Helen
Johnson

Helen has a breadth of professional experience within more than one regulated industry and so has a strong understanding of how regulation impacts organisations and individuals. She is keen to develop her practice in this area and welcomes instructions on:

• Inquests
• Healthcare regulatory matters
• Solicitors regulatory investigations and disciplinary action
• Other regulatory bodies

Helen is an excellent communicator, both in relation to her verbal and written communication skills. She is adept at exercising resilience and responding calmly and flexibly while strongly fighting for her client’s position in hearings.

With a view to identifying, challenging, or defending decisions/acts and omissions of public bodies by way of judicial review, Helen welcomes instructions in the following areas:

• Local Authority Community Care assessments.
• Challenging licencing decisions by Local Authorities, Transport for London, DVLA, etc.
• DWP Welfare Benefit decisions.

Challenging sanctions, contract notices and other unlawful decisions of the Legal Aid Agency against solicitors.

Helen is sensitive to the needs of clients, placing their interests first in the most practicable way possible while being conscious of the complexities of the law. She has been trained in negotiation skills.

She is building experience in the area of family law, conducting First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointments, directions hearing and matters of appeal (notably a costs appeal against wasted costs).

Within family law, Helen welcomes instruction on matters relating to:

• Child arrangements
• All areas of matrimonial divorce and financial settlements
• Pre and post-nuptial agreements
• TOLATA
• Adoption
• Children act
• Family injunctions
• She is able to attend both remote and in-person hearings.

Helen has a nuanced understanding in family dynamics, having worked with community and charity organisations, as well as being trained in coaching and therapeutic skills and trauma awareness. She has worked at the cutting edge of complex relationship issues and has worked with divorcing couples, father, mothers, children and social care providers around these issues.

Helen is an experience civil litigator and has experience across a wide range of civil disputes including the following areas:

• Business and commercial law
• Breach of contract
• Bankruptcy and Insolvency
• Road Traffic Accidents
• Quantum disputes
• Personal Injury
• Credit Hire
• Consumer Credit Act claims
• Breach of Contract
• Recovery of debt

Helen can be relied upon to offer pragmatic and realistic advice to her clients in relation to settlement in circumstances where that is a possibility, but always strongly and robustly advocates for her client’s position in contested trials and final hearings. Her interpersonal skills make her easy to work with and her sharp mind means that lay clients and solicitor are in safe hands.

Helen has dealt with all manner of hearings from interim applications, applications for strike out, case management as well as conducting trials. She successfully represented both Claimants and Defendants in county courts across England.

Helen has experience in dealing with possession, mortgage repossession, and housing disrepair, representing both landlords and tenants.

She has acted on behalf of both Claimants and Defendants. Her awareness of commercial matters mean that she can appreciate the organisational interests of landlords and creditors and advocate robustly for these. Her experience working with people in a community context and her excellent interpersonal skills mean that she also works well with tenants and debtors, often going above and beyond to improve their experience of litigation in times of high stress.

Helen has successfully represented cases in many aspects of commercial law, including:

• Contractual disputes
• Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Liquidation
• Credit Agreements and Credit Hire
• Commercial debt claims

Helen has an understanding of wider commercial concerns and a familiarity with different types of commercial contracts and organisational contexts.

At the level of the consumer, her background in coaching and psychology means that she is able to support consumers through stressful hearings and litigation, helping them to understand the legal issues, while advocating robustly on their behalf.