Immigration Solicitor / Supervisor - IAAS Level 1 Accreditation in London

Role: Immigration Solicitor (IAAS Level 1 Supervisor) – City of London

Duncan Lewis Solicitors is seeking a motivated and talented Immigration Solicitor (IAAS Level 1 Supervisor) to join our highly regarded Immigration Department in the City of London.

This is an excellent opportunity to further your career with one of the UK's leading law firms, recognised by The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners as a top-tier immigration practice and awarded Law Firm of the Year at both the 2024 Lexis Nexis Awards and the 2023 Modern Law Awards.

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in the City of London, Duncan Lewis Solicitors is a national, award-winning, paperless law firm with over 500 professionals nationwide.

With one of the UK's largest immigration law practices, we are committed to delivering exceptional legal services while staying true to our ethos: "We give people a voice."

Our Immigration Department is recognised as a market leader and ranked by The Legal 500 for its expertise across asylum, human rights, nationality, business immigration and appeals.

With over 160 specialist immigration lawyers nationwide, the team is renowned for handling complex and high-profile matters while delivering outstanding outcomes for clients.

Joining Duncan Lewis means becoming part of a diverse, supportive and forward-thinking organisation where you will have the opportunity to supervise and mentor legal team members, work on a broad range of challenging immigration matters, and contribute to the continued success of one of the UK's most respected immigration law practices.

Duties and responsibilities

As a Immigration Solicitor (IAAS Level 1 Supervisor), you will manage a varied caseload of immigration matters, including both Legal Aid Agency funded and private client work, while providing supervision, guidance and support to junior team members in accordance with IAAS and regulatory requirements.

Key responsibilities will include

• Reporting directly to the Department Director.
• Responsible for all aspects of Immigration work including providing technical expertise and guidance to other team members
• Ability to manage and supervise Solicitors, Trainee Solicitors and Caseworkers to manage appropriate caseload types and complexities
• Assisting with delivery of appropriate training and development in the department
• Variety of duties including dealing with a range of Immigration work including; detained clients; victims of trafficking & torture; asylum work from initial applications through to Tribunal appeal and upper Court appeal matters; entry clearance applications and appeals and some judicial review work
• Preparing and managing funding applications to the Legal Aid Agency,
• Preparing draft documents including witness statements and processing evidence
• Preparing applications to meet Home Office requirements (incl drafting application forms, index of documents and letters of representations)
• Attending conferences and court
• You will have a professional pro-active approach, strong client care skills and be interested in Business Development and Marketing to supplement the substantial work volumes brought in by the company

Experience and qualifications

• Must have a clean, valid Practising Certificate at the time of applying
• Registered with the Law Society Immigration & Asylum Law Accreditation (IAAS level 1 accreditation is essential)
• Be committed and highly driven to provide an excellent standard of service to our clients
• Strong management skills
• Committed team player with ability to approach team concerns fairly, foster culture of positive change and encourage cross referrals
• Previous proven supervisory experience and working to key performance indicators
• Professional with a pro-active approach; excellent client care skills and ability to deal with vulnerable client matters in a sensitive manner and resolve complicated practicalities involved in Immigration issues
• Excellent networking and communication skills with the ability to successfully market the Company and generate new business
• Working knowledge of the publicly funded Immigration work and have the ability to service privately funded cases
• Have extensive experience in dealing with all Immigration related work and some expertise on adoption matters
• Experience in own advocacy is an advantage
• Excellent IT Skills -familiar with Microsoft Office applications and document management skills

Benefits

• Competitive salary with structured pay review process
• Company pension scheme
• 22 days annual leave, increasing with length of service
• Additional birthday leave*
• Occupational sick pay*
• Payment of practising certificate and relevant professional membership fees*
• Access to extensive e-library resources and training webinars
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and wellbeing support
• Employee referral scheme
• Eye care vouchers
• Enhanced family-friendly benefits*
• DBS checks paid by the Company
• Flexible and hybrid working options, including part-time arrangements where appropriate
• Support for solicitor qualification and SQE1 examinations*
• Clear career progression opportunities
• Support for industry recognition, awards, and professional profile development
• Company Medical Cash Plan*

*Subject to eligibility and Company policy.

Company culture

At Duncan Lewis Solicitors, we are passionate about creating an environment where talented professionals can thrive.

We are proud of our diverse and inclusive workforce and are committed to providing equal opportunities for all employees.

We invest heavily in the growth of our people through ongoing training, mentoring, clear progression pathways and opportunities to gain industry recognition.

Whether you are looking to deepen your expertise, develop leadership skills or advance your career within a nationally recognised law firm, Duncan Lewis provides the platform to help you succeed.

Join a firm where your expertise is valued, your development is supported, and your work makes a genuine difference to the lives of clients across the UK.