Duncan Lewis Solicitors

Adam Bloodworth

Adam Bloodworth is a solicitor in the child care department at Duncan Lewis Solicitors. He specialises in all aspects of family and children law. He has considerable experience resolving issues that stem from the breakdown of a relationship, including; divorce matters, financial matters, protection from harm and matters pertaining to the arrangements for children. In addition to his excellent legal knowledge, Adam brings awareness and understanding to the emotional pressures generated in such a sensitive area of law.

Ahmed Aydeed

Public law director, Ahmed Aydeed has extensive specialist experience in advising individuals on all types of public law issues. He has a broad practice in public law and human rights matters, including; asylum, international protection, EU law, nationality law, administrative detention, discrimination and equality, family and child care proceedings. He has represented individuals in judicial review proceedings against the Lord Chancellor, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, the Crown Court and local authorities. His recent work includes a challenge to the Home Office’s policy on the detention of trafficking survivors in immigration detention, as well as the challenge against the Home Office policy terminating all statutory support to slavery victims in the UK after just 45 days. Thanks to his vast experience acting for victims of slavery and human trafficking, Ahmed understood that relief should not be limited to a 45 day period and therefore issued proceedings against the policy on behalf of two clients both victims of trafficking who were due to lose their specialist support as a consequence of this rule. Following complex and lengthy proceedings, the Home Office conceded that the 45-day policy was unlawful and incompatible with the Trafficking Convention and that support should be provided in reference to the individual’s needs rather than by any reference to how long the individual has been supported. As a result of Ahmed’s work in this case, currently over 600 individuals have benefitted. Ahmed has been at the forefront in the battle against unlawful detention of migrants in the UK, focussing in particular on the criminalisation and detention of victims of trafficking, torture, and modern slavery, as well as unaccompanied minor refugees. The litigation Ahmed has brought against the Secretary of State for the Home Department has had a significant impact on thousands of asylum-seekers, by ensuring that the Secretary of State implements effective safe-guards to prevent the unlawful procession of asylum claims and the unlawful detention of the most vulnerable individuals in our society. He has brought successful class action challenges against the SSHD for the procession of asylum claims and the administrative detention of highly vulnerable asylum seekers under the fast track process (DFT) and the Detained Asylum Casework process (DAC); the criminalisation and administrative detention of victims of trafficking; and the policy and application of Detention Centre Rules 34 and 35.

Anita Bains

Anita is a solicitor in the child care department at Duncan Lewis Solicitors. She represents parents and children who have educational or mental health difficulties, and handles a wide variety of cases many of which relate to issues of domestic violence, drug and alcohol use, sexual abuse and non-accidental injury cases.

Darren Middleton

Darren Middleton is a Director of Immigration at Duncan Lewis Solicitors based at the firms' Birmingham office. He is an accredited Supervising Senior Caseworker under the Immigration and Asylum Law Accreditation Scheme. Darren specialises in working with vulnerable individuals and complex cases, including further submissions, and deportation. Darren is experienced in preparing asylum and immigration appeals for the Tribunal. He has provided representation for nationals of Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Mongolia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Uganda and Zimbabwe, who have had their appeals successfully allowed by Tribunal. He has successfully provided representation at the appeal stage where the SSHD has sought to deprive an individual of British citizenship on the basis of deception. Darren is a participant in the Immigration and Asylum Chamber Committee Working Group at the Tribunal in Birmingham, which meets on a periodic basis.

Harriet Phillips

Harriet is a family and child care solicitor at Duncan Lewis Solicitors, based in the Birmingham office. She has experience handling a wide range of family and child care legal matters.Primarily, she represents parents whose children are the subject of care order, supervision order, and placement order applications. She manages care cases on a day-to-day basis and represents clients who have difficulties with mental health, substance misuse, and anger management. She also represents parents who have learning difficulties and tailors her representation to ensure that they clearly understand the proceedings that they are involved in. She has experience of representing parents in cases that concern allegations of non-accidental injuries towards their children, as well as assisting parents when social services initially become involved in respect of their children to work to prevent care proceedings being issued.Harriet's expertise extends to Section 8 Child Arrangement Order proceedings where she represents clients in applications to vary and enforce existing Child Arrangements Orders. She also handles applications for prohibited steps orders and specific issue orders, for instance in applications to take the children on holiday to Non-Hague Convention countries which are dealt with in the High Court. She has had conduct of two complex Child Arrangements matters in the High Court where allegations of radicalisation were made. Additionally, she represents clients in applications for non-molestation orders and in applications to extend existing non-molestation orders. This often involves dealing with vulnerable clients who have experienced significant trauma and whose cultural background can impact on their need for protection.

Henna Sajid

Henna is a family and child care solicitor in the Birmingham office at Duncan Lewis Solicitors. She undertakes her own advocacy representing clients at the family court before district judges, circuit judges and the magistrates. She has considerable experience assisting sensitive and vulnerable clients whilst maintaining a high level of professionalism. She specialises in care proceedings particularly those with local authority involvement; private law proceedings, notably applications for contact and residence; emergency injunctions; divorce; and financial proceedings. She regularly attends local refugees and other organisations in order to provide training, legal advice and my assistance on a monthly basis.

Lorick Winarskie

Lorick Winarskie is a director within Duncan Lewis Solicitors’ housing department. Based in the firm’s Birmingham office, he supervises a team of solicitors, trainees, and caseworkers. With over 30 years of experience in housing law, Lorick’s expertise in this area is second to none. He has extensive knowledge in a broad range of housing law related issues, this includes; homeless appeals; defending possession proceedings; anti-social behaviour injunctions and judicial review claimant matters. He represents both publicly and privately funded clients at all levels of proceedings, up to, and including the Supreme Court.

Richard Gray

Richard is a director of child care and family law at Duncan Lewis Solicitors. He has over fifteen years of experience dealing with all aspects of family and child care law and has dealt with a large number of complex matters involving local authority care proceedings, including serious non accidental injury, representing both parents and children's Guardians. He represents parents in private law Children Act applications including Child Arrangement Orders, specific issue and prohibited steps order applications. Richard undertakes his own advocacy at court and has gained a high degree of proficiency, providing his clients with a very high level of service and care. He has represented clients at court at all levels including County Court, High Court and Court of Appeal.

Rupinder Jagdev

Rupinder Jagdev is a solicitor in the family, child care and housing departments at Duncan Lewis Solicitors’ Birmingham office. Rupinder undertakes the majority of her own advocacy and has a varied caseload which includes; injunctions, care proceedings and divorces. She also has extensive experience in public law proceedings and private children law matters which include complex cases concerning non-accidental injuries and interlinked immigration issues. Additionally, Rupinder provides advice and assistance to local refugees on a regular basis.