HCR Hewitsons

Employment & Immigration

Legal Director & Head of Immigration

My legal career began practising solely employment law, inspired by my time as a paralegal manager for the finance department at a multinational law firm. I most enjoyed my involvement in the HR aspects of this role as working closely with people has always been my passion.  This led to me qualifying as an employment lawyer in September 2005.

This passion is what drives me now, as a lawyer, to build strong and lasting relationships with my clients and to take the time to truly understand their businesses. By doing this I am able to provide tailored, commercial advice and anticipate their future needs.

I constantly look for ways to add value for my clients, whether through providing training and updates in a specific area, or by undertaking specialised training myself so that I can provide them with more niche advice.

It was this desire to expand my offering to my clients which led me to diversify into business immigration law, and over a decade later I am now HCR Law’s Head of Immigration.

My specialisms include advising organisations of all sizes on the options available for bringing in students or employees from outside the UK, whether they are looking to become a sponsor licence holder or recruiting someone outside of the points-based system. I also offer assistance with right to work checks and mock compliance audits for both companies and educational institutions.

I have continued to practice as a specialist employment lawyer, advising predominantly employers (from small owner managed businesses with a handful of employees up to multi-national companies with over 6,500 employees) on a broad range of employment law issues. My areas of expertise include employment tribunal claims, reorganisations including redundancies, disciplinary and grievance procedures, and family-friendly rights.

There are occasions which require me to draw from both my employment and immigration knowledge, including TUPE transfers involving sponsored workers, hybrid or unusual working arrangements for employees on work visas, and most commonly, recruiting from outside the UK.

Lynne studied for her degree in Law & Business Studies at the University of Birmingham after which she went on to complete the legal practice course at De Montfort University (based at the University of Birmingham). Lynne then worked as a Finance Paralegal Manager at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London for 2 years before commencing her training contract with Fennemores in Milton Keynes. Lynne qualified into Fennemores' employment team in September 2005 and joined the Hewitsons' employment team in May 2006.