns of injustice, and are able to lead strategic class action litigation for the benefit of all our clients as well as potentially thousands of others who are affected by unlawful policies and decision-making.

What do we do beyond the courts?

We regularly use our profile to highlight injustice perpetrated by public bodies. To do this, we speak to national and international media outlets such as Al-Jazeera, the BBC, The Guardian and The Independent; we speak on radio stations such as LBC and ABN; we have an active Twitter account, and we run a blog called No Walls, a platform on which we aim to expose the inhumanity and indignity of the hostile environment, especially immigration detention.

Where do we work?

Our Public Law Department is spread across our key offices in England and Wales, including our head office in Harrow. There are also over 35 appointment-only locations to which members of the public law team can travel to see clients.