About Our Firm
At Arden Solicitors Advocates, we pride our self for the extensive rate of success, and client satisfaction. Our firm and its senior solicitors and lawyer have over two decades of legal experience and are well-placed to help you.
The firm has been established by its principle, Mrs Hawa Arrif, who was called to the Bar at Gray’s Inn, in the United Kingdom, in July 1996, and is also a well-regarded solicitor with an excellent reputation.
Our lawyers speak a variety of languages and are also familiar with foreign cultures and customs. Our awareness of and respect for cultural differences support our ability to understand our clients’ needs, and we are able to work closely with them. We have experienced and reliable staff, who understand the difficulties you are facing.
Our firm is driven by our hard work, experience, achievements, honesty, and sincerity towards our clients.
At Arden Solicitors Advocates you will always obtain an honest advice from the commencement of your case. We will prepare your case carefully and in detail, and do everything possible to give you the greatest chances for success.
Our team of Solicitors and Lawyers speak Arabic Language, French language, Turkish language, Kurdish and Tamil Languages.
While our firm is solely placed in London, we have created cooperation with other well established legal firms in Jordan, Egypt and Palestine.
For Arabic Language see our Arabic Website
Skills & expertise level
Our Lawyers
Hawa Ariff (Principal)
Hawa Ariff qualified as a barrister at Gray’s Inn, in 1996. She also became a solicitor in 2002. She also holds a Degree Bsc in Applied Chemistry from the University of Herefordshire.
Immigration
Hawa has been practicing Immigration law since 1996. She specialises in all areas of Immigration and Asylum law.
She is an experienced advocate and has been advocating on behalf of clients since 1998, in both Immigration and Asylum. Hawa provides a high standard of advocacy, and as the advocacy is kept in-house, so the appeal fee is kept affordable for the firm’s clients. Her success rate for advocacy is over 90%.
Hawa has also worked on application for Judicial Review applications to the Upper Tribunal and to the High Court, where she would draft grounds. In this way, she is able to also keep the fee low for clients.
Hawa has also worked on cases to the Court of Appeal, House of Lords, and the European Court of Human Rights.
Cases worked on by Hawa
- Treebhawon and Others (NIAA 2002 Part 5A – compelling circumstances test)
- R (Haider) v Entry Clearance Officer [2009] EWHC 3008 (Admin)
Judicial Review of an Entry Clearance Officer’s refusal to obey a determination of the Asylum and Immigration Appeal Tribunal - SH (Palestinian Territories) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2008] EWCA Civ 1150
Family
Hawa has experience in all aspect of family cases, which includes Matrimonial matters, such as divorce, non-molestation orders, financial remedy, and others. Her experience also includes Children’s matters, such as applications for prohibited steps order, Specific Orders, Child Arrangements Order, and Financial Remedy, and others.
Civil
Hawa has worked on a variety of civil cases, and this includes mostly money claims, and claims for property.
Wills
Hawa has experience in preparing wills and applying for probate. In 2018, she prepared the will for a well-known court case heard in 2018, against the state in the Seychelles Island.
Hawa Ariff has more than 25 years’ of experience, in private client work, specialising in with Immigration, Family, Civil matters, Will and Probate. Since she qualified she has helped thousands of individual and family,
The members of the team who may work on your matter. Regardless of who works on your matter, they will be supervised by Mrs Ariff.
Other Languages spoken are French, French Creole, and some Arabic.
Berivan Gunes (LLB and LLM)
Berivan is a solicitor, in the Immigration, Family, departments. She studied Law (LLB) at the University of East Anglia, achieving a high 2:1 honours and later went on to complete her Masters of Laws (LLM) at University College London, achieving a high Merit, with a Distinction for her thesis in International Law. She joined Arden Solicitors Advocates as a caseworker, in May 2018.
Immigration
Berivan has experience in all aspects of immigration law. She has extensive experience and knowledge in Further Leave to Remain applications, EEA applications, PBS and PBS Dependent applications, and Entry Clearance applications for family visas. She has a successful track record for applications made under Appendix FM and on Article 8 ECHR grounds, and has finalised a vast array of successful appeal bundles.
Berivan further specialises in British naturalisation and citizenship applications.
Famiy
Berivan has experience in all areas of family law, with a specialisation in divorce, and annulment cases, Children’s Matters, and Finical Remedy Matters. Berivan can expertly draft Consent Orders, Parenting Agreements, and Pre-Nuptial Agreements.
Work carried out
50% Immigration and 50% Family work.
Native speaker of English, Kurdish, and Turkish, and moderate German.
Nirosha Jayawardena
Nirosha Jayawardena qualified as a Solicitor in England & Wales 2007. She holds a Masters Degree in International Commercial Law from University of Westminster, London. She qualified as an Attorney-At-Law in Sri Lanka in 1999.
