Matthew Davies

Practice Areas

Since qualification he has practised exclusively in immigration and asylum law. He has 30 years of experience of a wide range of cases at all levels. His particular expertise is finding solutions for individuals with complex immigration problems.

Matthew’s current interests include family and partners, EEA nationals, human rights, citizenship, deportation, asylum, adoption and surrogacy. Whilst primarily advising individuals he also advises investors, entrepreneurs, charities and employers.

Career

Matthew Davies studied at the University of Manchester and the London School of Economics where he gained a Masters in Law (LLM) with distinction.

Matthew joined Wilson Solicitors LLP as a trainee solicitor in 1990, qualifying as a solicitor in 1992.

Matthew became a partner in the firm in 1997.

Matthew has been ranked as a leader in the field of immigration law in the Chambers UK Guide to the Legal Profession for many years. He has been commended for his “well prepared cogent, clear and sensible advice”(2006), as “one of the giants of the immigration field” (2007), his “innovative, intelligent and strategic way of looking at things” (2008), being “likeable, hard-working and realistic in terms of what is achievable” (2013), being “ great on difficult asylum cases and widely rated by peers for the quality of his work” (2014), being “ highly regarded for his advice to clients with complex immigration problems” (2015), being “an excellent solicitor with a tremendous understanding of clients and the legal context he’s advising them in” (2017), and being "one of the leading lights in the immigration world. He is so experienced, knowledgeable, collegiate and very generous with his time" (2023).

Matthew has also been recommended in the Legal 500, Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and the Spears 500.

Matthew is a past executive committee member and trainer for the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association [ILPA], and has served as a consultant to the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner. He has been an examiner on the Law Society Immigration Accreditation Scheme and he is an Advanced Member of that scheme.

Matthew is a past Chair of INQUEST where along with JCWI he drafted a Charter for Detainees that called for new legal rights for immigration detainees. Matthew represented the family of Omasese Lumumba at the inquest into his death in Pentonville Prison in 1993. The jury found that he had been unlawfully killed.

He is a co-founder of the Stonewall Immigration Group which is now the charity Rainbow Migration. In 1997 he was a recipient of the Stonewall Equality Award for his contribution to the legal fight for gay rights in the UK. In 2010 he was a recipient of an award from the UKLGIG charity "for selfless, long-term commitment to the pursuit of justice".

Matthew worked with the European Commission to develop a pilot for the provision of free legal advice to EU nationals in the UK following Brexit and he has worked closely with a number of charities and NGO's helping EU nationals including Here for Good with whom he set up a scheme to provide free advice to Ukraine nationals following the outbreak of war in 2022.

Matthew is the co-author of a number of published texts including the Best Practice Guide to Fast-Track Asylum Cases for ILPA. He has spoken at numerous conferences and seminars both in the UK and abroad.

Matthew supports a number of pro-bono ventures providing free legal advice as a volunteer to Rainbow Migration, Body and Soul and other organisations. He is on the Advisory Committee of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group and is committed to securing a sustainable legal aid system.

In 2006 Matthew was appointed as an Immigration Judge in the First Tier Tribunal and he sits regularly on a part-time basis.

Professional Memberships

Advanced member of the Law Society Immigration and Asylum Accreditation Scheme

Personal

Interests: Music, books, and new ideas.

Awards