Immigration department

Marcela joined the firm in 2008 and qualified as a solicitor in 2010.

Prior to joining Wilsons Marcela spent a year working with Codepu, a human rights organisation based in Chile, where she worked on cases dating back to the Pinochet dictatorship. She then worked for the Immigration Advisory Service as a caseworker working on appeals to the Upper Tribunal.

Marcela practices a range of immigration law, including asylum and human rights cases, EU law applications and appeals and deportation, advising legally aided and private clients. She has extensive experience of preparing applications and appeals at all levels as well as complex Judicial Review applications. She has had conduct of a number of appeal in the Court of Appeal most of which have settled by consent.

She is particularly committed to representing individuals who have suffered injustice as a result of the way their cases have been processed by the Home Office and those who have been in immigration detention. She acted for one of the claimants in the recent challenge to the Detained Fast Track system. She is currently acting for a number of individuals challenging the legality of the Home Office’s current Detained Asylum Casework process which was brought in following the suspension of the Detained Fast Track process.

Solicitor

Marcela studied English and French at the University of Sussex with a year placement studying at the University of Toulouse-Le Mirail. She converted to Law and obtained distinction in the GDL at the University of Westminster. She then completed her LPC at the College of Law where she also obtained a distinction.