Paragon Law > Nottingham, England > Firm Profile

Paragon Law Offices

Paragon Law
7B BROAD STREET
NOTTINGHAM
NG1 3AJ
England
Visit website 0115 964 4123 0115 964 4111

Paragon Law > The Legal 500 Rankings

Employment > Immigration Tier 1

Praised for its ‘second to none service and advice’, Paragon Law is highly recommended for employers looking for assistance on sponsorship matters, skilled worker applications, transferring senior or specialist staff, challenging Home Office decisions and all manner of HR matters. Team head Thalej Vasishta is the go-to advisor for German clients, overseas companies and entrepreneurs looking to relocate to the UK. Kirin Abbas remains active advising on business immigration, while Deirdre Sheahan represents asylum seekers. Emma Okenyi leads the personal and family immigration department and has an interest in complex British citizenship cases and long residency applications.

Practice head(s):

Thal Vasishta; Kirin Abbas; Emma Okenyi; Deirdre Sheahan

Testimonials

‘The service and advice provided by the team at Paragon is second to none. Nothing is too much trouble, advice and support is very timely, online where needed and they immediately gave us confidence of their understanding of our large operation and immigration needs and supported us.’

‘The service provided by the solicitor I worked with was one of the best I have ever experienced with any law firm. The client was updated at every stage of the claim, steps forward were implemented on time, every time, and with utter competence. The solicitor took counsel from an excellent barrister and the client greatly benefited from this close alliance between the solicitor and the barrister.’

‘I think where PL excel is that they have a past history of doing legally aided judicial review work, so they know how to do it, and that means they know when there is a proper problem which requires quick litigation, and they know at that point to move fast and get counsel. I think they do this really well – they know when to back out of what they usually do and act quickly and decisively.’

‘Thal is the head and knows what is required – he also seems to me to be an excellent manager and manager of clients and client expectations.’

‘Kirin is just great at the detail of sponsor licence stuff – what is required; when it has gone wrong; and when to litigate. Very on it; very responsive.’

‘Thalej Vasishta is reliable, provides practical support, advice and guidance, is available out of normal hours and has a very personable approach. No question is ever a silly question.’

‘Kirin Abbas is also a great support and provides the same practical support and guidance as Tal. Both provide excellent training.’

Key clients

East Midlands Chamber of Commerce

Brush Group Limited

Envivo Group

Essentra PLC

Forterro UK Limited

Hakim Group

Init innovation in traffic systems SE

Open University

Vision Express UK Limited

Mitchells and Butler PLC

Work highlights

  • Advised and handled the sponsor licence application to register the Mitchells and Butler Group of companies as a sponsor licence holder.
  • Advised Essentra on the sale of its packaging division, which required advice on the legal requirements of the transfer of skilled workers, reports to the UKVI, and advising the purchaser of its requirements to assume sponsorship of workers transferring to it.
  • Advising MHA Care Group on the management of its sponsor licence, to train its HR team on sponsor duty requirements and to provide support in the sponsorship application process.

Paragon Law > Firm Profile

This “Immigration Law Powerhouse” is known, in equal measures, for their corporate immigration law know-how and their ground-breaking asylum and human rights work.  The firm is highly regarded by clients and peers for handling complex and high profile cases.

As a niche immigration law firm, we offer the full range of services to companies and individuals.  Our client based is varied and includes large public companies, local authorities, charities, start-ups, universities, owner-managed businesses and individuals, a number of which are well known in sports and entertainment.  Our clients are both UK based and an international community of clients that are looking to locate either themselves, their family or business in the UK.  The firm acts for significant families from regions such as Asia, West Africa and the Middle East.

The firm: Paragon Law is one of the largest immigration law teams in the UK.  The team would be a sizeable department in a multi-service firm.

The firm’s founders have a strong commitment to human rights and “building bridges and not walls”.  This is demonstrated in the choice of our niche practice area.  We are proud to be a multi-award-winning firm and in particular to be recognised for being as diverse as the clients that we represent.

Types of work undertaken: The firm has the expertise to handle any project or problem that has a UK immigration law or policy angle to it.  The practice is divided into three core areas.

