Laura Devine

Laura Devine Immigration

London www.lauradevine.com

laura.devine@lauradevine.com Tel: +44 20 7469 6460

Biography

Laura is the managing partner of Laura Devine Immigration, an award-winning boutique immigration law firm in London and New York. The firm has been described as a “transatlantic powerhouse”. Both offices provide a full range of UK and US immigration advice to corporations, SMEs, families and individuals. Laura as an English solicitor and NY attorney oversees all matters. The firm, its partners and Laura are rated in all legal directories in the top tier for immigration.

What motivated you to specialise in immigration law?

I was an employment lawyer at Coopers & Lybrand (C&L), now PwC and was given immigration matters to advise on. As I knew nothing about immigration law, I reluctantly took the files. Lawyers were then much narrower in their approach to advising clients, whereas accountants viewed themselves not merely as accountants but business advisers. There was no immigration lawyer in the firm I could consult and no precedents from the applications, which led me to feel I was playing a game without knowing the rules. Scary but fun. I then concentrated on building an immigration practice and never returned to employment. That was the start of the immigration giant at PwC, which was recently bought by Vialto Partners for $2.2 billion.

On a side note, I have always been interested in different nationalities and cultures. As a small girl in Scotland, I had a collection of 20 national dolls and I kept a scrapbook, stuffed with flags from various countries, with commentary on their origin and symbolism. Maybe I had the makings of an immigration lawyer from a young age.

Why motivated you to set up your own firm?

After C&L where I had mainly corporate clients I went to a firm in Soho which provided me with private clients and SMEs. I was subsequently fortunate to be offered a joint venture with Eversheds, where after seven happy years there was pressure on me to become a partner. Deciding against this, I left to set up my boutique immigration firm in 2003.

The motivation to do so was twofold. First, advising immigration clients was the focus of what my team of experts did. Large and medium law firms and accountants did not view immigration as core to their business. I had the idea of setting up a boutique immigration firm in London and New York with lawyers, known for their technical prowess and top-quality support staff, together offering a preeminent quality service.

Second, I had a vision of initiating a firm which treated employees in a different way - putting staff at the centre of the business with a collegiate, caring and collaborative culture. Staff who are supported and valued are more inclined to support and value clients. Contented staff are likely to have contented clients. This business vision in 2003 was before ‘mental health’ and ‘wellbeing’ were common words. The firm has a reputation for focusing on staff and won a Lexis Nexis Wellbeing award in 2019. We don’t have a ‘family’ friendly working policy but a friendly working policy. We have work patterns that accommodate colleagues’ responsibilities, wishes and body clocks.

Our 20-year anniversary in 2023 has shown my idea for a boutique immigration firm was not such a bad idea. But I have had many bad ideas over the years.

Why did you set up a New York office?

I have always had a love of America. It is a beautiful, vast, diverse country in landscape, culture and people. We were the first firm in London to offer UK and US immigration. Client demands highlighted the desire for our UK and US immigration services from the US. So I qualified as a New York attorney and opened an office in Manhattan, in the premises of one of my first clients, whom I took on reluctantly in my early days at C&L.

What has been the most challenging case you have worked on to date?

There have been numerous challenging cases that we have advised on over the years, most I am happy to add, have had successful outcomes. It is the nature of being a lawyer that one does not ‘win’ all cases.

The biggest challenge recently, again like for many lawyers, was dealing with the effect the pandemic had on the firm. But the greater acceptance by employers of agile working has had benefits for staff especially those with family responsibilities. Hybrid working however has challenges. When staff are not in the office it is vital that they believe they have the support, tools and IT backing they need. Additionally, supervision, training, confidentiality, cyber security and wellbeing must be managed. It is important to ensure that there is a collegiate, energetic atmosphere when it is not 100 percent occupied. We organise exercises, lunches and weekly evening drinks in the office, staff outings, literature lounges, charity events, a buddy system, check ins and coffee groups as well as training, webinars and seminars.

Looking back over your career, what has been your proudest achievement?

Proud is a word I never use. One of my pleasures is seeing lawyers and support staff enhancing their careers. Some staff move to other firms, as is the case in all firms, but we have a growing alumni who return, which we see as complimentary. As an immigration lawyer I enjoy seeing migrants to the UK and US making successes of their lives both from a family and business point of view. We have had a myriad of extraordinary clients over the years.

What qualities make for an effective immigration lawyer (in today’s climate)?

Attention to detail, adaptability and good communication have always been essential qualities for an effective lawyer. The recent move to agile working has come with challenges for immigration lawyers in that our work is very application based, and we must spot inconsistencies in often voluminous files so as not to comprise the success of the applications.

Peers and clients say: “Laura is absolutely fantastic!” “She is one of the most-respected lawyers in the industry” “She is the best around, no question” “She is a very pragmatic, cooperative and efficient practitioner”