Diana Baxter, Partner

“Diana Baxter is highly regarded for her work on personal immigration. She frequently acts for children and vulnerable adults in complex asylum and leave to remain applications…. She combines experience in immigration, nationality and asylum law. She often represents vulnerable individuals, including children in care and elderly family members, in leave to remain and citizenship applications.” – Chambers 2023
“Diana Baxter is amazing and excellent in every way, from listening, responding and understanding a client’s case to putting it forward to the Home Office and tribunals. She is a star lawyer in the ascendant.” – Chambers 2023
“Diana works with the highest level of professionalism and experience. Her communication skills are outstanding, which allows for the greatest comfort of the client.” – Chambers 2023
“She is an outstanding lawyer. I am delighted with Diana’s efficiency and her tenacity in getting the clients an excellent result.” – Chambers 2023
“Diana Baxter – excellent immigration lawyer, has provided an extensive amount of legal opinion for family cases I have been involved in – clear and pragmatic advice, now increasingly instructed also by others in family law cases.” – Legal 500 2023
“Diana Baxter. She is very, very clever. She really knows her stuff and will have prepared everything on the papers, anticipating all the tricky legal points and preparing and strategising to win. She really stands out as a star performer.” – Legal 500 2023
“She has a really keen mind and sees a way through complex facts in a way that is remarkable. She sees straight through to the solution.” – Chambers and Partners, 2022
“She was able to achieve what felt unachievable at the outset. She is very honest and level-headed in her approach, efficient and always responsive.” – Chambers and Partners, 2022
“She is incredibly gifted and approachable.” – Legal 500, 2022
“Totally brilliant; she has great experience and looks into everything very thoroughly.” – Legal 500, 2022
“She has a logical approach, keeps in constant communication and is very clear. She is incredibly capable.” – Chambers and Partners, 2021
“She knows the law extremely well, she prepares cases brilliantly and she is excellent with clients.” – Chambers and Partners, 2021
“Diana Baxter provided an exceptional service from start to finish. Diana made an extremely traumatic and emotional time in my life manageable. She is highly intelligent, knowledgeable and strategic in her approach. Her manner is quietly confident. She is both efficient and effective. She guided me through an extremely complex legal system to a successful resolution. She is warm, compassionate and reassuring. I needed to disclose deeply personal matters and she sought and secured privacy for me in the UK courts. I would recommend Diana and her team to anyone.” – Legal 500, 2021
“Diana Baxter is a brilliant lawyer, who is destined to reach the top. Diana has established herself as a lateral and creative thinker when it comes to solving complex immigration problems across a wide range of cases. She combines compassion, intellect and tactical nous to great effect for her clients.” – Legal 500, 2021
Diana is a partner at Wesley Gryk Solicitors LLP. She is ranked as a leading immigration lawyer by Chambers UK 2021 and as a “Next Generation Lawyer” by the Legal 500 2021.
Diana’s practice covers a wide range of immigration, nationality and asylum law, with particular emphasis on complex nationality work and Appendix FM applications for partners, children and parents, as well as applications outside of the immigration rules based on Article 8 rights.
Recent work and notable cases
- Regular Appendix FM and European free movement law applications on behalf of couples, children, parents, and elderly relatives.
- Advice and assistance with applications for all work categories, including Skilled Workers, Global Talent, Innovators and Temporary Workers.
- Assisted on a probono basis for the charity Goodwill Caravan, reuniting a young Syrian child with his UK-based family members under the Dublin III Regulations.
- Assisted victims of transnational spouse abandonment to return to the UK, reunite with their children, and acquire indefinite leave on the basis of domestic violence.
- Regularly instructed by local authorities and families to assist with complex nationality and immigration applications for children and young persons, and in providing expert immigration advice in family proceedings.
- Assisting with applications for British citizenship, right of abode and indefinite leave under the Windrush Scheme.
- Representing British citizens and their family members who are being considered for deprivation of citizenship.
