Hazar El-Chamaa > Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP‘s team of independent school experts is highly regarded for its assistance on employment, safeguarding, and governance matters. Additionally, the team covers matters such as employee compensation, pension issues, and sensitive matters involving students, their parents and staff, including investigation into allegations of sex discrimination. ‘Discrimination law specialist’ Gemma Woodhouse leads the practice from Reading and is noted for her expertise in special educational needs, discrimination and employment issues. Hazar El-Chamaa is the key advisor in immigration matters. ‘Exceptional’ Katie Glendinning is experienced in advising independent schools in an array of employment issues. Victoria Spires covers a range of contentious and non-contentious employment law.

The immigration group at Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP is praised as ‘word-class in terms of professional skills, knowledge of the law and effectiveness‘, and has expertise in all aspects of business immigration with particular emphasis on the education, tech and private wealth sectors. The department has its own audit compliance and training arm, extensive experience handling private individual applications for businesses and assisting private clients wanting to set up businesses in the UK, and can additionally draw on the firm’s employment, corporate and dispute resolution teams. Pat Saini leads the immigration team as well as the India group and is particularly knowledgeable in the tech, education and life sciences sectors, and Hazar El-Chamaa acts for corporate clients in a broad range of sectors, and as well as heading the firm’s private wealth offering. The group also includes Meghan Vozila who is ‘a star‘ and advises on all aspects of UK immigration and nationality law, and Afeefah Shabbir assists corporate clients with comprehensive immigration advice and is ‘very knowledgeable, responsive and flexible in her approach‘.

Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP ‘offers state-of-the-art services in the legal domain‘ and advises on the full range of personal immigration issues. As part of a full-service law firm and with a group embedded in the private client offering, the practice offers advice to HNW and UHNW clients on all aspects of relocating to the UK. Practice head Pat Saini is ‘a leader in the field of UK immigration‘ and also spearheads the firm’s India group; her immigration practice spans both personal and corporate immigration in a variety of industries, and, leveraging her expertise in the education sector, she regularly handles applications for international students looking to apply to remain in the UK. Hazar El-Chamaa heads up the firm’s private wealth immigration offering, and regularly advises HNW and UHNW on immigration routes such as Innovator Founder, Global Talent and the EU Settlement Scheme. Recently promoted to partner, Meghan Vozila has expertise in all aspects of immigration law.

Praised for its ‘combination of skill, responsiveness and connection with the client‘, Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP advises on the full range of immigration matters, with significant experience in a wide range of human rights, asylum, overstay and citizenship applications. Pat Saini leads the firm’s immigration team and boasts a broad practice. Meghan Vozila advises on all aspects of UK immigration and nationality law for high-net-worth clients, with particular expertise in complex nationality matters. The ‘outstanding‘ Jen Parker is proficient in exceptional applications raising human rights grounds, including family applications and asylum claims. Parker has considerable experience working with children and vulnerable clients and acts in a variety of immigration appeals and Judicial Review claims. The ‘personable and skillful‘ Hazar El-Chamaa is also a key contact for private immigration clients.