Shahailya Samuel-Davies
Partner
About Shahailya Samuel-Davies
Shahailya studied Law (LLB Hons) at Queen Mary, University of London. She completed the LLM (Distinction) Legal Practice Course at the University of Law and has a Masters in International Relations from the University of Cambridge. She was awarded a training contract in January 2016 at Wilsons.
She is an Associate Solicitor [qualified in 2018], a Supervising Senior Caseworker under the Immigration and Asylum Accreditation Scheme and leads a team of lawyers. In 2024 she was appointed to the Law Society Immigration Committee leading to her assisting the Law Society in reviewing and promoting improvements in immigration and asylum law, practice and procedure. She has contributed to the drafting of the Law Society Practice Notes on Immigration Appeals.
Prior to joining Wilsons, Shahailya worked as a legal advisor at Queen Mary Legal Advice Centre . She has volunteered with organisations including Stonewall and Liberty conducting legal research into human rights issues. She has also gained further experience at SNR Denton and Berwin Leighton Paisner pro bono clinics, Mishcon de Reya and Tuckers Solicitors.
Shahailya has thriving private and legal aid practices. Her caseload ranges from applications to the Home Office to First tier and Upper Tribunal work to Judicial Reviews and Court of Appeal matters.
Shahailya has conducted many strategic litigation cases seeking societal change beyond the individual claim. This has included successfully previously arguing that the settlement provision for victims of domestic violence should be extended to those who had joined refugees as spouses via family reunion and the widening of the grant of indefinite leave to remain due to exceptional circumstances.
She has worked extensively with vulnerable victims of trafficking, torture, rape and domestic violence. She is unafraid of mounting complex challenges to ensure that her vulnerable clients are afforded remedies available in ‘exceptional’ or ‘compassionate’ circumstances.
Shahailya has sat on roundtables promoting the rights of victims of trafficking. For over seven years Shahailya has regularly given pro bono legal advice with Rainbow Migration , which supports vulnerable LGBTQI+ people through the asylum and immigration system. She has also volunteered with Micro Rainbow International (MRI) and run advice workshops for members of her local Afro Caribbean community affected by the Windrush Scandal.
Shahailya strongly believes in the promotion of social mobility and anti-racism work within the legal field. Alongside the firm, she endeavours to contribute towards inclusivity and diversity work including, the firm’s award-winning apprenticeship scheme and supporting work experience and internship initiatives.
Interests: Family, reading, playing the piano