The immigration team at Bates Wells stands out for its ‘exceptional expertise, professionalism, and approachable nature’, leveraging the firm’s full-service offering to devise immigration solutions for its commercial clients. The firm is also noted for its particularly strong sectoral expertise in the charities and architecture space. The practice is helmed by the ’outstanding’ Chetal Patel, who harnesses extensive experience in handling sponsorship issues and the relocation of senior leaders and C-suite executives. Aisha Choudhry advises a wide range of clients, notably faith-based organisations, on sponsor license compliance issues, while Smruti Jeyanandhan‘s practice spans both personal and business immigration matters. Alice Bennington combines a ’meticulous attention to detail and dedication to delivering an excellent service’, handling complex issues arising from skilled worker applications and breaches of the immigration rules.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘The Bates Wells immigration practice has deep knowledge, experience and connections. They are responsive, timely, professional and easy to deal with. There is diversity on the team, and the tools they use are helpful.’

  • ‘I have worked with Bates Wells for just under a decade now, and the attention to detail and awareness of a client's needs is second to none. The immigration practice takes full care and consideration for you and your potential employees and is honestly fantastic.’

Lawyers

Leading partners

The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.

Leading associates

Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.

Practice head

Chetal Patel

Other key lawyers

Aisha Choudhry; Smruti Jeyanandhan; Alice Bennington