Damian Hanley – retirement from the partnership

On the 31^st March 2021 Damian Hanley will be retiring from the Wilson Solicitors partnership after a career at the firm spanning 25 years.Damian joined the firm on the 1^st September 1995 having studied at Keele University and the College of Law. He started as a caseworker and then became a trainee solicitor. He qualified as a solicitor in 1998.Damian chose to specialize in immigration, refugee, and human rights law building up a reputation for the quality of his work and his client care.He has many clients who have come back to him time and time again, either for themselves, their family, or to help a friend in need. He has a particularly strong reputation amongst the Somali, Turkish, Kurdish, and Iraqi communities.Over the years he has been the solicitor in a number of important immigration cases. Most have involved the interpretation and development of refugee or human rights law including Hesham Ali in the Supreme Court and MF(Nigeria) in the Court of Appeal. He has also represented in important cases before the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal including country guidance cases such as SJ and JM (Iran).In 2004 Damian was made a partner and in 2010 he became a Member of the LLP and a co-owner of the business.Damian has trained many solicitors over the years including those at the firm now and others who have gone on to great careers elsewhere.He has managed a large team of lawyers over the years, known affectionately as Team DH, and he is loved by all who have worked with him.Damian also played an important role in managing the firm and for many years looked after our relationship with the Legal Aid Agency and managed our contracts with them. Damian also took responsibility for developing our well-being polices including launching the firm’s well-being survey and chairing the well-being committee.Damian will be greatly missed by all his colleagues at Wilsons. His warmth, generosity, and sympathetic ear.We wish him all the very best for the future and the next chapter in his life.