The First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber) has dismissed the appeal against cancellation of the OISC accreditation of an organisation, Anzan Immigration Lawyers, and its sole
In this post I explain the variety of reasons that it is a very bad idea to submit a fee waiver application purely for the
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has published two reviews as part of their ongoing work in the sector, one is a review of asylum legal services
On 27 September 2023 the Solicitors Regulation Authority published a “warning notice” for solicitors carrying out immigration work, causing some alarm within the sector. Specifically,
I was away on holiday when the Daily Mail published its article with allegations of serious misconduct by immigration solicitors. It is a shocking article
A Scottish lawyer can represent a client in the immigration tribunal anywhere in the UK. The same is true of a Northern Irish lawyer. The
One of the recommendations to the Home Office in a recent report by the immigration inspector was to “professionalise” Presenting Officers. Among the suggestions was
Three lawyers convicted in 2019 of providing unregulated immigration advice worth millions have been ordered to cough up over £45,000 between them in fines and
A solicitor whose well-respected immigration firm collapsed in 2018 has been fined £15,000 after admitting to breaches of accounting rules. Lawrence Lupin accepted responsibility for
An experienced immigration lawyer has been struck off for failing to check whether a client qualified for legal aid and charging him without telling the
An immigration lawyer has been struck off not long after being released from prison for defrauding the Legal Aid Agency of up to £5 million.
An immigration lawyer has been struck off after being caught on camera four years ago advising an undercover reporter about a sham marriage. The Solicitors
Two solicitors have been fined for pursuing “spurious” immigration cases — many of which they knew were hopeless because they had advised the client as
In the short but landmark judgment of R (Hamid) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] EWHC 3070 (Admin), the High Court affirmed
The co-founder of an immigration law firm has failed in a High Court bid to overturn Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal sanctions for professional misconduct. Mr Justice
The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (the OISC to those who know it well) has quietly published guidance outlining when it considers it will
A lawyer is not merely a conduit through which their client’s grievances can be aired in court. The grievance must be formulated into a coherent
A high-profile firm of immigration solicitors has been shut down by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). The regulator announced the closure on 18 April of Malik
A solicitor who is suspended from practice can nevertheless advise clients on immigration law. This simple but perhaps surprising fact was highlighted by a recent
An immigration lawyer praised for his “good deeds” among the Chinese community has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. Vay Sui Ip, a
The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) is currently consulting on the regulation of immigration advisers. Or, more accurately, the de-regulation of immigration advisers.
The First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber) has dismissed the appeal against cancellation of the OISC accreditation of an organisation, Anzan Immigration Lawyers, and its sole adviser Mr Ali Rahmanyfar after a large number of breaches of the code of standards. The case is Anzan Immigration Lawyers v Office of the...
In this post I explain the variety of reasons that it is a very bad idea to submit a fee waiver application purely for the purpose of getting section 3C leave, with no eligibility for or intention of making the subsequent immigration application mentioned in the fee waiver application. The...
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has published two reviews as part of their ongoing work in the sector, one is a review of asylum legal services and the second a review of training records. These reviews contain some important points and should be read carefully by solicitors working in immigration and...
On 27 September 2023 the Solicitors Regulation Authority published a “warning notice” for solicitors carrying out immigration work, causing some alarm within the sector. Specifically, concerns were raised about the SRA stating that solicitors should be taking steps to authenticate a client’s account and evidence, without any further explanation of...
I was away on holiday when the Daily Mail published its article with allegations of serious misconduct by immigration solicitors. It is a shocking article and accompanying video. The Solicitors Regulation Authority agrees and has intervened at three of the four named firms, closing them down for further investigation. You...
A Scottish lawyer can represent a client in the immigration tribunal anywhere in the UK. The same is true of a Northern Irish lawyer. The same is true of a level 3 adviser registered with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner. Lawyers practising in England and Wales do not...
One of the recommendations to the Home Office in a recent report by the immigration inspector was to “professionalise” Presenting Officers. Among the suggestions was that a code of conduct was necessary for Presenting Officers to establish a consistent standard of behaviour. This recommendation was acted upon relatively quickly, by...
Three lawyers convicted in 2019 of providing unregulated immigration advice worth millions have been ordered to cough up over £45,000 between them in fines and compensation. Dan Romulus Dandes, Babbar Ali Jamil and Zia Bi were sentenced at the Old Bailey on 5 January 2021 for their roles in a...
A solicitor whose well-respected immigration firm collapsed in 2018 has been fined £15,000 after admitting to breaches of accounting rules. Lawrence Lupin accepted responsibility for six breaches of the rules on financial and practice management, including unpaid interpreter invoices and having a shortfall on the client account. The Solicitors Regulation...
An experienced immigration lawyer has been struck off for failing to check whether a client qualified for legal aid and charging him without telling the firm she was working for. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal found that Keisha Hackett, 43, had dishonestly hidden the fact that she took the client’s money,...
An immigration lawyer has been struck off not long after being released from prison for defrauding the Legal Aid Agency of up to £5 million. A disciplinary tribunal found that Astrid Halberstadt-Twum was guilty of “deliberate, calculated and repeated” misconduct in siphoning off what the government says is around £4.75...
An immigration lawyer has been struck off after being caught on camera four years ago advising an undercover reporter about a sham marriage. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal made the decision in the case of Syed Mazaher Naqvi, a sole practitioner based in London. The tribunal found that Naqvi had failed...
Two solicitors have been fined for pursuing “spurious” immigration cases — many of which they knew were hopeless because they had advised the client as much. Nurgus Malik and Jusna Begum Miah, who at the time worked for M-R Solicitors in London, admitted several counts of professional misconduct at the...
In the short but landmark judgment of R (Hamid) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] EWHC 3070 (Admin), the High Court affirmed that it has the power to oversee the conduct of lawyers in immigration cases. Judges have regularly used the disciplinary process that has evolved out...
The co-founder of an immigration law firm has failed in a High Court bid to overturn Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal sanctions for professional misconduct. Mr Justice Lavender rejected the appeal of Malik Mohammed Nazeer, a solicitor of over 21 years’ call, against a £20,000 fine and practice restrictions imposed by the...
The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (the OISC to those who know it well) has quietly published guidance outlining when it considers it will be illegal to provide advice to EU citizens and their non-EU family members under the settled status scheme. The guidance barely mentions the scheme itself...
A lawyer is not merely a conduit through which their client’s grievances can be aired in court. The grievance must be formulated into a coherent and stateable case and presented in a professional, honest, and courteous manner. The Solicitors Regulation Authority requiressolicitors in England and Wales to refrain from any “attempt...
A high-profile firm of immigration solicitors has been shut down by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). The regulator announced the closure on 18 April of Malik Law Chambers, which has two offices in London and one in Birmingham. Giving reasons for its decision, the SRA said: There is reason to suspect...
A solicitor who is suspended from practice can nevertheless advise clients on immigration law. This simple but perhaps surprising fact was highlighted by a recent case before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal in which an East London solicitor unsuccessfully challenged an indefinite suspension given to him in 2009. Since that time,...
An immigration lawyer praised for his “good deeds” among the Chinese community has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. Vay Sui Ip, a partner at Manchester firm Sandbrook Solicitors, was prosecuted by the Solicitors Regulation Authority over judicial reviews issued as a means of “frustrating deportations“. The tribunal,...
The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) is currently consulting on the regulation of immigration advisers. Or, more accurately, the de-regulation of immigration advisers. It is illegal to give immigration advice in the UK unless the adviser is a member of an exempted profession (mainly solicitors and barristers) or...
