Maria Patsalos > Mishcon de Reya LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile
Mishcon de Reya LLP Offices
AFRICA HOUSE
70 KINGSWAY
LONDON
WC2B 6AH
England
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Maria Patsalos
Work Department
Mishcon Private
Position
Maria is a Partner in Mishcon Private advising individual and corporate clients on all areas of Immigration law. Her clients benefit from her vast technical knowledge and experience in dealing with exceptional cases, as well as her ability to provide innovative and bespoke solutions.
Maria has substantive expertise across all UK visa application types from Points Based System applications and settlement route applications, to highly complex and discretionary applications outside of the Immigration Rules. Under the Points Based System, Maria regularly advises on sponsor licences and sponsor compliance for companies wishing to employ workers under the Skilled Worker and Global Business Mobility visa categories. She also has considerable experience in relation to Sole Representative visas which now also fall under the UK Expansion Worker visa category. Maria regularly advises on and assists with fiancée/spouse/civil partnership and unmarried partner applications and often assists such clients where complex circumstances arise. Maria’s clients also include European nationals seeking advice in relation to their UK immigration status post-Brexit and clients who require assistance with appeals to the Immigration Tribunal and with Judicial Review applications.
Many of her clients wish to obtain Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK and subsequent British citizenship. This often involves complex matters such as excess absences from the UK requiring the exercise of discretion by the Home Office. Maria assists with the provision of long term strategic advice, as well as establishing links and connections with the UK for such clients.
Maria has recently been awarded Human Rights Solicitor of the Year by the Law Society for her extraordinary efforts to ensure that the protection of human rights law is available to all. In fact, she has many years of experience, especially with regard to political asylum claims mainly on the basis of clients’ political affiliations or membership of certain social groups. Maria also regularly assists clients with obtaining second residencies or citizenships.
Maria led the firm’s involvement in a Judicial Review on behalf of the Project for the Registration of Children as British Citizens (“PRCBC”), which went to the Supreme Court, in relation to the profit-making element of the citizenship application fee and it being unaffordable for some children. The finding from the Court of Appeal on the PRCBC case in relation to section 55 and the best interests of the child still stands and demonstrates Maria’s conviction to advocate for a fair and accessible immigration system.
The immigration element of Pink Law, a free legal advice service for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, was founded by Maria. As a result of the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement, Maria also co-founded the Black Justice Project in partnership with Queen Mary University, University of London Legal Advice Centre, to help tackle/combat the long-term discrimination against the Black community.
Maria is the immigration representative in the firm’s Sports Group. She regularly advises football clubs in the UK regarding obtaining visas for players and has also advised in relation to rugby, golf and darts. Maria has also advised various sports governing bodies in relation to their immigration sponsorship rules. Maria has delivered the Immigration & Sport training for MBL for a number of years.
She is also part of Mishcon Purpose, which provides specialist and purpose-driven advice and she recently launched Climate Migration Project. Its aim is to recognise and raise awareness around the issue of climate-induced mobility and displacement of people, and legislate on the issue of recognising climate migration refugees in the UK by potentially creating a separate immigration category.
Maria often appears in the press and has been quoted in the FT, The Times, The Guardian, The Evening Standard and City A.M., as well as featuring on Sky Sports News, Channel 4 online and BBC television and radio in relation to topical and high profile immigration matters.
Career
Partner, Mishcon de Reya LLP
Managing Associate, Mishcon de Reya LLP
Associate, Mishcon de Reya Solicitor, Mishcon de Reya
Trainee, Mishcon de Reya
Education
University of Birmingham, BA Classical Literature and Civilisation
Lawyer Rankings
London > Employment > Immigration
(Leading individuals)Mishcon de Reya LLP is the ‘go to‘ firm in ‘complex, high-profile asylum work‘, and has a ‘market leading‘ offering across personal immigration for HNW individuals and business immigration for major companies. The wider firm’s capabilities across a range of practice areas provide added value for clients, with white collar crime, extradition, and cyber teams available for asylum clients just as corporate and employment assist in business immigration. Steven Bostock heads the practice, having qualified in the US and the UK to provide a specialised service in US/UK migration matters. Kamal Rahman is ‘an absolute authority‘ on private wealth, acting for major HNW families from a range of regions, Hannah Barnett advises on HNW and business immigration, and Maria Patsalos undertakes ‘first-rate‘ work across immigration matters and is particularly noted for her work in human rights, asylum, and the sports sector. Managing associate Natalie Loader is ‘a standout professional‘ with expertise in compliance, and fellow managing associate Neil Shanghavi has substantial experience in the financial services sector.
London > TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport
Mishcon de Reya LLP‘s sports group head Simon Leaf leverages his ‘expert grasp not only of sports law but also technology matters’ to advise clients that operate at the intersection of tech, media and sport, including NFTs and crypto-centric ventures. Leaf also works with various sports investors and agencies as well as a number of football clubs, working with the latter on with financial regulation compliance. Tom Murray regularly works alongside Leaf as he assists motorsport clients with drivers’ contracts and endorsement deals; his broad client roster spans world champion boxers, F1 drivers and football clubs, governing bodies, players and agents, as well as sports tech businesses. Immigration specialist Maria Patsalos is a go-to adviser for women’s football matters, while ‘fantastic litigator’ Peter Nunn is called upon by motorsport clients for advice on on crypto-related disputes. Reema Sharma – a recent arrival from Freeths LLP – works on high-value matters related to the hosting and broadcasting of boxing matches in the Middle East. Oliver Millichap is a further name to note.
Lawyer Rankings
- Immigration London > Employment
- Leading individuals London > Employment > Immigration
- Sport London > TMT (technology, media and telecoms)
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Private client > Art and cultural property
- Private client > Contentious trusts and probate
- Employment > Employers
- Private client > Family
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: civil
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Gaming and betting
- Employment > Immigration
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: trade marks, copyright and design
- Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate
- Real estate > Property litigation
- Real estate > Residential property
- Employment > Senior executives
Firm Rankings
- Public sector > Administrative and public law
- Real estate > Commercial property: investment
- Real estate > Construction: non-contentious
- Corporate and commercial > Financial services: contentious
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: white-collar crime (advice to individuals)
- Insurance > Insurance litigation: for policyholders
- Corporate and commercial > Partnership
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Private prosecutions
- Risk advisory > Regulatory investigations and corporate crime (advice to corporates)
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Reputation management
- Industry focus > Retail and consumer
- Industry focus > TMT
- Corporate and commercial > Venture capital
- Real estate > Commercial property: development
- Dispute resolution > Competition litigation
- Risk advisory > Data protection, privacy and cybersecurity
- Public sector > Education: individuals
- Employment > Employee share schemes
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Franchising
- Industry focus > Hospitality and leisure
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: patents (contentious and non-contentious)
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > IT and telecoms
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media: Film & TV
- Real estate > Planning
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport
- Dispute resolution > Tax litigation and investigations
- Public sector > Civil liberties and human rights
- Corporate and commercial > Commercial contracts
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: premium
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate tax
- Employment > Health and safety
- Industry focus > Life sciences and healthcare
- Corporate and commercial > M&A: Lower Mid-Market Deals, £100m-£750m
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > PATMA: Trade mark attorneys
- Corporate and commercial > Private equity: transactions - mid-market deals (up to £250m)
- Real estate > Property finance
- Dispute resolution > Banking litigation: investment and retail
- Private client > Charities and not-for-profit
- Real estate > Construction: contentious
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Crime: general
- Corporate and commercial > EU and competition
- Private client > Court of protection