Immigration Team

Michael Hanley

Michael Hanley graduated from Cambridge University in law and was admitted as a solicitor in 1985. He commenced his career as a civil litigator, but since 1994 has specialised exclusively in immigration, nationality and asylum law. He has been a partner since 1990.

Michael has been ranked as a leading individual in immigration in the Chambers Legal Directory for a number of years. In the 2006 edition he was praised for his "thorough, completely committed approach" and for his "unyielding dedication in pushing cases in the right direction for his client", and in the 2007 edition as a "fantastic all-rounder" who "always sees his clients through to the end of the case."

He is an individual member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association. He taught the Immigration Legal Practice Course at Metropolitan London University for four years between 2001 and 2004 and is currently an external examiner at Westminster University . He has had the conduct of cutting-edge cases in the European Court of Human Rights and the House of Lords. He has a mixed practice of legal aid and private clients. He was a Legal Services Commission peer reviewer between 2004 and 2008. He is an Independent Costs Assessor and a consultant to the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner.

He was appointed as a fee paid Judge in 2006 in the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal.

Matthew Davies

Matthew Davies graduated from the University of Manchester and joined Wilson & Co in 1990, qualifying as a solicitor in 1992. He became a partner in the firm in 1997.

Since qualification he has practised exclusively in immigration and asylum. He has considerable expertise in a wide range of immigration work at all levels. His particular expertise is finding solutions for individuals with complex immigration problems.

Matthew is an experienced trainer for the Immigration Law Practitioners' Association and other organisations, and has served as a consultant to the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner. He is a past Chair of both INQUEST and the Stonewall Immigration Group, and shared the Stonewall Equality Award in 1997. He is the author of a number of published texts, including the immigration chapter in the National Aids Manual. Most recently, he wrote the Best Practice Guide to fast-track asylum cases for ILPA. Matthew is recommended as a leader in the field of immigration law in the Chambers UK Guide to the Legal Profession. In the 2006 edition he was commended for his "well prepared cogent, clear and sensible advice", and in the 2007 edition described as "one of the giants of the immigration field." In 2008, he was praised for his "innovative, intelligent and strategic way of looking at things."

Damian Hanley

Damian Hanley was educated at Keele University and the College of Law. He trained at Wilson & Co and qualified as a solicitor in 1998. Since then, he has specialised exclusively in immigration work, particularly asylum cases. He has extensive experience of representing clients at all levels of the system, including the High Court and Court of Appeal.

He represents clients from all over the world, and has a particular interest in entry clearance appeals, on the basis of marriage, student status and entitlement to family reunion. Damian was made a partner in 2004.

Anita Vasisht

Anita graduated in French, Russian and Law. She worked in Amnesty International's Legal Office for two years and represented Amnesty at the UN in Geneva and at a human rights conference in West Africa. Anita qualified as a solicitor in May 1997 and joined Wilson & Co shortly afterwards. She became a partner in 2005.

Anita's caseload focuses on personal immigration and asylum/human rights. Over the years, she has gained a reputation as an extremely experienced and respected specialist among both academics and her peers. Anita has acted successfully in particularly complex political cases (Russia, Algeria, Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon) and her expertise in Palestinian and other Middle Eastern asylum work is second to none. In KK IH HE (Palestinians-Lebanon-camps) Palestine CG [2004] UKIAT00293 Anita sought to argue that the discrimination suffered by Palestinians in Lebanon amounts to persecution.

Anita regularly gives in-house training on general immigration and asylum. In 2008, Anita acted as a trustee for Asylum Aid.  In 2007, Anita worked with a Radio 4 reporter to produce a positive piece on asylum seekers for the programme "Broadcasting House" - the reporter followed one of Anita's clients through the NAM application/appeal process. Anita's other media work includes taking part in a live television phone-in, answering viewers' immigration questions, and appearing on BBC Arabic TV.

Relevant to her interest in Palestinian cases, Anita has spent time in Palestinian refugee camps in southern Lebanon. An exceptionally strong all-rounder, Anita has also frequently acted for domestic workers as well as for victims of trafficking and "honour" crimes.

Russell Blakely

Russell Blakely grew up in Northern Ireland and read law at Oxford University. He qualified as a solicitor at Wilson & Co in 1999. He specialises in complex asylum litigation, conducting cases in the House of Lords and the Supreme Court.

In HT (Cameroon) [2008] EWCA Civ 1288, he persuaded the Court of Appeal to grant an extension of time of nearly three months, setting a new precedent. In the controversial conflict of laws decision, HT (Cameroon) [2008] EWCA Civ 1508, he identified and successfully litigated the jurisdiction issue.

Russell is a trustee of the UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group charity. He has represented the Immigration Law Practitioners' Association in their asylum and legal aid work. He is on the advisory board to the Immigration Advisory Service, for their Lottery-funded research project on the use of country of origin material in asylum cases. He is a member of the City Music Society.

James Elliott

James Elliott was educated at the Universities of Leeds and Westminster, and qualified as a solicitor at Wilson & Co in 2001. Since then he has specialised in immigration and asylum law, and has extensive experience at all levels of the system.

James is a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association, and has provided training for ILPA in London and Manchester on "Somali Refugee Claims". He has conducted field trips to gather evidence for country guidance cases. He is listed as an associate to watch in Chambers and Partners, which notes his "remarkable confidence and drive".

