Duncan Lewis Solicitors

Duncan Lewis Solicitors is an acclaimed law firm headquartered in the City of London and proudly holds the distinction of being the largest provider of publicly funded (legal aid) legal services in the country, with offices spanning England and Wales.

Founded in 1998, the firm has experienced rapid growth and currently employs over 570 dedicated professionals. We offer our legal expertise to both corporate entities and private individuals across 25 areas of law, including those representing some of the most vulnerable and marginalised segments of society. Duncan Lewis also proudly holds a place among the Top 200 legal firms in the country, as recognised by The Times newspaper.

Our team is firmly committed to delivering the highest quality legal counsel and client care to ensure access to justice for all. We frequently take on high-profile cases, many of which establish legal precedents, contributing to fairer judgments in the future.

Duncan Lewis places great importance on staff training and development, and we are proud to hold the prestigious Investors in People Gold accreditation. We are also signatories to the Pro Bono Charter. Our motto, 'giving people a voice,' extends beyond our clients to permeate our entire firm through our dedication to equality, diversity, and inclusion.

We firmly believe in providing equal opportunities, regardless of an individual's background or protected characteristics. We embrace the diversity of our staff, striving to ensure that our personnel reflect the rich diversity of the communities we serve.

The diversity of our talent is truly exceptional: 70% of our workforce is female, 50% identify as Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic, 62% are under the age of 35, and 23% are over 40. Notably, in contrast to the broader legal industry, the majority of our senior leaders are women. Specifically, 65% of our directors are female, and 45% identify as Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic.

The dedication and excellence of our team have earned us widespread recognition through prestigious awards, including the Modern Law Claims Award for Diversity and Inclusion 2023, the Modern Law Firm of the Year 2023 award, and the Excellence in Legal Services award at this year's Resolution awards."

Our fields include
Immigration, public law, civil liberties, and human rights: Duncan Lewis' public law department stands as one of the UK's foremost in this field. Its willingness to take on some of the country's most prominent and intricate cases has earned the department a formidable reputation for challenging government policies perceived as wrongful. The team handles both publicly and privately funded matters, providing representation in immigration and asylum, regulatory fitness to practice, environment and planning cases.

The department boasts a niche expertise in immigration claimant judicial review cases and costs litigation, as well as unlawful immigration detention cases involving high-net claims for damages. Their scope also covers immigration removal cases, prison law claims, and the provision of social welfare services.

Additionally, the department excels in representing vulnerable clients, including victims of torture and trafficking, in immigration detention-related matters. Specialisations include assistance with asylum applications, in-country asylum applications and appeals, and comprehensive experience in all aspects of judicial review claimant work.

This encompasses securing emergency orders and other interim relief to prevent human rights violations, pursuing judicial reviews with subsequent damages claims in county and high courts, and successfully advancing judicial review matters to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

Court of Protection: Duncan Lewis' dedicated team provides comprehensive support for deputyship applications, powers of attorney, and issues related to the welfare and finances of individuals lacking capacity. We also handle domestic and international disputes concerning powers of attorney and deputyship applications.

Business and private immigration: As one of the UK's leading immigration firms, Duncan Lewis offers expertise in various business and private immigration matters. Our services cover right-to-work checks, visa applications and appeals, student and graduate visas, spousal visas, and visa overstays. We provide full support to SME business clients, including guidance on the Points-Based System (PBS), sponsorship licence applications, and immigration strategy and compliance.

Family, matrimonial, and childcare: One of the largest and most respected family and childcare departments in the country, our team comprises solicitors with Law Society accreditations in Children Law and Family Law. They specialise in all aspects of family, private, and public children law matters. Notably, they have a niche practice representing domestic abuse victims and handling complex divorce and financial matrimonial matters arising from relationship breakdowns, and are respected for their client sensitivity and dedication to supporting charitable causes.

Children/public law matters: Our team represents parents, guardians, family members, and children through guardians in children public law proceedings. We handle cases on behalf of the official solicitor and are frequently appointed to represent vulnerable clients in various complex matters, including those involving mental health issues, severe non-accidental injuries, abuse, substance misuse, neglect, factitious illness, and rare conditions. Our diverse team is often chosen by guardians to represent children in culturally complex care cases and a widely respected for the dedication to client care and sensitivity.

Children/cross-border disputes: Duncan Lewis is at the forefront of handling high-profile international child abduction cases and engaging in wardship proceedings for the return of children taken out of the jurisdiction. We are among the select few firms on the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit (ICACU) referral list.

Housing: Our highly regarded housing department serves both landlords and tenants, and boasts niche expertise in the full range of possession, disrepair, and unlawful eviction cases. We have a significant presence in county court possession duty schemes across London, specialising in defending social tenants facing possession and unlawful eviction cases. We offer representation in all proceedings, including reviews, appeals, and judicial reviews related to homelessness, tenant succession, and neighbourhood disputes with local authorities.

Criminal defence: Our criminal law department has a notable practice defending clients in complex criminal cases, particularly those involving gangs and drug importation. Our team also excels in representing clients with significant mental health issues in insanity defence cases. Additionally, we have established practices in motoring law, prison law, and actions against public authorities, with expertise in appealing convictions and sentences.

Commercial litigation and dispute resolution: Duncan Lewis possesses recognised expertise in advising corporate clients on litigation matters and providing legal counsel to individuals considering litigation. Our litigation and dispute resolution team delivers clear and concise legal guidance for resolving commercial disputes, whether for UK-based or international businesses. We collaborate with clients to set focused goals, develop strategies, and successfully implement solutions through ADR or court litigation while minimising costs and risks.

Clinical (medical) negligence: Our expert clinical negligence team brings substantial experience to a wide range of claims, including accident and emergency failures, GP negligence, misdiagnosis, wrongful death, and cases involving severe brain, spinal, or neurological injuries resulting from medical care failings by the NHS and private hospitals.

Personal injury: Duncan Lewis' personal injury practice has a wealth of experience representing clients injured in various accidents, including workplace incidents, road traffic accidents, accidents abroad, and children's accidents. Regularly achieving positive results and winning substantial client compensation, we also focus on claims for fatal injuries. Our specialist areas encompass claims against local authorities for public space slips and trips, occupiers' liability, and asbestos-related illnesses.

More areas of law: Actions against public authorities, commercial and company, child care, civil liberties and human rights, civil litigation, clinical negligence, Court of Protection, crime, cross-border disputes, debt recovery, education law, employment, family, high net-worth divorce, housing, immigration, personal injury and public law and wills and probate, and professional negligence.