Profile

Brian is a Senior Solicitor at Laura Devine Immigration and has practiced immigration law since 2002. He currently advises a mixture of both corporate and private clients on their immigration and nationality matters.

For the first ten years of his career, Brian worked in legal aid as an appeals advocate, representing individuals in their asylum and human rights appeals, bail applications, deportation appeals, and family appeals in the First-tier Tribunal and in the Upper-tier Tribunal on a point of law. He took two immigration appeals to the Court of Appeal where they were reported as precedents. While working in legal aid, he additionally spent two years as a criminal lawyer, representing individuals being prosecuted in the Magistrates’ Courts of England and Wales. From 2012, and for the next ten years, Brian has focused exclusively on immigration work, specialising in private client and corporate immigration matters.

Experience in a wide range of immigration matters has provided Brian with a singular overview that enables him to find unique solutions for his clients, including making applications outside the rules on human rights grounds where necessary.

On the private client side, Brian specialises in complex applications including family applications made under Appendix FM and citizenship. On the business side, he advises overseas companies and entrepreneurs looking to set up in business in the UK on alternatives following the closure of Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) and Representative of Overseas Business categories to new applicants. Where appropriate, he assists companies with applying for sponsorship licences to enable them to sponsor migrant workers, and with ongoing sponsorship support including help with the associated Skilled Worker applications.

Tim handles various UK immigration matters, including business and personal cases. He has experience with different visa and sponsor licence applications, HR audits, and compliance checks. Before moving into law, Tim worked in journalism for nine years, including 18 months freelancing in Mexico as a foreign correspondent.

Sarah is a Senior solicitor in London. She has practiced exclusively in UK immigration and nationality law since 2005, with a particular focus on corporate advisory work.

Sarah has significant experience managing employer sponsorship categories, including sponsor licence applications and compliance advisory work and audit. Sarah’s clients range from start-up and niche businesses to global multinationals. She has significant cross-sectoral experience having advised clients within the financial, legal and professional services, technology, energy, pharmaceutical and manufacturing sectors.

Sarah also advises private and HNW clients on family, settlement, nationality and European applications with notable success for those with excess ‘UK’ absences. Sarah is a pragmatic solutions-focused lawyer, who enjoys engaging with clients.

Mary is a legal assistant in our London office. She assists the US team with scheduling visa interviews and collating application materials.

Vanessa is a senior UK immigration analyst at Laura Devine Immigration in New York, assisting with business immigration applications under all routes of the UK’s immigration system including the Skilled Worker and Intra Company routes, sponsorship licences and compliance, representatives of an overseas business, Global Talent and Investor. She also has in-depth knowledge of visitor visas, family-based applications and British nationality law (including naturalisation, registration and passport applications). Vanessa liaises with the firm’s individual and corporate clients across a wide range of sectors including technology, finance, legal and entertainment.

Vanessa is a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association’s (ILPA) New York working group and the St George’s Society. She has presented on UK immigration as a guest panellist at a programme presented by the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of International Law’s Immigration and Naturalisation Committee.

Sarah is a paralegal with the US team at Laura Devine Immigration in New York, working on matters across all categories of US immigration and nationality law. She assists the US attorneys with case management, research tasks and the drafting of legal documents.

Nella is a Paralegal at Laura Devine Immigration in New York. She assists the US team with personal and business immigration and provides support on the day-to-day handling of immigration matters.

Grace is a Solicitor in London. She assists the UK team on a range of corporate, personal and family-based matters.

Beth is a Solicitor in the London office. She assists the UK team on a range of corporate and personal immigration matters.

Oliver is a Solicitor at Laura Devine Immigration and advises both corporate and private clients on a wide range of business and personal immigration matters. Primarily specialising in corporate immigration, including skilled worker, health and care, sponsor licence applications, and sponsor compliance. Oliver also advises on a range of personal immigration matters, including settlement, naturalisation and applications based on private and family life.