Helen is a versatile practitioner with a wideranging and successful practice. She is ‘accessible, hardworking and handles a remarkable range of work with skill and panache’ (Legal 500 2010); a ‘standout public law advocate, ‘all-time favourite of many’ with an ‘exceptional mind’, ‘clever and persistent’ and an ‘absolute star’ (Chambers & Partners 2010).
She has also been described as an ‘impressive’, ‘engaging’, ‘fearless & tactical’ advocate, who is ‘great at driving things forward’ (Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 (2009)), ‘very popular with the courts’ and ‘a talented academic lawyer’, who ‘understands policy issues as well as the law’. Clients find her ‘sympathetic and accessible’ (Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 (2008)).
She is in the Lawyer’s “Hot 100” Lawyers for 2011, is on the 2011 shortlist as Lawyer of the Year, and was Public Law and Human Rights Junior of the Year at the Chambers & Partners awards in 2009. She is consistently listed in the Legal 500 and Chambers directories, in Administrative & Public Law, Human Rights and Civil Liberties; Education and Employment.
As a highly regarded public law specialist, Helen has appeared in many significant cases. Recent/notable public law cases include:
R(G) v Governing Body of X School (Supreme Court)
R(Hajrula) v London Councils
R(Rahman) v Birmingham City Council
R(Woolas) v Parliamentary Election Court
R(E) v Governing Body of JFS (Supreme Court)
R(Cordant Group plc) v Secretary of State for BERR
YL v Birmingham City Council & Others
R(RB (Algeria) and O)(Jordan) v Secretary of State for the Home Department
Particular areas of expertise and experience include regulatory work, equality law, terrorism and national security, education law, social welfare and election law.
Helen frequently represents the Equality and Human Rights Commission. She was, until she took silk, a member of the Treasury A Panel, and she acts as a special advocate. Helen is also a qualified mediator.
EU law is an important aspect of all Helen’s practice areas. A recent notable victory was in Pedro v Secretary of State for Work & Pensions, on the scope and application of the Citizens’ Directive. The Secretary of State withdrew an application for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Helen is particularly well-known for cases concerning discrimination and equality questions as they arise in public law, employment, commercial and other contexts. She has been involved in many of the major cases on public sector equality duties. These include:
R(Hajrula) v London Councils
R(Rahman) v Birmingham City Council
Secretary of State for Defence v Elias
R(Brown) v DWP & BERR
R(Kaur & Shah) v London Borough of Ealing
R (Watkins-Singh) v Governing Body of Aberdare Girls’ High School
Other recent/notable equality cases include:
R(E) v Governing Body of JFS School
Ladele v London Borough of Islington
Catholic Care v Charity Commission
Carson v Secretary of State for Work & Pensions
Stec v UK
In human rights and civil liberties, Helen is an acknowledged expert who has appeared in many of the leading cases both in this country and in Strasbourg. She is co-author of the Blackstone Guide to the Human Rights Act 1998 (6th edition, 2011) and edits the White Book on Human Rights. She has appeared in many leading human rights cases in English courts and in Strasbourg, and has been instructed by the EHRC, Liberty, Justice and the government as well as individuals and commercial organisations.
Recent/notable cases include:
R(G) v Governing Body of X School;
AH v Secretary of State for the Home Department;
R(Woolas) v Parliamentary Election Court;
YL v Birmingham City Council & Others
Re B
R(RB (Algeria) & OO (Jordan)) v Secretary of State for Defence;
and in Strasbourg:
Stec v UK
Hatton v UK
RP v United Kingdom (first ever Strasbourg intervention by EHRC)
Helen has a claimant and respondent practice in employment law. Important cases include:
Ladele v London Borough of Islington
R(G) v Governing Body of X School
Willow Oak Developments v Silverwood
R(Ultraframe) v Central Arbitration Committee
R(Trades Union Congress) v Secretary of State for Trade & Industry
Helen is one of the very few practitioners at the Bar with frequent election law experience. She scored a notable victory when she represented the successful petitioner in Watkins v Woolas, in which the Oldham East and Saddleworth general election result in 2010 was set aside, and has also appeared in numerous other general and local election petitions, including the Winchester General Election Petition in 1997. She has advised returning officers, several major political parties, the Electoral Commission and others on diverse issues including postal voting, access to polling stations, libel in elections, promoting candidates from minority groups, electoral registration and prisoners’ voting rights.
Helen is sought after as a speaker and lecturer and as commentator on legal issues in the media.
In 2009, Helen was appointed as a civil recorder on the Midlands circuit and she took silk in 2010.
Further details of Helen’s cases and practice are available in her CV.