- Asylum applications and appeals on behalf of refugees from Iran, the Gambia, Syria, Pakistan, Uganda, Kenya and Jamaica.
Publications and training
- Tutor on ILPA course “It’s all about the Money: Appendix FM&SE – the Financial requirements”.
- Tutor on ILPA course on Windrush Scheme.
- Tutor on ILPA course on “Nationality law is fun”.
- Webinars on international surrogacy and UK immigration law.
Memberships and volunteering
- Member of Immigration Law Practitioners Association (ILPA).
- Member of the 2017 Justice Working Party on Immigration and Asylum (Determination Reform).
- Volunteer in Athens, Greece, May 2017 in the pilot stage of ILPA’s Athens Refugee Legal Support Project.
Education and experience
- BA (Hons) in Chinese Studies (First class), University of Oxford.
- MSc in Development Studies (Distinction), London School of Economics and Political Science.
- Graduate Diploma in Law (Distinction), BPP.
- Legal Practice Course (Distinction), College of Law.
- Further studies at Beijing University, Beijing Language and Culture University, and University of California, San Diego (UCSD).
- Joined Wesley Gryk Solicitors LLP in 2008 and qualified as a solicitor in 2012. Partner since 2017.
“Diana Baxter is highly regarded for her work on personal immigration. She frequently acts for children and vulnerable adults in complex asylum and leave to remain applications…. She combines experience in immigration, nationality and asylum law. She often represents vulnerable individuals, including children in care and elderly family members, in leave to remain and citizenship applications.” – Chambers 2023
“Diana Baxter is amazing and excellent in every way, from listening, responding and understanding a client’s case to putting it forward to the Home Office and tribunals. She is a star lawyer in the ascendant.” – Chambers 2023
“Diana works with the highest level of professionalism and experience. Her communication skills are outstanding, which allows for the greatest comfort of the client.” – Chambers 2023
“She is an outstanding lawyer. I am delighted with Diana’s efficiency and her tenacity in getting the clients an excellent result.” – Chambers 2023
“Diana Baxter – excellent immigration lawyer, has provided an extensive amount of legal opinion for family cases I have been involved in – clear and pragmatic advice, now increasingly instructed also by others in family law cases.” – Legal 500 2023
“Diana Baxter. She is very, very clever. She really knows her stuff and will have prepared everything on the papers, anticipating all the tricky legal points and preparing and strategising to win. She really stands out as a star performer.” – Legal 500 2023
“She has a really keen mind and sees a way through complex facts in a way that is remarkable. She sees straight through to the solution.” – Chambers and Partners, 2022
“She was able to achieve what felt unachievable at the outset. She is very honest and level-headed in her approach, efficient and always responsive.” – Chambers and Partners, 2022
“She is incredibly gifted and approachable.” – Legal 500, 2022
“Totally brilliant; she has great experience and looks into everything very thoroughly.” – Legal 500, 2022
“She has a logical approach, keeps in constant communication and is very clear. She is incredibly capable.” – Chambers and Partners, 2021
“She knows the law extremely well, she prepares cases brilliantly and she is excellent with clients.” – Chambers and Partners, 2021
“Diana Baxter provided an exceptional service from start to finish. Diana made an extremely traumatic and emotional time in my life manageable. She is highly intelligent, knowledgeable and strategic in her approach. Her manner is quietly confident. She is both efficient and effective. She guided me through an extremely complex legal system to a successful resolution. She is warm, compassionate and reassuring. I needed to disclose deeply personal matters and she sought and secured privacy for me in the UK courts. I would recommend Diana and her team to anyone.” – Legal 500, 2021
“Diana Baxter is a brilliant lawyer, who is destined to reach the top. Diana has established herself as a lateral and creative thinker when it comes to solving complex immigration problems across a wide range of cases. She combines compassion, intellect and tactical nous to great effect for her clients.” – Legal 500, 2021