Corporate immigration and business services: Our work includes UK sponsor licence applications (across all Tiers), sponsor licence management for key clients, immigration law training and audits of HR processes.  The firm has particular expertise in advising clients who are multisite or are part of a group of companies with sister offices overseas.  The firm also has successful experience of overturning sponsor licence revocations and successfully challenging civil penalty notices.  We are retained by a number of HR teams to ensure that systems and processes are maintained and compliant with UKVI sponsorship duties.

For setting up businesses in the UK our expertise includes business visitor applications, advising businesses that are looking to set up through sending senior personnel via the UK Expansion Visa or transferring key staff to overseas sister companies as senior or specialist workers.

The firm is also active in advising educational institutions and their international students.  The firm has nine universities as clients.

EU-UK Immigration Services – Paragon Law are active in advising companies and individuals from the EU who require teams in the UK to service projects and contracts. The Brexit team at Paragon Law also advise UK companies and their staff in respective travel to the EU and the provisions of the EU-UK Trade Agreement.

Personal immigration: We advise individuals and families in the entire immigration process.  This includes visa applications, extension applications, Indefinite Leave to Remain and British citizenship.  The immigration team are able to handle difficult and complex cases which quite often require legal arguments under the Human Rights Act.  We have obtained a number of exceptional decisions where the UKVI have exercised their discretion.

Asylum and human rights: Human Rights expertise includes claiming asylum in the UK, advice for children seeking asylum, family reunion applications and appeals at all stages including the First-Tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal, the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court and European Court of Human Rights.  The team are also able to pursue Judicial Review applications to the High Court and obtain emergency injunctions.

Main Contacts

Department Name Email Telephone
Managing Director, Corporate and Business Immigration Services Thalej Vasishta thalejv@paragonlaw.co.uk +44 (0)115 964 4117
Director, Corporate Immigration Kirin Abbas kirina@paragonlaw.co.uk +44 (0)115 964 4110
Director, Asylum and Human Rights Deirdre Sheahan deirdres@paragonlaw.co.uk +44 (0)115 964 4125
Director, Personal and Family Immigration Emma Okenyi emmao@paragonlaw.co.uk +44 (0)115 964 4124

Meet The Team(s)

Solicitor Profiles

Photo Name Position Profile
Kirin Abbas photo Ms Kirin Abbas Kirin Abbas is a Director at Paragon Law and is also a… View Profile
Shehzad Babar photo Mr Shehzad Babar Solicitor and IAAS Level 2 Senior Caseworker and Supervisor at Paragon Law.… View Profile
Karen Halliwell photo Mrs Karen Halliwell Karen Halliwell is a qualified immigration solicitor and Law Society accredited supervising… View Profile
Martina Ignatova photo Miss Martina Ignatova A qualified solicitor since March 2023, originating her professional development from the… View Profile
Emma Okenyi photo Ms Emma Okenyi Emma is the head of the Personal and Family Immigration department, established… View Profile
Deirdre Sheahan photo Ms Deirdre Sheahan Deirdre Sheahan is a Director at Paragon Law where she is head… View Profile
Nikita Swift photo Miss Nikita Swift Nikita joined Paragon Law in 2022, shortly after she qualified as a… View Profile
Thalej Vasishta photo Mr Thalej Vasishta Thalej Vasishta is a senior solicitor specialising in corporate immigration law. He… View Profile

Languages

All main business languages
Hindi (and several Indian regional languages)
Punjabi
Urdu
Swahili

Memberships

A well-established international network of foreign associates

Client Testimonials


I had an immigration business visa problem. I spoke to Sana at Paragon Law after reading their website which states that they deal with all immigration matters. Firstly, Sana was completely helpful in directing my problem to Thalej, an immigration lawyer at Paragon Law, who called me back and took the time to understand exactly what the problem was and give me a solution. I found Thalej to be knowledgeable with care and attention. This is exactly what you want in an already stressful situation.

