Human Rights Lawyers
With a "willingness to take risks on behalf of their clients" the "deeply committed" Civil Liberties and Human Rights practice at Duncan Lewis shines in immigration judicial review cases and migrant rights. The team are praised for their "industry and energy" and taking on the cases that "really matter."
Legal 500 2025 Edition.Civil Liberties and Human Rights / London
Duncan Lewis' Civil Liberties team "consistently provide high-quality client care and prepare complex matters with skill and expertise. They have a hit squad of solicitors who spend their time on some of the most complex policy challenges - they are just exceptional."
Chambers UK 2025 Edition.Civil Liberties & Human Rights / UK-wide
With "unrivalled market knowledge", the Civil Liberties and Human Rights group at Duncan Lewis is a "behemoth in the legal aid sector". The team is noted for having a "particular specialism in migrants’ rights cases" and "an unrelenting commitment to their clients’ best interests... they will always go the extra mile." Duncan Lewis Solicitors "are willing to take on even the most challenging cases, ensuring representation for many vulnerable clients who would otherwise not have any."
Legal 500 2024 Edition.Civil Liberties and Human Rights / London
"Choosing Duncan Lewis to be my solicitors was one of the best decisions I have ever made." The team Civil Liberties team is noted in Chambers & Partners 2024 for its "highly regarded for its specialist human rights practice which predominantly arises in the immigration context. The firm frequently represents individuals in complex judicial reviews and cases challenging unlawful detention."
Chambers UK 2024 Edition.Civil Liberties & Human Rights / UK-wide
"A big team with a big capacity", Duncan Lewis Solicitors is differentiated by its sizeable judicial review and claimant offering, with a particular focus on immigration and unlawful detention. The "excellent team of solicitors" has "a great depth of experience and have been involved in some of the most important case in the last 10 years", with a proven track record of "preventing removals and securing releases from detention." "They are also heavily involved in the trafficking arena, both in claims for judicial review and civil/human rights claims. They are incredibly well prepared, dedicated and really know their stuff."
Legal 500 2023 Edition.Civil Liberties and Human Rights / London
“Immigration specialist Duncan Lewis Solicitors has expertise in inquires and large judicial reviews and represents vulnerable people in human rights, crime, prison law, court of protection, mental capacity and social welfare matters. Issues related to Windrush are another forte for the firm, which also has an increasing international public law presence, developing litigation challenges to UK government practices in Libya and Eritrea…”
Legal 500 2022 Edition.Immigration: human rights, appeals and overstay / London; Wales; South East; East Midlands; West Midlands
"Particularly well known for its work on behalf of legal aid clients, including vulnerable individuals such as LGBT+ asylum seekers and those with mental health conditions. Active across the spectrum of human rights-related immigration cases, including unlawful detention challenges and leave to remain applications. Routinely appears before the higher domestic courts, including the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court."
Chambers UK 2022 Edition.Immigration: Human Rights, Asylum and Deportation / UK-wide
"They are very involved in broad strategic challenges, particularly regarding immigration detention. They are very creative and keen to think outside the box."
Chambers UK 2021 Edition.Immigration: Human Rights, Asylum and Deportation / UK-wide
“The immigration team at Duncan Lewis Solicitors is well-regarded for its work in asylum, human rights and nationality law. Public law director Toufique Hossain has extensive experience representing asylum seekers, many of whom are vulnerable clients. The practice has a strong track record of acting for victims of modern slavery, trafficking, torture, and domestic violence and for unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors. Other key areas of work include ECHR cases and cases involving civil liberties.”
Legal 500 2021 Edition.Immigration / London
Duncan Lewis Solicitors is ‘one of the leading firms in the field of immigration’ and has achieved success in several Supreme Court, High Court, Court of Appeal and Upper Tribunal cases.
Legal 500 2019 Edition.Civil Liberties and Human Rights / London
Duncan Lewis Civil Liberties & Human Rights
Praised for our depth in experience and commitment to Human Rights by both The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners UK legal directories, we are specialist civil liberties practitioners covering a number of areas of law including Immigration, Public Law, Childcare, Family, Housing and Crime. Our team of lawyers transcends a number of these key legal departments to ensure an effective and consistent multidisciplinary approach to our representation. We have extensive experience challenging human rights violations for victims of torture, trafficking, domestic violence and unaccompanied minors. A number of our clients are often very vulnerable with illnesses and/or severe mental health conditions.
Civil liberties are those freedoms and protections explicitly granted by our domestic law – such as the Data Protection Act, the Equality Act etc. Although Public bodies in the United Kingdom are naturally expected to act in accordance with domestic law, Duncan Lewis are ready to assist you if, as happens occasionally things do go wrong that require legal action.
Human rights law fills the gap between those explicit protections and the rights of individuals set out in the articles of the European Convention on Human Rights. Some of these articles, such as article 3 - the right to protection against ‘inhumane or degrading treatment’ are absolute and no breach of the right can be lawful. For other articles, such as article 8 - the right to ‘respect for private and family life’, the right is qualified, and breaches of the right may be lawful in some cases but not in others. If a decision is in accordance with domestic law, but interferes with a qualified right, then the interests of the individuals affected are weighed against those of society at large.
Unfortunately, British authorities often interpret human rights in an unduly restrictive manner, and it is frequently necessary to bring a legal challenge to secure those rights, and sometimes to secure compensation for breach of those rights.
Human rights are protected in law in a variety of ways:
- They can be relied upon in appeals against the decisions of public bodies.
- If the decision does not come with a right of appeal then the decision can be judicially reviewed and quashed on the basis that it breaches human rights (unless the sole remedy sought is damages).
- If the sole remedy sought is damages, then a claim can be brought in either the County Court or the High Court under the Human Rights Act.
- If a case has exhausted its domestic remedies – i.e. no further appeal can be brought under domestic law – then a further appeal can be made to the European Court of Human Rights, which can also grant temporary relief pending the resolution of the case.
- The High Court can also strike down provisions of domestic law which are inconsistent with human rights law, unless the provision is contained in an Act of Parliament in which case it can make a ‘declaration of incompatibility’.
Contact our civil liberties & human rights law solicitors and specialist team now if you require advice on a civil liberties & human rights law matter. A member of our team will be happy to assist you.