Who We Are

Founded in 2006 by Elif Pala and Christopher Pelentrides, Arlington Crown is a law firm steeped in expertise and history.

The partnership expanded in 2010 with the addition of  Kurtulus Sarak.

Our firm is dedicated to delivering legal services to a diverse range of community sectors, emphasising equality and diversity.

We pride ourselves on offering these services at both reasonable and competitive prices.

Our Approach

Our approach combines professionalism with a personal touch, ensuring that while we remain approachable, our primary focus is on securing the best outcomes for our clients. Our team balances friendliness with practical, realistic solutions to effectively address our clients’ legal challenges.

Leveraging our extensive legal experience and knowledge, we specialise in providing bespoke legal advice that transcends standard practices. Our innovative approach often involves thinking ‘outside the box’ to ensure that our clients receive sustainable, precisely tailored guidance.

We take pride in our firm’s diversity, with capabilities in several languages catering to a wide array of clients.

Meat the Team

Partners: Elif Pala, Christopher Pelentrides, Kurtulus Sarak

Solicitors: Serpil Sergec, Manvir Uppal, Althea Bailey

Licensed Conveyancers: Matthew Worswick, 

Reception Staff: Gemma Hooper, Kathy Pelentrides

Elif Pala

Partner
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Christopher Pelentrides

Partner
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Kurtulus Sarak

Partner
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Serpil Sergech

Solicitor
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Manvir Kaur Uppal

Solicitor
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Althea Bailey

Immigration Solicitor
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Matthew Worswick

Licenced Conveyancer
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Gemma Hooper

Receptionist
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Kathy Pelentrides

Receptionist
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Elif Pala

Solicitor/Director. Head of Family & Probate Departments.

Elif is one of the founding partners of Arlington Crown Solicitors, which was established in 2006.

Elif is the head of the Family Department and specialises in all aspects of family law.

Elif’s extensive skill and expertise put her in a strong position to negotiate the best outcome on your behalf. Her firm and honest, yet approachable handling of cases put her clients at ease throughout the process. She has a passion for helping people and this is evident throughout the process.

Elif also practises Residential Conveyancing, together with Probate.

Over the years Elif has acted for various sports personalities, television personalities and celebrities, both in the UK and overseas.

On a personal level, Elif’s life goal is to see the world.

Elif is also capable of communicating in the Turkish language.

Christopher Pelentrides

Solicitor/Director. Head of the Immigration and Civil Departments. Complaints Officer.

Christopher, one of the founding Partners of Arlington Crown Solicitors and a Director of Arlington Crown Solicitors Limited, was admitted as a Solicitor in 2000.

He specialises in all aspects of Immigration and Nationality Law (including Human Rights Law), Civil and Criminal Litigation. He also deals with Family Law and Employment matters. Christopher is the Head of the Immigration & Nationality Department. He also heads the Litigation Department of the firm. Christopher has the ability to deal with complex issues and possesses great negotiation skills to resolve matters.

Christopher is highly experienced in dealing with complex immigration matters, and successfully challenges the Home Office/Secretary of State for the Home Department on behalf of his clients. His expertise also extends to representing clients before the First Tier Tribunal, Upper Tribunal and the Administrative Court. Christopher has a very wide client base of UK and international clients consisting of both individuals and corporate entities.

His experience and knowledge extend to dealing with actions in all levels of courts, from County Court to High Court in Civil proceedings, and Magistrates Court to Crown Court in Criminal proceedings.

Christopher has acted for various professionals, sports personalities, football clubs and celebrities in the UK. He also the experience in representing companies in the UK and overseas.

Christopher is also capable of communicating in the Greek language.

Kurtulus Sarak

Solicitor/Director. Head of the Residential and Commercial Conveyancing Departments.

Kurtulus, one of the partners and a director of Arlington Crown Solicitor was admitted as a solicitor in 2006.

He is the Head of Conveyancing and specialises in both residential and commercial transactions, offering a comprehensive suite of services. In residential conveyancing, he deals with freehold and leasehold acquisitions, disposals, and remortgages as well as new build purchases.

His expertise also extends to commercial conveyancing, covering acquisitions and disposals ranging from high street retail units to major shopping centres, restaurant chains, and industrial units.

His extensive client base includes high-net-worth individuals, developers, private companies, and institutional lenders, both domestically and internationally.

