Legal Director Recognised as Inspiring Woman Lawyer in the UK

We are proud to announce that our Legal Director, Ruth Brown, has been recognised as an ‘Inspiring Woman Lawyer’ in the UK, and a profile of her contribution to law will be added to a project website hosted by the Faculty of Law at Oxford University.

The project aims to create an oral history of inspiring women lawyers which will be lodged in the Sound Archive of the British Library as a national resource.

It aims to raise the profile of women and groups who are little known beyond their professional field.  And to find out about the diverse life experiences of women lawyers, particularly from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) heritage; from lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer groups; (LGBTQ); those with disabilities; different faiths; working-class backgrounds; and women who came to England and Wales as migrants or refugees. We want to learn about women lawyers who work across all areas of law and in any legal capacity.

Born in Porthcawl, Ruth has gone on to build a considerable reputation in the field of immigration and asylum law. She worked at Refugee Legal Centre (latterly Refugee and Migrant Justice) for 18 years, in the London, Oakington and Nottingham offices, and was a team leader at the Oakington office and head of the Nottingham office, which she set up.

Ruth has a great deal of experience of representing asylum seekers in asylum claims, and of presenting bail applications and asylum appeals at the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal. Following closure of RLC/RMJ, Ruth worked as a senior caseworker then as a legal consultant for Paragon Law in Nottingham, specialising in deportation and trafficking cases.

After Asylum Justice reopened in 2014 after a brief closure, Ruth was often solely responsible for the majority of the appeal and refugee family reunion work that came to us. Despite this, Ruth managed to average a success rate at appeal of 70%, far above the national average, as well a 99% success rate in family reunion applications. It is important to note that as family reunion was and is no longer covered by legal aid, if it was not for the hard work of Ruth, tens of Syrian refugees would have been unable to reunite with their families here in Wales.

Ruth has been a constant inspiration to all the lawyers within Asylum Justice and she is largely responsible for the position we are in now, with many of the finest immigration and asylum lawyers in Wales working with us. It is because of the impeccable reputation forged by Ruth, in often difficult times, that we are able to support so many refugees and other vulnerable migrants in desperate need of our services.

On behalf of all the staff, volunteers, trustees and patrons, we would like to thank Ruth for her years of hard work. Her recognition as an Inspiring Woman Lawyer could not be more deserved.