Sophie is senior partner and head of UK practice at Laura Devine Solicitors. Recognised for many years by legal directories as a leading expert in UK immigration and nationality law, she has been described as having “exceptional knowledge” and “very close attention to detail”; it is said that “she sees the big picture and has a thorough and sound historic knowledge of her subject matter which is needed in a subject matter which is constantly changing”. 

Having practised exclusively in immigration law for 20 years, Sophie has extensive experience across the breadth of UK immigration, nationality and EU free movement law. She is particularly known for her expertise in complex cases, including problematic Tier 1 Entrepreneur and Investor applications, sponsor licence revocations and discretionary applications. She advises a wide range of clients from multinational corporations, start-ups to sports organisations, entertainers and HNW individuals.

Sophie is highly regarded for her policy development work, lobbying the Home Office and participating in working parties and policy consultations. She is a prolific speaker on UK immigration law and EU free movement law and writes regularly on immigration topics and is a frequent commentator in the general media. 

Sophie held the position of chair of Immigration Law Practitioners' Association for 6 years. She has been an active member of its sub-committees for 20 years and continues to represent ILPA at various Home Office stakeholder groups and to support its work. She is a member of the editorial consulting board of Lexis PSL and a member of the Law Society Brexit Migration Relevance Group.

WWL says: Sophie Barrett-Brown is “a great lawyer” who focuses her practice on UK nationality and immigration law. One source says, “If I ever needed a UK immigration lawyer, she’s who I’d go to.”