Kurtulus is also capable of communicating in the Turkish language.

Serpil Sergech

Solicitor. Immigration Department.

Serpil initially joined the firm in 2016. She commenced her legal career as a paralegal in the Immigration Department until she began her training contract. Thereafter, she successfully qualified as a Solicitor in 2023.

She has extensive experience in personal immigration matters. She regularly deals with spouse, fiancé, civil partner/unmarried partner, Human Rights, EEA/EUSS, long residence, indefinite leave to remain and naturalisation applications. She has achieved a high level of success with complex applications and appeals. Serpil has also presented applications for Judicial Review to the Tribunal and Administrative Court.

Serpil has assisted many vulnerable members of the public including clients with mental and medical difficulties, detained people, and victims of domestic violence. Serpil also has experience in undefended divorce cases as well as civil matters, in particular small claims.

Serpil has a professional and positive approach to clients and works diligently towards achieving the desired outcome.

Outside of work, Serpil likes spending time with family and spending time in nature.

Serpil is also capable of communicating in the Turkish language.

Manvir Kaur Uppal

Solicitor. Immigration Department.

Manvir joined Arlington Crown Solicitors in January 2024.

Manvir is a Solicitor in the Immigration Department and helps clients obtain a right to reside in the UK and has experience dealing with all types of cases including detained clients; victims of trafficking & torture; asylum work from initial applications through to Tribunal appeal matters; entry clearance applications, human rights applications, and judicial review work. Manvir can prepare applications to meet Home Office requirements (including drafting application forms, index of documents, and letters of representation). Manvir also specialises in family and human rights-based cases.

Manvir love making a difference in people’s life. To be a part of the difficult journey with the client from beginning to end and to see the positive outcomes in the end makes her feel really good.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?

In her personal time, Manvir enjoys cooking, travelling, and socialising with friends and family.

In her spare time Manvir likes to take part in volunteering jobs with various charities. As part of this, she often feeds the homeless with the homeless charity team SEVA.

Manvir is also capable of communicating in Punjabi.

Althea Bailey

Immigration Solicitor.

Althea joined the firm in 2025. She qualified as a Solicitor in 2000, and has since acquired extensive experience in personal Immigration matters and has developed a strong reputation for handling personal immigration matters with compassion, precision, and tenacity.

Althea has significant advocacy experience and regularly represents clients at bail and appeal hearings before both the First-tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal. She also deals with Judicial Reviews. She is also recognised for her meticulous attention to detail, strategic thinking, and strong commitment to achieving the best possible outcomes for her clients.

Passionate about her work and driven by a genuine desire to help others, Althea takes pride in guiding clients through complex and often emotionally challenging legal processes with clarity, care, and confidence.

Family-oriented and community-focused, Althea devotes much of her personal time to her family and to church-led outreach initiatives, supporting baby, clothing, and food banks that serve vulnerable individuals and families in the community.

Matthew Worswick

Licensed Conveyancer.

Matthew is a Licensed Conveyancer at Arlington Crown Solicitors, having joined the firm in 2010.

Matthew is regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers – the regulators of Specialist Property Lawyers.

As a Licensed Conveyancer, Matthew specialises in all aspects of residential and commercial property matters, acting for buyers and sellers, landlords and leaseholders, lenders, and borrowers, both individual and corporate clients.

Matthew has acted for various developers, private lenders, high net worth individuals, professionals, sports personalities, television personalities and celebrities from the UK and overseas.

Matthew is an avid fan of technology and cars and in his spare time, enjoys watching movies and frequenting exhibitions and galleries.

Matthew is a member of the Society for Licensed Conveyancers.

Gemma Hooper

Receptionist.

Gemma is a member of the reception team at Arlington Crown Solicitors having joined in 2021.

In addition to acting as front of house, Gemma also assists the immigration department with applications, liaising with the Home Office and client care among other duties.

In her spare time, Gemma can be found spending time outdoors with her family, in the kitchen baking up a storm or getting lost in a new drama series.

Kathy Pelentrides

Receptionist.

Kathy is a member of the Reception Team at Arlington Crown, having been with us since we began in 2006.

In addition to acting as front of house, Kathy also assists the firm as a Legal Secretary.

In her spare time Kathy enjoys cooking, baking, Pilates and salsa dancing and spending time with her family.

Kathy is also capable of communicating in the Greek language