Richard Roberts

Richard is a practising barrister and the founder and Legal Director of Cromwell Wilkes. A recognised expert in all aspects of UK immigration law, he now focuses predominantly on commercial and business immigration, deportation cases, and advocacy in immigration appeals. He also practises in sports law, employment, and commercial law.

Since 2008 Richard 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, and LGBTQ+ and religious freedom cases, to deportation appeals.

He has provided expert evidence to the High Court of England and Wales (Family Division) on domestic violence law within an immigration context and has acted as an expert witness on UK immigration law before the Court of Appeal in Canada.

As Legal Director at Cromwell Wilkes he is regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) at the highest level. He is a graduate member of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives and a qualified legal trainer.

In 2013, to mark World Refugee Day, and in recognition of his commitment to offering pro bono advocacy before the Tribunals for those fleeing persecution, he was granted the award of Outstanding Contribution to Law.

Richard holds a master's degree (LLM, with Distinction) in International Sports Law. He has particular interest in representing clients before the Regulatory Commission and Appeal Boards of the English Football Association, including Rule K arbitrations, and in challenging sports' governing bodies within the framework of safeguarding decisions.

He also takes instructions to represent any professional or amateur sportsperson in contractual and disciplinary matters before UK domestic sporting tribunals, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland, and the UK National Anti-Doping Panel.

Richard has particular interest in the interaction between sporting regulation and equal opportunities and believes that sport should be open to everyone on equal terms. He will always provide a free initial opinion to any athlete, player, coach, or official, professional or amateur, who feels they have suffered discrimination in sport, whether on grounds of race, sex, sexuality, gender, religion, disability, age, or any other reason.

Richard is equally committed to the safety and welfare of everyone involved in sport. He will likewise offer free initial advice to anyone who feels they have been failed by safeguarding procedures, suffered abuse or mistreatment in a sporting environment, or simply not felt safe in their sport.

Alongside his immigration and sports law practice, Richard has long experience in private and commercial contracts, employment law, company formation, and corporate governance. He accepts instructions from both claimants and respondents in matters before the Employment Tribunals.

Richard was called to the Bar (Middle Temple) in 1999 and began his career as a barrister in criminal law before specialising in immigration and asylum law from 2001. Before establishing Cromwell Wilkes in 2013, he worked as an appeals advocate for a firm of London solicitors and as a senior legal advisor and appeals advocate at Hammersmith Law Centre, practising in both immigration and housing law.

He was previously a legal consultant to the NGO Fair Trials Abroad, where he advised in cases concerning British citizens imprisoned overseas, and retains a keen interest in international fair trial standards. He also previously worked as a senior researcher and policy manager for a leading Westminster think tank.

As an advocate he has been described as a cross between George Carman and Christopher Hitchens. In sports law, he has been hailed as an amazing lawyer and an amazing forensic advocate who deploys a chess-like strategy. In one notable case concerning the torture and ill-treatment of the mentally ill in Togo he was described by the judge as having delivered a masterclass in advocacy.

Richard is a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners' Association, the International Law Association, the Administrative Law Bar Association, the UK Constitutional Law Association, the Franco-British Lawyers' Association, and the British Association for Sport and Law.

His broader academic interests lie in European literary and classical studies; he is a member of the Political Studies Association, the British Shakespeare Association, and the Royal Society of Literature. A former London tour guide, he lives in West London with his poet wife, children, and dog. A member of the Supporters' Trust and a long-time season-ticket holder at Fulham Football Club, he follows his team home and away.