Described in Chambers and Partners as “impeccable” and a “rising star of the Bar”, and picked by Legal Week as one of the most promising juniors at the Bar, Helen has a broad criminal, civil and public law practice, with a focus on criminal justice and human rights.
Helen prosecutes and defends in criminal matters, both on her own and as a junior. She is a Grade 1 prosecutor, and was recently instructed by the CPS Special Crime Division to prosecute in R v Lord Taylor (in which she appeared alone) and R v Lord Hanningfield (where she was led by Clare Montgomery QC), in relation to House of Lords’ expenses claims. She is currently instructed with Matthew Ryder QC for one of the defendants in an insider dealing case described by the FSA as the most serious and complex such prosecution which has ever been mounted in the UK: the case was recently included in The Lawyer’s Top 20 cases of 2012. She regularly undertakes criminal justice related public law matters, including appeals by way of case stated and judicial reviews of prosecutorial decisions. She is a contributing author to practitioner texts on criminal justice and human rights, fraud and asset recovery.
Helen has a broad public law, human rights and public international law practice, and was recently instructed in Al-Saadoon v United Kingdom and Al-Jedda v United Kingdom, both before the European Court of Human Rights concerning issues of Article 1 jurisdiction and competing international law obligations. She was also recently instructed as part of the team representing Croatia in its claim under the Genocide Convention before the International Court of Justice, and, with Karon Monaghan QC and Jessica Simor, for the EHRC in its intervention before the Supreme Court in HJ (Iran) [2010] 3 WLR 386, concerning the correct approach to determining asylum claims based on sexuality. With Tim Owen QC, she also represented the appellant in the first espionage case to be heard by SIAC (Zatuliveter v Secretary of State for the Home Department). Her recent cases include R (Al-Saadoon & anor) v Secretary of State for Defence (2008, 2009, Divisional Court and Court of Appeal) and E v Secretary of State for the Home Department (2007, House of Lords).
Helen has a strong interest in prison law, public inquiries and police law. She was junior counsel for the Public Prosecution Service in the Robert Hamill Inquiry in Northern Ireland and her recent cases in the prison law field include R (Shaheen) v Secretary of State for the Home Department and R (Botmeh & Alami) v Parole Board. She is regularly instructed in civil claims against the police, including assault, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, discrimination, misfeasance and breaches of the Human Rights Act at all stages from advice to trial.