Laura Devine Immigration

UK immigration

Partner

Matthew is a Senior Solicitor at Laura Devine Immigration in London and has focused exclusively on UK immigration and nationality law since 2010. His extensive knowledge and practical legal skills equip him to deal with a full range of corporate and personal immigration matters. Matthew’s experience includes identifying and facilitating immigration solutions formultinational businesses, preparing nationality applications, assisting with complex family matters, advising on discretionary basis applications made on the grounds of Article 8 ECHR rights and pursuing appeals to the First Tier Tribunal. He has been prominently involved with the firm’s pro-bono programme (managing the most notable pro-bono project to date). He co-manages the Human Rights practice with Zeena Luchowa.

Matthew is known for his considered, pragmatic and solutions-focused approach in challenging cases, Matthew has been successful in overturning adverse Home Office decisions and assisting family members of British citizens in obtaining immigration status in esoteric circumstances. He has also secured status for long-term overstayers with particularly challenging immigration backgrounds.

Matthew is an active member of the Union Internationale des Avocats and has acted as the Newsletter Editor-in-Chief for the Immigration and Nationality Law Commission since 2017, collating and publishing submissions on a wide range of topics on immigration matters from practitioners based globally. A confident and engaging speaker, he has presented on a diverse range of topics at the organisation’s international annual congresses and other internal and external events (including sessions run by The Legal Training Consultancy). He is experienced in training other UK immigration practitioners through the Immigration Law Practitioners Association.

Matthew has commented on developing issues on UK immigration through Lexis Nexis and Thomson Reuters and is part of the Law Society’s EU Mobility Working Group. He is recognised in Legal 500 UK as ‘versatile with good client care skills’ and noted as appreciating the needs of vulnerable clients.