Helena Spector > Park Square Barristers > Leeds, England > Barrister Profile

Helena Spector

0113 245 9763 spector@psqb.co.uk

Work Department

Crime, Inquests, Court of Protection & Adult Care, Regulatory & Public and Personal Injury

Position

Crime

Helena is a relentlessly determined advocate with experience across a range of offences in the Crown Court and Magistrates’ Court, including sexual and violent offences, offences involving fraud, dishonesty and financial crime, drugs offences and firearms offences.

Helena developed her Crown Court practice on the South Eastern Circuit acting for both the Prosecution and Defence. She has appeared in a multiple-day fact finding hearing at Luton Crown Court for a serious drugs matter that involved issues of modern day slavery and forensic expert evidence. She has a breadth of experience in representing defendants at PTPHs, bail hearings, committal hearings and sentencing hearings. Helena has experienced considerable success in securing suspended sentences for serious offences such as burglary and robbery, offences of violence, drugs offences and unusual offences concerning forgery and false documents.

Helena was recently instructed by the Serious Fraud Office to assist with an ongoing extensive bribery and corruption investigation. During this time she gained insight into the prosecution of large-scale conspiracies and managing the disclosure of vast volumes of evidence that are commonplace in white-collar litigation. On the basis of this work she has been appointed to the ‘Junior Junior’ Counsel panel with the Bank of England.

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.

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 edited a chapter of the 2021 edition of Archbold (Chapter 20: Sexual Offences) and a chapter of the fifth edition of Abuse of Process in Criminal Proceedings (Chapter 12: Abuse of Process Doctrine in International Criminal Proceedings).

Inquests 

Helena is interested in developing her practice in regulatory and coronial law.

Helena edited the chapter on Coroner’s Inquests and Work Related Deaths for the fifth edition of Health and Safety Enforcement: Law and Practice with James Ageros QC. From this, she is familiar with all aspects of the inquest procedure, including the investigation stage, the conduct of the Pre-Inquest Review, Article 2 inquests, Rule 22, and the recent caselaw amending the scope of determinations and findings.

Helena has a depth of experience representing vulnerable clients, including those suffering from complex mental health needs, victims of modern day slavery and those with substance misuse issues. She is known for her approachable and straightforward demeanour with clients and their families at every stage of the court process.

Helena understands the interplay between the coronial system, the criminal justice system and investigations by the Health and Safety Executive. To this end, she has assisted with a presentation to the Health and Safety Lawyers Association covering the offence of corporate manslaughter and the complex calculations to be made by the court concerning the risk of harm.

Prior to joining the Bar, Helena was involved as a paralegal on the cases of over 100 Core Participants at the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and understands the interplay of various regulatory regimes, public law principles and the Human Rights Act 1998 in the course of public law proceedings.

Court of Protection & Adult Care

Helena is eager to expand her practice at the Court of Protection. She has a depth of experience representing vulnerable clients, including those suffering from complex mental health needs and those with substance misuse issues. She has been instructed on cases concerning detention under the Mental Health Act 1983 and understands the issues determining administration under a s.37 hospital order and the extension or discharge of such orders at the First Tier Tribunal.

Helena is known for her approachable and straightforward demeanour with clients and their families at every stage of the court process.

Regulatory & Public

Helena is interested in developing her practice in regulatory and coronial law.

Helena edited the chapter on Coroner’s Inquests and Work Related Deaths for the fifth edition of Health and Safety Enforcement: Law and Practice with James Ageros QC. From this, she is familiar with all aspects of the inquest procedure, including the investigation stage, the conduct of the Pre-Inquest Review, Article 2 inquests, Rule 22, and the recent caselaw amending the scope of determinations and findings.

Helena has a depth of experience representing vulnerable clients, including those suffering from complex mental health needs, victims of modern day slavery and those with substance misuse issues. She is known for her approachable and straightforward demeanour with clients and their families at every stage of the court process.

Helena understands the interplay between the coronial system, the criminal justice system and investigations by the Health and Safety Executive. To this end, she has assisted with a presentation to the Health and Safety Lawyers Association covering the offence of corporate manslaughter and the complex calculations to be made by the court concerning the risk of harm.

Prior to joining the Bar, Helena was involved as a paralegal on the cases of over 100 Core Participants at the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and understands the interplay of various regulatory regimes, public law principles and the Human Rights Act 1998 in the course of public law proceedings.

Personal Injury

Helena is eager to expand her civil practice. Prior to joining the Bar, she was involved as a paralegal for a firm instructed to represent over 100 Core Participants at the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. She assisted on progressing ex-Grenfell residents’ civil claims against the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. This included quantifying the quantum of damages, procuring intermediary rehabilitation and evaluating the distinctions between primary and secondary victims.

Helena has an excellent academic record, obtaining a Double First and Distinction for her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from the University of Cambridge. She graduated at the top of her year for her postgraduate degree and received the top grade of ‘Outstanding’ on the BPTC, for which she received numerous prizes and scholarships.

Career

Year of call:

2019

2019 – Pupil at Red Lion Chambers, London

2020 – Level 1 prosecutor

2021 – Tenant at Red Lion Chambers, London

2021 – Part-time barrister secondment at the Serious Fraud Office

2021 – Tenant at Park Square Barristers, Leeds

Appointments:

Junior Junior Counsel Panel, Government Legal Department –

Junior Junior Counsel Panel, Bank of England –

Memberships

South Eastern Circuit North Eastern Circuit Criminal Bar Association

Education

2015 – Clare College, University of Cambridge MA Hons. Social Anthropology

2017 – Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge MRes Hons. Social Anthropology Distinction

2018 – City, University of London Graduate Diploma in Law Highest mark awarded for criminal law

2019 – City, University of London Bar Professional Training Course Outstanding