Public Law Solicitor – Civil Liberties & Judicial Review Lead

Regulated by the Solicitor’s Regulation Authority, Duncan Lewis Solicitors was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in the City of London (Fenchurch Street EC3M), with offices nationwide. We are recognised by the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners UK independent legal directories as a top-tier law firm in all of our key practice areas – “a diligent and professional team that is prepared to go the extra mile for its clients”.

A paperless law firm with over 500 personnel that embraces hybrid-working, we service both corporate entities and private individuals in over 25 areas of law across 60 languages. We give people a voice - that is our ethos.

Recognised among The Times 200 Best Law Firms, we have been awarded Law Firm of the Year at the 2024 Lexis Nexis Awards and 2023 Modern Law Awards, reflecting our dedication to legal expertise and client service. We hold Investors in People Gold Standard accreditation for over 15 years, showcasing our commitment to professional development. Duncan Lewis is also Law Society Lexcel, Cyber Essentials Plus, and ISO 27001 certified, ensuring excellence in practice management and data security.

We are committed to recruiting dedicated and talented professionals and welcome applications from exceptional candidates. At Duncan Lewis, we value training and diversity, and we take pride in our inclusive workforce.

Public Law Department Background:

Our Public Law team is applauded by the Legal 500 UK directory has a “dynamic team”, who are “exceptional in ability and reach”. Ranked and recommended for its excellence in Public Law UK-wide, the department undertakes both publicly (legal aid) and privately funded work and has experience in all aspects of civil liberties and judicial review claimant matters against the Home Office, HMRC, local authority, NHS including obtaining emergency orders and other interim relief to prevent human rights violations.

The department regularly follow up judicial reviews with actions for damages in both the County and High Courts and successfully pursue matters to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. The firm’s flagship judicial review claimant practice sees it represent clients including the vulnerable and marginalized, and its immigration offering is strengthened by collaboration with its expanding international presence challenging UK government practices abroad.

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). The quality of our work is repeatedly demonstrated by our high success rates. Our lawyers are award winning and many of our cases, which are recorded in the reported case journals, raise new and important issues, and create legal precedents for the future.

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.

Main Responsibilities of the Role:

• Report directly to Department Director
• Responsible for all aspects of Public Law work including providing technical expertise and guidance to other team members
• Ability to manage and supervise Solicitors, Trainee Solicitors and Caseworkers to manage appropriate caseload types and complexities
• Assisting with delivery of appropriate training and development in the department
• Variety of duties including dealing with a range of Public Law work including:
  Unlawful detention;
  False imprisonment;
  Abuse by detention staff and removal escorts;
  Conditions in detention;
  Age assessments;
  Asylum support;
  Challenging non-appealable decisions;
  Challenging removal notices; NHS & Local Authority challenges;
  Policies, practices and decisions made by the Immigration and…