Nirosha has been practising both Residential and Commercial Conveyancing since 2007.
Other languages spoken- Sinhala
Dr. Muayad Hattab (LLB, LLM and Phd)
Muayad is a legal consultant and lawyer in the Immigration, Employment and Civil law departments. He initially joined the firm in 2004 till 2011 dealing with cases in the areas of Asylum & Immigration Law, Employment Law, obligations, and Contract Law, before working as a lecturer at the School of Law, University of Portsmouth from 2013, teaching courses various areas of law including Employment and Contract law. In 2015 he joined the Faculty of Law at An-Najah National University, in Palestine, as an assistant professor. In 2017 he was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Law. Among other positions Muayad He had been a former member for drafting a bill on Human Organ Transplantation and Transplantation Law in Palestine, which became enforced in April 2017. He also had been a member of the National Committee for the Development of the Justice Sector in Palestine which was formed by a Presidential Ordinance on 6th September 2017.
In 2019 Muayad re-joined our firm while enduring his academic careers at the University Faculty of Law. He is an active legal researcher and has published various articles in Law politics and human rights issues, in both English and Arabic languages.
Employment
Muayad is an expert in all aspect of employment and labour law. For over two decades of legal practice at legal firms and academic teaching at universities, Muayad has maintained successful track record for making/defending tribunal claims of unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal, and constructive dismissal. He has also managed other areas of labour law cases including redundancy, unlawful deductions and breach of statutory rights. His latest articles on Employment was published at Liverpool Law Review.
Immigration & Human Rights
Mauayd has long experience in all aspects of immigration law and human rights aspect. He has extensive experience and knowledge in all type of Entry Clearance applications (UK visa application), Further Leave to Remain applications, EEA applications and other Immigration law applications. Muayad has also worked successfully in various human rights cases, namely cases under ECHR grounds.
Civil
Muayad is specialists in civil law, he has worked on a variety of challenging cases with success. His experience and main area of practice includes contract, obligations and tort law.
Muayad speaks English and Arabic languages. He has published various articles in Law politics and human rights issues including:
- “The Legal Regulation of Capacity Phases According to the Law in Force in Palestine” An-Najah University Journal for Research – B (Humanities), 2019, accepted for publication, July 2019
- ”The Doctrine of Legitimate Expectation & Proportionality: A Public Law Principle Adopted into the Private Law of Employment” Liverpool Law Review, October 2018, Volume 39, Issue 3, pp 239–264
- State system of government; a comparative study Between the secular, religious, and democratic paradigm (3 parts Published Aug 2018 at pulpit.alwatanvoice.com)
- Commentary: The Constitutional Court Decision on the employees’ Indemnity and Social Security Law, published in 2017
- Administrative Detention of the Israeli Occupation in Light of Humanitarian Law. (Published on 20/10/2016 at aljame3a.com)
- The Importance of Drafting New Act on Transplantation of Human Organs. (Published on 21/8/2016 at pulpit.alwatanvoice.com)
- Compensation for Overtime under Labour Law; Critical Study. (Published on 1/8/2016 at pulpit.alwatanvoice.com)
- In The Shade of Democracy: “Democracy Does Not Merely Mean ‘Majority Rule’ “. Published on 23/05/2015 at Al- Ayam, al-ayyam.ps
Work carried out
30% Employment and Civil matters
Thanusha Thangarasa (BA & MA)
Thanusha studied Law at the University of Paris: René Descartes (BA & MA). She completed her Graduate Diploma in Law at Nottingham Trent University and is currently studying the Legal Practice Course(LPC), part-time, at BPP Law School.
Thanusha assists the Immigration and Family team, with a range of cases. She regularly liaises with clients, counsel, the court and third parties, and assists in the preparation of court bundles.
She further assists the Conveyancing team in residential and commercial transactions. She provides integral support for our solicitors and caseworkers.
Work carried out
Family work 25%
Immigration 25%
Conveyancing 5%
Others 25%
Admin 20%
Language spoken: French and Tamil
Mohamad Kreidieh(LLB)
Nadia Henini
Nadia studied Law at the University of Derby (LLB, LLM). She completed her Masters in Legal Practice, mainly focusing on Immigration and completed her Legal Practice Course (LPC) in 2022. She previous worked as a Commercial Property paralegal at Geldards LLP. Nadia joined us In November 2023 as a paralegal, assisting the Immigration team with a range of cases
Hadi Ahmed
Bachar Bireqdar
Bachar speak Arabic(Syrian dialect), and has worked at Arden Solicitors Advocates since 2019.
He assist with the administration.
Other members of staff
Book keeper(email: accounts@ardensolicitors.com)
Secretary (email: secretary@ardensolicitors.com)
Other languages spoken – French and Tamil