Richard was called to the Bar (Middle Temple) in 1999 and started his legal career as a pupil barrister in criminal law before specialising in Immigration and Asylum law from 2001.
Before establishing Cromwell Wilkes in 2013 he worked for a national legal advice charity, as an in-house appeals advocate for a firm of London solicitors, and as legal advisor and appeals advocate at a West London law centre. He also offered pro bono legal advice and assistance to the organisation ‘Fair Trials Abroad’ in cases concerning British Citizens imprisoned overseas.
As Legal Director at Cromwell Wilkes he is regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) at the highest level and is a graduate member of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives. He is also a qualified legal trainer. He is a respected expert in all aspects of UK Immigration Law but now focuses predominantly on commercial and business immigration, deportation cases, and appeal work.
In addition to Immigration and Human Rights law, he has long experience in matters of private and commercial contracts, Employment Law, company formation and corporate responsibility.
He holds a master’s degree (LLM with Distinction) in International Sports Law and has particular interest in representation before the Regulatory Commission and Appeal Boards of the English Football Association including Rule K Arbitrations. He can however offer representation to any professional or amateur sportsperson in contractual or disciplinary matters, whether before the UK domestic sporting tribunals, the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland (CAS), or the UK National Anti-Doping Panel.
Richard has previously provided expert evidence to the High Court of England and Wales (Family Division) on domestic violence law within an immigration context and has also acted as an expert witness on UK Immigration Law before the Court of Appeal for Ontario in Canada.
Since 2008, as an appeals advocate, he has appeared regularly before the First Tier and Upper Tribunals in matters ranging from complex family migration, European Union and post-Brexit law, asylum and protection, human trafficking and modern slavery, LGBTQ and religious freedom cases, and deportation appeals. As an advocate he has been described as a “cross between George Carman and Christopher Hitchens”.
He is a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association, the International Law Association, and the British Association for Sport and Law. He is also a member of the Royal Society of Literature, and his wider academic interests lie in European literary and classical studies. He lives in West London and is a long-time multiple season-ticket holder at Fulham Football Club from where he follows his beloved team home and away.