Sheena Cherukuri

About Sheena

Sheena Cherukuri is a partner and solicitor who has practised in family and immigration law for more than twenty years. She is an SRA approved manager of the firm and its Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration. She qualified as a solicitor in 2005 and has since built extensive knowledge across both fields, which allows her to give clients a genuinely holistic approach when family and immigration issues overlap.

In family law, her experience includes representation in divorce and financial matters, injunction proceedings and child arrangement matters. She also represents parents and grandparents in care proceedings, including cases with an international element and cases involving sexual abuse and non-accidental injuries.

Sheena is an experienced specialist in immigration, asylum and human rights law. She has worked extensively with vulnerable adults and children, including victims of torture and victims of trafficking, and her main interest is in assisting victims of domestic abuse. She also acts for detained clients with asylum and human rights claims, associated bail applications and judicial review claims, and she challenges unlawful detention. Sheena works with legal aid and private clients, and speaks English, Punjabi, Urdu and Hindi.

Qualifications and accreditations

• LLB Law (Honours).
• Legal Practice Course (LPC).
• LLM in Family Law.
• Family Law Accreditation.
• Law Society accredited member of the Family Law Advanced Panel since 2010.
• Supervising Senior Caseworker under the Law Society Immigration and Asylum Accreditation Scheme since 2005.
• Member of Resolution.

Areas of law

Types of matters Sheena handles

Sheena handles a broad range of family and immigration matters. The work she takes on most often includes:

• Injunctions, including non-molestation orders, occupation orders, prohibited steps orders and specific issue orders.
• Private children proceedings, including child arrangement orders.
• Public law proceedings, including care proceedings.
• Divorce and dissolution proceedings.
• Financial remedy applications on the breakdown of a relationship.
• Enforcement, variation and appeal of family court orders.
• International family matters, including relocation and child abduction.
• Protection, human rights, spouse visa and family reunion applications.
• Settlement, naturalisation and entry clearance applications.
• Deportation, removal, detention and bail matters.
• Asylum and human rights appeals and judicial review claims.
• SET (DV) applications and Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession applications.

If you are unsure which of these applies to your circumstances, a short phone call will tell you whether Sheena can help.

How Sheena helps clients

Sheena undertakes both private and legal aid work, and her extensive knowledge of family and immigration law means she can look at a client's situation as a whole rather than in isolation. She takes the time to understand what has happened, explains the options in plain language, and prepares each matter carefully so that clients always know where they stand.

Much of her work involves vulnerable clients, including victims of torture, victims of trafficking and victims of domestic abuse. She combines that sensitivity with rigorous case preparation and firm representation, whether she is acting in complex care proceedings, defending against removal or challenging unlawful detention.

Sheena treats each client's case with the same care, commitment and attention to detail, and she brings her full experience in both family and immigration law to every matter she takes on.

Sheena's career so far

Sheena's experience has been built across family and immigration law, alongside a longstanding commitment to the local community. These are some of the milestones along the way.

1. 2005

   Qualified as a solicitor

   Sheena qualified as a solicitor in 2005 and was accredited as a Supervising Senior Caseworker under the Law Society Immigration and Asylum Accreditation Scheme in the same year.

2. Since 2009

   Volunteer at South West London Law Centre

   Sheena has volunteered at the South West London Law Centre since 2009, and her contribution has been recognised with a Certificate of Outstanding Contribution and a Gold Award.

3. 2010

   Family Law Advanced Panel

   Sheena was admitted to the Law Society Family Law Advanced Panel in 2010, reflecting her expertise in complex family matters.

4. Since 2012

   Dedicated solicitor at the Merton One Stop Shop

   Sheena has volunteered as the dedicated solicitor at the Merton One Stop Shop since 2012, reflecting her longstanding contribution to the local community in Merton.

5. Today

   More than two decades in family and immigration law

   Sheena is a partner and the firm's Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration, with deep experience in the issues that arise when family and immigration law overlap.

Specialist experience

Alongside her general family and immigration work, Sheena has particular experience in:

• Representing parents and grandparents in care proceedings, including cases involving sexual abuse and non-accidental injuries.
• Acting for vulnerable adults and children, including victims of torture and victims of trafficking.
• Representing family clients in complex matters that have been reported and have appeared in the media.
• Representing immigration clients in reported and country guidance cases.

Notable and reported cases

• Re Q (a child born April 2023) [2026] EWFC 266 (B). Family Court decision concerning a young child.
• NW (Care Proceedings) [2018] EWFC B83 (22 August 2018). Care proceedings in which the court considered the effect on three children of one parent's untrue allegations against the other.
• M v F, H and BA [2011] EWCA Civ 273, [2011] 2 FLR 123. Guidance on the circumstances in which the existence of a child can be concealed from a married father.
• Eisha v Omar, committal for contempt of court, High Court, 13 February 2024.
• AK and SK (Christians: risk) Pakistan CG [2017] UKUT 00569 (IAC), country guidance decision on the risk to Christians in Pakistan.

What to expect when you contact Sheena

1. 1

   A short initial phone call

   You start with a short initial phone call, up to five minutes, so that the firm can understand your situation and confirm whether it is able to help. This call is not legal advice.

2. 2

   Clear advice and funding options

   Sheena sets out your options and the likely next steps, and explains whether your matter may be covered by legal aid or handled privately.

3. 3

   Careful preparation

   Sheena prepares your case thoroughly and keeps you informed at every stage, so that you always know where things stand.

4. 4

   Support to the outcome

   She represents you firmly through to the resolution of your matter, and explains what each decision means for you and your family.

Common questions