Here at VWV, our immigration practice is going from strength to strength.  A dedicated Directory acclaimed team, we are now looking for an enthusiastic and experienced Associate or Senior Associate to come on board and help write the next chapters of our success story…

The role

We undertake a diverse and high quality range of work for both business and private clients with the majority of our instructions coming from the former. On a day to day basis your work will include assisting with sponsor licence applications, advising employers, universities and independent schools on their duties as licensed sponsors, and supporting clients with visa and leave to remain applications under all immigration categories. While the team assist clients across all sectors, a significant proportion of our business immigration work lies within the education and tech sectors. As these areas represent two of our firm's flagship teams, you'll be joining a team where the work is often high profile and the service we provide to our clients, integrated and seamless. As part of our business immigration offering, we also advise clients on developing their immigration strategies and policies.

As regards our private immigration work, our team advises high net worth individuals on applications under all immigration categories including Innovator, Global Talent and Appendix FM, as well as questions around British citizenship.

The team

Based in our Birmingham and London offices and led by our highly revered Partner, Tom Brett Young, you'll join a close knit team of five experts consisting of Tom, London-based Partner Nishil Patel, and three paralegals. Our immigration team sits within our employment group so you'll find yourself regularly liaising with employment law colleagues as well as working closely with peers across the firm including renowned specialists working with clients in the education, charities and technology sectors. By working collaboratively in this way, you'll benefit both professionally (in expanding your knowledge and raising your profile) as well as personally (in the friendships you'll make).

Our reputation

If your wish-list for your next role includes working with a top- flight team, then you'll struggle to do better than join VWV. Our reputation in immigration law is second to none and we are ranked in Band 1 in Legal 500, 2025 for the West Midlands.

Legal 500 2025 - ‘Tom Brett Young is fantastic - hugely knowledgeable with a warm, engaging manner, a real joy to work with.'

Legal 500 2025 - 'Tom Brett Young is an energetic, dedicated lawyer who is committed to improving immigration law and practice in the UK for wider benefit, as well as for his clients. And I have to mention the great sense of humour!'

Chambers and Partners 2026 - 'Tom is the person I go to if I need to talk through a complex immigration matter. He is always generous with his time and is extremely knowledgeable in this area.'

About you

You'll be an experienced immigration lawyer with excellent interpersonal skills. You're likely working at Associate or Senior Associate level and are now looking to join a team with the profile and headroom to really make a name for yourself. This being said, if you fall outside of this level of experience, we'd still love to hear from you.

You'll have strong expertise in business immigration law and most likely, in addition, some expertise in working for private clients. The role will include supervising less experienced fee earners in the team as well as some business development work such as writing articles, delivering webinars and attending networking events so some experience in these areas would be desirable.

Where will I be working? 

We have a truly unique and engaging culture that we hold dear. We work hard but we also love to have fun and we recognise that it's the social interaction between us that really shapes our culture. The team and firm work to a hybrid model of office and remote working, and we would ideally like you to be based from our Birmingham office for at least 3 days per week. In this way, you'll benefit first-hand from our warm and friendly culture and facilitate cross referral opportunities. We are of course happy to discuss any specific requirements of hybrid working with candidates on an individual basis.

Why choose us?

With around 600 employees, we're a sizeable firm that continues to grow. We're known for our friendly and welcoming culture where teamwork and collaboration is key. There's no pigeon-holing or glass ceilings here, just a professional yet relaxed culture where you can finally be yourself.  We invite you to watch the short video on the right-hand side to see what our own people have to say about us.

Not sure whether to apply?

Making the next career move is one that can feel immensely daunting and we've all been there! It's more than likely you'll have one or two questions on the role or firm before you feel happy to apply. If so, please contact me, Emma Latchem-Hughes, Talent Acquisition Advisor, in complete confidence on 07340 632798 or elatchem-hughes@vwv.co.uk and I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have. 

Recruitment Agencies

We are in a period of exclusive direct sourcing for this role and are not accepting applications from agencies. We politely request therefore that you do not send candidates through. Any named or anonymised profile or CV sent to us will be deemed an unsolicited approach and deleted.