Principal
Christine Addison – Civil Litigation, Immigration, Family Housing
Christine graduated in law in 1987 before completing an MBA in 1989 and her solicitor’s finals in 1992. She became a solicitor in 2001, by which time she had already worked for an immigration charity, as a paralegal for a solicitor in immigration, housing, crime, medical negligence and personal injury, and as a financial adviser, law lecturer, and charity manager. In 1996 she specialised in housing and immigration, before expanding her related expertise to housing and family in 1997. She then spent three years advising on housing and homelessness for Southwark council before volunteering for a law centre in Merton. During that time she was promoted as a solicitor in private practice in 2001, specialising in housing, welfare and immigration, including appeals, judicial reviews and numerous injunctions. This was followed by two years in Camden and Waltham Forest councils running housing and tenancy cases. In 2005 she set up in partnership as Addisons Solicitors. After 23 years practising law, in 2010 she demerged into her own firm, AO Solicitors with a mission to give ordinary people access to the kind of justice that their opponents hoped they would never find.
Solicitors
Olaolu Olubiyi – Debt, Welfare, Housing, Wills
Trained in a busy medium size firm in Brixton, Ola deals with all areas of social welfare laws as well as practicing in other areas particularly on insolvency and wills & probate. Ola is supervisor for debt, welfare and housing. If you have run into trouble with money flying out faster than it is dripping in, or Official Receiver or Insolvency Practitioner charges are way too high or you are suffering financial hardship as a result of the unreasonable delay by various government agencies in approving your payments then Ola’s compassionate approach helps get you back on your feet. Ola believes that most matters should be settled without the need for legal action however he would be the first to go to court should the need arise.
Deepa Popat – Family, Litigation, Housing, Consumer credit
Deepa graduated in law at Guildhall in 1996, started as a paralegal in 2000, took the Legal Practice Certificate in 2001, and qualified in 2003. She runs our Watford office and is our family supervisor, also handling housing, consumer credit, crime, civil litigation and personal injury. She is on the Law Society Family Panel, chair of an Independent Custody Visiting panel, Police and Community Consultative Group, Vice President of Young Lohana Association of North London, Cultural Secretary for the Hindu Council, and volunteers with learning disabled at Ashiana Trust. Her languages include Gujarati and Hindi.
Elizabeth Rebello
Elizabeth graduated in law with a 2.1 honours degree in 2002 and qualified as a solicitor with a leading law practice in 2008. Elizabeth has experience in a range of areas of law including debt law – where she has represented clients at the High Court, criminal law - where she has worked on high profile cases including well documented murder cases, and family law. She also has experience in employment law and her most notable case was against Vue Cinemas. Elizabeth defended a claimant in a case of dismissal for theft amounting to gross misconduct. Elizabeth won the case and the claimant received compensation as well as being able to leave his employment at the cinema with a clean record.
Caseworkers
Elizabeth Asiedu-Yeboa – Community care, Immigration, Litigation
Elizabeth spent 5 years in education welfare at Essex County Council before setting out as a life & career coach. She works with Christine handling community care, immigration and civil litigation. Her encouraging approach empowers clients to move beyond current hurdles. She works as a volunteer relationship counsellor and has been a magistrate since 2003 she also brings a unique insight into local social issues. She additionally works for Disability Information & Advice Line.
Daryl Peagram – Employment, Consumer, Litigation
Daryl graduated at Portsmouth Business School in 1993 and College of Law in 2011 after a career in financial services where he negotiated £42m worth of contracts and settlements. His court experience began in 1993 and covers debt, contract, litigation, trust, consumer, tenancy and employment. These included wins against giants such as British Gas and O2, an emergency injunction, appeal and employment tribunal. He has been featured in articles in local press on consumer issues including a successful anti phone mast campaign.
Peter Githu – Debt, Welfare, Housing, Wills
Law graduate Peter is teamed up with Olaolu in the Debt, Welfare, Housing and Wills department. He plans to finish his solicitor’s qualifications in 2013.
Boitumelo Molefe – Employment, Consumer, Immigration
Boitumelo graduated in law at Kent in 2010 and is due to sit the Legal Practice Course in June 2012 at College of Law where she helps run an employment advice line, before which she was a legal researcher at Kent Law Clinic. She handles employment, consumer and immigration with Olaolu. Outside the office she is an award winning netball player, senior choirist and homeless volunteer.
Aisha – Famlily, Debt, Housing
Aisha graduated in law in 2010 following three years experience in solicitors firms and is due to sit the Legal Practice Certificate in Feb 2012. She deals with Family, Debt and Housing.
Stephanie – Family, Property
Stephanie graduated in law in 2004 and passed the Legal Practice Certificate with commendation in 2006, followed by two master degrees in law with merit and distinction. With paralegal experience since 2007 in conveyancing, insolvency family and immigration, she now specialises in family and property.
Samantha Vhondo
Samantha came to law with experience in charity work with children and the elderly before gaining experience in criminal, property, employment and family law in a magistrates court, crown court and county council. She then volunteered in a law centre on housing, employment and family cases before working full time on urgent and life changing immigration appeals at a detention centre. She graduated in law in 2010 and is due to qualify to train as a solicitor in 2012.
