Ranked as a Rising Star in the Legal 500 (2024), Helena has a diverse practice across inquisitorial law. She has been instructed in a wide range of sensitive and high-profile cases, including deaths by suicide in community care, deaths in custody, deaths relating to domestic abuse and the sudden deaths of young people.
‘Helena is an incredible junior. She is persuasive, knowledgeable and utterly committed.’ Legal 500 (2024)
Notable cases include:
Inquest into the death of JA [2023] – Led junior – Led by Craig Hassall KC in an inquest involving a young adult who died as a result of an allergy. The inquest is likely to involve issues of adequate allergen labelling and the role of food delivery platforms, including Deliveroo.
Inquest into the death of OS [2023] – Led junior – Instructed on behalf of the family a complex case involving the death of a baby whilst at private nursery. The factual matrix of the case involves arguable neglect and failings across the regulatory landscape of private nursery provision.
Inquest into the death of DH [2022] – Sole junior – Represented the family in a ten day Article 2 inquest concerning psychiatric care and treatment.
Inquest into the death of NR [2022] – Sole junior – Instructed as a sole junior in a complex case concerning issues of mental health, capacity and out-patient care.
Inquest into the death of SR [2022] – Led junior – Led by Craig Hassall KC in an inquest involving the death of a young child whilst at a nursery. The case is likely to involve an examination of the policy, regulation and training around safe weaning.
Inquest into the death of CC [2022] – Sole junior – Instructed on behalf of a prison healthcare provider in a seven day Article 2 inquest before a jury. The case concerned a death in custody in which medical evidence was inconclusive. The inquest raised issues of substance misuse in custody, accidental substance ingestion and potential causative failings by the prison supervisory regime.
Helena’s experience in inquests involving nuanced or borderline forms of state non-intervention means that she is well-versed in complex arguments relating to Article 2, causation and neglect.
Helena is currently instructed as junior counsel to the Covid-19 Inquiry.
Helena has an excellent academic record, obtaining a Double First and Distinction from the University of Cambridge, graduating with the highest mark awarded for Criminal Law in the Graduate Diploma for Law and graduating with the grade of ‘Outstanding’ from the Bar Professional Training Course.
Helena has a growing Court of Protection practice. She has acted on behalf of ‘P’, P’s family members and local authorities. She is well versed in s21A applications and can advise on care plans and capacity evidence. She also has expertise covering specific areas such as social media use, relationships and capacity around self-harm.
Helena can also provide advice in respect of judicial review claims, particularly in the field of health and social care.
Notable cases include:
- NHS North East and Cumbria Integrated Care Board v P and others [2023] – The Court of Protection considered the issue of where it was in P’s best interests to reside and receive care and support, in circumstances where there was a dispute between P’s family members, P’s legal representative, the local authority and the integrated care board.
- Stockton on Tees Borough Council v P and others [2023] – Instructed in a case involving a deprivation of liberty and a dispute around care plans in an unusual case concerning substance misuse and Korsakoff’s syndrome.
- Hull City Council v P and others [2022] – Instructed on behalf of P via their Accredited Legal Representative in a section 21A application concerning residence and contact in circumstances where various family members had expressed conflicting views.
- HD v P and others [2022] – Instructed in a property and affairs matter involving complex family proceedings that had stalled due to a concern about one party’s capacity. This matter was complicated by a number of barriers to obtaining sufficient capacity information and a dispute with the Official Solicitor over the representation of P.
Helena is known for her approachable and straightforward demeanour with clients and their families at every stage of the court process.
Helena is a persuasive and personable advocate with experience across a broad range of criminal law.
She is instructed as a led junior and junior alone, with a wide-ranging practice encompassing organised crime, regulatory offences, financial crime and general crime.
Helena is experienced in representing vulnerable clients and victims of modern day slavery. Her sensitive approach, flexibility and attention to detail enable her to build a strong rapport with clients.
Helena has been instructed by the Serious Fraud Office to assist with an extensive bribery and corruption investigation and is a member of the ‘Junior Junior’ Counsel panel with the Bank of England.
Before practising at the Bar, Helena worked in the field of asylum and human rights in South Africa and the UK, assisting on cases involving Boko Haram, statelessness and conflict in Sierra Leone. She has also worked with the Death Penalty Project on the appeals of death row prisoners in Trinidad and Tobago.
Helena has assisted with editing a chapter of the 2021 edition of Archbold (Chapter 20: Sexual Offences).
Notable Cases
Operation Highgrove [2022] – Led junior – Led disclosure junior as part of a multi-handed money laundering operation. The case was linked to a separate ten-handed, muti-million pound investigation.
Operation Pacefield [2023] – Led junior – Led junior in a multi-handed conspiracy to pervert the course of justice following a murder investigation.
R v DF [2023] – Sole junior – Instructed as sole counsel representing an individual charged with 21 counts of fraud, the value of which exceeded £100,000.
Operation Middlesex [2023] – Led junior – Led junior in a multi-handed prosecution of a joint-enterprise GBH and a drugs conspiracy, the spin off from a murder investigation.
Post Office Horizon Appeal [2022] – Led junior – Led by Craig Hassall KC and working in an ongoing case involving the appeals of a number of former postmasters to the Criminal Case Review Commission and, if successful, the Court of Appeal.