Deirdre Sheahan is the precious gem at Paragon Law. She is a symbol of kindness, patience and empathy combined with an excellent professionalism. I never felt alone, and she always made herself available for me even though she was extremely busy especially in the Covid-19 period. I can’t thank her enough. Nigel Smith is the best human I have ever dealt with. I will never forget the late nights he stayed awake to help me remotely with my complex application and to meet the deadline. He went above and beyond to make a successful outcome.

I would strongly recommend Paragon Law to anyone who is looking for some advice on immigration law matters – especially Thalej Vasishta. I have used their services on multiple occasions and can confirm that they are highly professional, experienced and friendly. Thal is an expert in this matter and has always provided the right advice for every situation. He is very prompt in his response and follows up until the very end. He has always adhered to the deadline or timeline committed by him. He has also advised our company on complex matters with an easy go approach.

After having contacted several firms, I settled on Paragon and was glad that I did! Their communications were excellent, I was put in direct contact with extremely knowledgeable staff, and they saw the process through to the end very efficiently.

CLIENT: Sabaet Campbell

COMPANY/FIRM: The University of Liverpool Management School

TESTIMONIAL: We have valued the support provided by Paragon Law to the university and our students in helping us understand the ever-changing requirements of UK immigration law.

I’ve worked with Paragon Law across three different businesses. Regardless of the size and importance, the service is the same with no compromise. The team are able to pick up if one person is out.

Diversity


We are committed to being an equal opportunities employer and are proud that our colleagues are as diverse as the clients in which we represent. As a firm which is dedicated to helping some of the most vulnerable members of society, it is fundamental that our clients and colleagues are treated equally regardless of their gender, age, disability, race, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, or marital status.

Our most recent diversity report showed how we exceed industry averages in most categories. In the legal industry, on average 49% of employees are women, 21% are from a BAME background and 3% are a member of the LGBTQ+ community. However, Paragon Law’s statistics are far greater than industry standards with 75% of employees being women, just under 50% coming from a BAME background and 14% being a member of the LGBTQ+ community. At Paragon Law, the SLT reflects this diversity with 56% being women and 56% being from a BAME background. Through creating a welcoming and inclusive environment with plenty of room for progression regardless of one’s identity it has meant that Paragon Law has many long-standing employees – with a quarter of the firm’s employees having been at the firm for over 10 years

Press Releases

Spouses, Fiancés and Partner Visas – A Valentines Update

28th February 2024 Following recent financial requirement changes for family visas due to take effect from 01 April 2024, many individuals are seeking to apply to bring their partners to the UK ahead of this date.

Unmarried Partner Definition Change

6th February 2024 Introduction We have witnessed numerous changes made to the Immigration Rules in the course of the last 12 months, which we have discussed in our previous articles shared on our website under the Resources tab. Please refer to these articles for further guidance and details of these changes.

Civil Penalty For Employing Illegal Workers To Increase – Next Steps?