Muhunthan Paramesvaran

Muhunthan was educated at the University of Sussex, and qualified as a solicitor in 2003. He now specialises in asylum, immigration, nationality and human rights. He has extensive expertise in Judicial Review and Court of Appeal work. He is a trainer for the Immigration Law Practitioners Association and other professional organisations. Muhunthan assisted in the design and presentation of the Somalia course which formed part of the Immigration Advisory Service lottery-funded research project on the use of country of origin material in asylum cases. Muhunthan has also appeared on a live television phone-in answering viewer's questions on immigration issues. He has specialist experience representing applicants from Sri Lanka and Somalia.

Muhunthan's reported cases include: Miao [2006] EWCA Civ 75 (Interpretation of family reunion policy, paragraph 317 Immigration Rules, Article 8 ECHR) and  MY (Turkey) [2008] EWCA Civ 477 (Scope of second stage reconsideration applying DK Serbia). In the country guidance case AM & AM (armed conflict: risk categories) Somalia CG [2008] UKAIT 00091, Muhunthan conducted a field trip to gather evidence, which was relied on heavily by the Tribunal in that case. He acted in SN (Pakistan) [2009] EWCA Civ 181 (inadequate reasoning by AIT in assessing risk on return to Pakistan, in particular because she was a single mother with a child which may or may not have be perceived to be illegitimate). Muhunthan acted for Kalombo in Kalombo [2009] EWCA Civ 302 where the Tribunal's country guidance on risk categories for asylum seekers from DRC was re-affirmed and the Court of Appeal quashed a decision of the Secretary of State to refuse to treat representations as a fresh claim. Muhunthan acted for NV in AS (Afghanistan) and NV (Sri Lanka) [2009] EWCA Civ 1076, establishing the significance of "one-stop" notices under the 2002 Act.

Ana Gonzalez

Ana Gonzalez was born in Spain and educated at the University of La Coruna. She moved to the UK in 1994. She joined the Refugee Legal Centre as a casework assistant in 1996, where she worked full-time whilst studying part-time to convert to English law.

Ana joined Wilson & Co in 1999 and qualified as a solicitor in 2003. Having trained in asylum, nationality and public law, she now practises in immigration and asylum work, and has interests in human rights and European law. She is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese. She was praised in of Chambers and Partners for her "constant attention to cases, leading client care and real knowledge of the law."

Kay Everett

Kay Everett read Law and Chinese Studies at the University of Leeds. She trained and worked at Lovells before moving to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer where she worked in the project finance team. Whilst reading a Masters in International Human Rights Law, Kay worked at Hackney Community Law Centre specialising in asylum and immigration law. Kay then joined the immigration team at Christian Khan where she became head of the department. She joined Wilson & Co in January 2008.

Kay has extensive experience in removal and deportation cases, cases involving children and individuals with serious mental health conditions. She is a committee member of the Law Society's International Human Rights Committee.

Rosalyn Akar

Rosalyn Akar studied psychology and sociology at the University of Bath, with a year placement at Harvard University, and then studied law at the College of Law. She joined the Refugee Legal Centre in 2002 and was an appeals caseworker. She joined Wilson & Co in 2005. She qualified as a solicitor in 2008.

Rosalyn now practices in a range of immigration law, with a particular interest in asylum and human rights cases. She has conducted complex control order cases.

Abigail Evans

Abigail was educated at the University of California, Los Angeles where she studied Anthropology, graduating summa cum laude.  She joined Wesley Gryk Solicitors in 2002, an d moved to Wilson and Co in 2004.

Abigail  qualified as a solicitor in 2008, having trained in asylum and human rights, immigration, public law and crime. She specialises in human rights and asylum wor k with a particular interest in unlawful detention cases.

Nasir Ata

Nasir Ata was born in Afghanistan and educated at Kabul University. He moved to the UK in 1998 and studied at the University of Westminster and the College of Law. He joined Wilson & Co in 2006 and qualified as a solicitor in 2009.

Nasir specialises in asylum, with extensive experience of Fast Track asylum cases, criminal deportation, judicial review and human rights work, and has particular interest in war crime cases. He is fluent in English, Farsi/Dari and Pushtu, and is familiar with Urdu.

Joanna Hunt

Joanna obtained a Masters in Public International Law from the University of Toronto specialising in International Human Rights Law. She completed an internship with the NGO Justice and worked at the Kurdish Human Rights Project before joining Wilson & Co as a trainee in 2007. She qualified as a solicitor in 2009.

Joanna practices in Immigration and Asylum law, and has a particular interest in the cross-over between Immigration and Criminal Law. She is an accredited Police Station Representative.

Christine Benson

Christine studied Law and French at the Manchester Metropolitan University, with a year placement studying International Politics at L'Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Aix-en-Provence. She gained a Distinction in the Legal Practice Course at the College of Law. Christine joined Popkin & Co in 2003 and moved to Wilson & Co in 2005. She qualified as a solicitor in 2009.

Christine practices in all areas of asylum and immigration related human rights law, with a particular interest in cases originating from the Middle East. She regularly acts for  political  refugees from the Kurdish areas and women subject to "Honour"  related  violence.