Helen represents individual claimants and commercial organisations, but also acts for:

- governments (she is on the Treasury ‘A’ Panel; represented the Kingdom of Belgium in the Pinochet litigation; the government of Argentina at ICSID; the South African Government in Lubbe v Cape; and the Attorney General of Gibraltar);

- public authorities (clients include the Equalities Commissions, the Electoral Commission, the Office of the Rail Regulator, the Information Commissioner, the Environment Agency)

- professional bodies (including the General Medical Council and the Royal College of Vetinerary Surgeons);

- trade unions (including TGWU, GMB, Unison, NASUWT, NUT, and the Trades Union Congress);

- voluntary sector bodies / campaign groups (such as Liberty, Help the Aged, Age Concern, Child Poverty Action Group and the Burma Campaign)

Helen likes to work collaboratively with solicitors and clients, so that advice and, if appropriate, litigation, meet the client’s strategic objectives. She is happy to discuss a case ahead of instructions.

In judicial review, her particular areas of expertise and experience are education, health and social care, welfare, and the environment, but her practice covers many other areas, including judicial review of commercial decisions.

Discrimination law plays a key part in Helen’s practice, and cuts across her other fields.  As well as employment law (eg R v DTI ex parte TUC), Helen has wide experience of discrimination issues in goods and services provision and public law. Notable cases include Carson v Secretary of State for Work & Pensions in the House of Lords (discrimination against pensioners), and Young v UK (treatment of disabled prisoners).

Human rights issues also feed into Helen’s entire practice. She has been involved in many leading human rights cases (for example, Hatton v UK , Matthews v MOD, Pinochet, Ahmed v Secretary of State for the Home Department (POAC)). She edits the White Book on human rights, and is co-author of Blackstone’s Guide to the Human Rights Act (4th edition, 2007).

Helen is also developing a profile in International law. In October 2005 she represented the Republic of Argentina, with Philippe Sands QC, before an ICSID panel in the case of Siemens AG v Republic of Argentina.

Helen is an editor of the Education Law Reports.  She has given papers and lectures at Harvard, New York University Law School, UCL, Oxford and Cambridge, and for the Judicial Studies Board. She was Reid & Holker Scholar of Gray’s Inn. She is also a member of the RSA Commission on Illegal Drugs, Community and Public Policy.


For details of Helen Mountfield's case law practice, please see Notable Cases.

For a printable version (.pdf) of Helen Mountfield's CV, please download from here.

If you would like any further information regarding Helen Mountfield's practice, please contact her Practice Team, or call +44 (0)20 7404 3447.