5th January 2024 When, Why and How Much? On 7 August 2023, UK Visas & Immigration announced that the penalty for employing illegal workers was set to increase. UK Visas & Immigration have now confirmed in their latest Code of Practice on Preventing Illegal Working that the fee increase is set to come into force from 22 January 2024. The penalties are set to increase from £15,000 per worker for a first breach to £45,000 per worker. Repeat breaches are due to increase from £20,000 per worker to £60,000 per worker. This is the first increase of civil penalties since 2014. In their August article, the Home Office justified the increase to deter employers from engaging in illegal practices and to discourage irregular migration. When issuing a penalty, UK Visas & Immigration has announced they will also consider mitigating factors to reduce the penalty issued. These include:
  • Has the employer reported suspected illegal workers to the Home Office? If a report has been made to the Home Office and a Unique Reference Number confirming the same has been received, the penalty for each illegal worker will be decreased by £5000. The suspected illegal worker(s) must be reported to the UK Visas & Immigration’s helpline. UK Visas & Immigration will consider this factor for first and repeat breaches.
  • Has the employer actively co-operated with the Home Office? Active co-operation with the Home Office during their investigation will result also in a reduction of £5000 per illegal worker. The Home Office note active co-operation includes providing access to premises/records; responding honestly and promptly during enforcement visits; being available during an investigation if required and full and prompt disclosure of evidence. UK Visas & Immigration will consider this for first and repeat breaches.
  • Does the employer have effective Right to Work checks in place? Employers that show they have effective recruitment practices and have evidenced their reporting of the illegal worker(s) and actively co-operate with the Home Office will have their penalty reduced to the minimum level of a warning notice. This only applies where the employer has not been shown to employ illegal workers within the past three years. The Home Office notes that general compliance with preventing illegal worker employment will evidence effective checking practices, as well as having robust document checking systems; thorough and consistent right-to-work checking processes; records of staff right-to-work checks; and a history of compliance with sponsor requirements.
It should also be noted that UK Visas & Immigration can make errors in their decision to issue a civil penalty notice and it is therefore important that you seek legal advice to see if there are grounds to challenge their decision.  What Should Employers Do? As UK Visas and Immigration have announced these changes, we would like to take the opportunity to remind sponsors of the importance of having the correct right-to-work checks in place. All sponsors have a duty to check all employees’ right to work in the UK. UKVI prescribe the following ways a sponsor can comply with their duty to ensure their employees have the right to work. One of the checks below must be made prior to the start date of the employee’s employment:
  • Manual check - This involves the employer reviewing an original version of the employee’s right-to-work document. The document needs to be checked in the presence of the employee and a clear, dated, copy of the document should be retained on file. Employers should ensure the document is genuine, belongs to the employee, photograph and date of birth is consistent with other information provided. Manual checks normally apply to British and Irish passport holders, although can apply to other status holders in some instances.
  • Identity service provider checks (IDSP) - An employer can use an independent IDSP to complete a digital identity check for any British and Irish worker, holding a valid British or Irish passport. UK Visas and Immigration publish a list of approved IDSP providers and advises that the provider use has a minimum level of ‘medium’ confidence according to their framework.
Providers do not need to be on this approved list, although employers using other providers should be satisfied the provider will offer the correct level of verification. The employer should then be satisfied the results of the check are consistent with the documents provided and retain the results of the check on file for the duration of employment and 2 years thereafter. 
  • Online Home Office check - For non-British or Irish workers, employers can use the Home Office’s right-to-work checking service. The service provides confirmation of the employee’s work rights in the UK and the duration of their leave via a digital result which is made using the Home Office’s online systems. The employee will first need to request a share code using the system and then provide this to their employer. The employer will then enter this on the service to verify that the employee has the right to work.
It is important to do this alongside reviewing an employee’s Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) to ensure their leave is still valid and no updates exist on their status. UK Visas and Immigration intend to phase out BRPs by the end of 2024, so it is important employers are familiar with the service. Employers should satisfy themselves that the details provided match other information provided and retain a clear copy of the check on file for the duration of the employee’s employment. What If I Am Still Awaiting A Decision From The Home Office? For employees or job applicants who are currently awaiting a decision on a submitted visa application or appeal of a Home Office decision, an employer must check the status via the Employer Checking Service (ECS). A positive verification notice using the ECS will provide a valid proof of right-to-work for 6 months. If the employee has still not received the result of their visa application prior to these 6 months expiring, the ECS will need to be repeated. The check should be retained on file and the applicant’s new status assessed as soon as it is available. Successfully completing any of the above checks will mean the employer will have a ‘statutory excuse’ that demonstrates that they have conducted a right-to-work check. Having a valid statutory excuse will mean that the employer avoids liability for payment of a civil penalty. Employers sponsoring workers should continue to follow their sponsorship duties, including their reporting and record-keeping duties on any employee in the UK. The increase in penalties set by UKVI highlights the importance of having the correct processes in place. How Can Paragon Law Help? Paragon Law is happy to assist you with specific questions about ensuring correct right-to-work checks are completed and we can carry out audits on your HR processes and systems to ensure that your business is complying with UKVI requirements. Please get in touch if you require our assistance. Paragon Law also regularly hosts webinars on right-to-work checks. If you would like to attend one of these webinar sessions, please email your Paragon Law contact or complete this contact form.
Author: Andy Poole

What Next For The Graduate Visa Route?

5th January 2024 Introduction The recent announcement made by the UK Government stated that they have commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review if the Graduate Visa route is actually working in the interest of the UK economy.