Sophie specialises in housing, asylum and immigration law. She is also developing a practice in community care. Sophie is able to provide tailored and practical advice to her clients owing to the breadth of her practice.
Housing Law
Sophie provides advice and representation in all areas of housing law, including possession proceedings, injunctions and disrepair. She has experience in advancing all public law defences.
Sophie represents clients in appeals against negative homelessness decisions in the County Court including issues relating to suitability of accommodation and vulnerability. Sophie is able to use her experience of representing asylum seekers and migrants to advise on eligibility and vulnerability in the context of priority need.
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Community Care Law
Sophie is continuing to develop her practice in community care law. She has advised in cases involving asylum seekers with care needs, asylum support, homeless families, care leavers and age assessments. She volunteers as a duty advocate for the Asylum Support Appeals Project.
Sophie's experience of immigration law is useful where advising particular client groups including migrant families.
Sophie has previous experience of working as a paralegal in a legally aided firm challenging decisions relating to provision of accommodation and support under the Children Act 1989 and Care Act 2014. Sophie is a contributor to the forthcoming ‘Housing Law Handbook’.
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IMMIGRATION: ASYLUM AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Sophie represents clients in asylum, human rights, deportation and EEA appeals, bail applications and judicial review claims. She has experience in representing victims of trafficking, those with complex mental health conditions (including those lacking capacity to litigate) and children.
Sophie advises on the merits of challenging a range of public law decisions including fresh claim refusals, refusals of EEA family permits and revocations of British citizenship. She has experience in undertaking emergency work, including out of hours applications for stays on removal.
Sophie advises clients from Francophone countries and welcomes instructions from French-speaking clients.
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Pro Bono Work
Sophie represents clients through the Bar Pro Bono Unit, Bail for Immigration Detainees and the AIRE centre amongst others.
Sophie is a volunteer lawyer for RLS Athens. She spent 2 weeks advising asylum seekers and refugees in Athens in January 2018.
Sophie advises members of the public on housing law issues at the South Westminster Legal Advice Centre.
She has previously volunteered for the Baobab Centre for Young Survivors in Exile, where she assisted child victims of trafficking, and Vocalise, where she helped train prisoners to develop debating skills.
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Background
Sophie has an LLM in Public International Law from King's College London, in which she received a Distinction for her dissertation on the human rights of child victims of trafficking.
Sophie received funding to work at the European Commission where she helped to develop policies relating to the rule of law. She then worked as a paralegal at Hansen Palomares Solicitors in legally aided housing and community care, securing accommodation for vulnerable clients from a range of public bodies.
Sophie contributed to the Bar Human Rights Committee report on police violence and access to justice in Calais migrant camps in 2016 using her French language skills to obtain relevant evidence.
Sophie joined Garden Court Chambers in October 2017 following completion of her pupillage in October 2016 under the supervision of Rebecca Chapman and Di Middleton QC.
Publications
Sophie is a contributor to the Free Movement blog: https://www.freemovement.org.uk.
She assisted in drafting the chapter relating to Immigration Enforcement in the forthcoming edition of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants: Immigration, Nationality & Refugee Law Handbook.
Education
- LLB (Hons) English Law and French Law, University of Manchester (Upper 2:1)
- LLM Public International Law, King's College London (Distinction)
- Bar Professional Training Course, Kaplan Law School (Very Competent)
Professional Membership
- Administrative Law Bar Association (ALBA)
- Immigration Law Practitioners' Association (ILPA)
- Housing Law Practitioners' Association (HLPA)
- Liberty
- Young Legal Aid Lawyers
Languages
- French (fluent)
- Portuguese (basic working knowledge)
