Helen Evans

“She is in a class of her own: wonderfully hands-on and pitch perfect in her ability to grasp the issues” – Legal 500, 2021

“She is brilliant at getting stuck into a claim and working as part of a team with solicitors. Her drafting and technical ability are excellent and she never misses a trick.” “She is very good on the detail, gets to grips with the case quickly, is very good at managing clients and building rapport, and her advice is very commercial and realistic.” – Chambers & Partners, 2020

Helen is described by the Legal Directories as “one of the most highly regarded barristers in the field”, “highly sought after for her professional negligence expertise” and “considered a go-to by solicitors.” She has been listed as a recommended junior for professional liability work for some years in the Legal 500, Chambers and Partners, Who’s Who Legal and Legal Experts. Comments include that Helen is “not afraid of standing up and fighting for a point”, that “she provides technically excellent advice and is a real fighter” and that she is “formidable on paper, on her feet, and in cross-examination”. Her work is described as being of “exceptionally strong quality” and “commercial”, and she is commended for her “first-rate service.”

Helen handles a broad variety of claims against solicitors, with recent examples including Allsop v Banner Jones (a case on collateral attack heard by the Court of Appeal in December 2020) and Brearley v Higgs & Sons (relating to the application of loss of a chance principles to allegations of dishonesty).  Helen has acted in several pieces of large multi-party or managed litigation (including large frauds and “right to buy” schemes). Helen has also acted in numerous barristers’ negligence cases and has experience of wasted costs claims and civil restraining orders. Helen is the co-editor of the solicitors’ and barristers’ chapters in Jackson & Powell on Professional Liability (with Hugh Evans).  She also undertakes disciplinary work and acts in proceedings before the Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal and Bar Disciplinary Tribunal.

Helen has particular expertise in claims against financial professionals, including accountants, auditors, insolvency practitioners and IFAs. Such claims have encompassed a wide variety of negligent tax and investment schemes, due diligence, business valuation and advice about financial products. She has considerable experience of claims with a financial services, insolvency or auditing element. In recent years, Helen has acted in relation to several sets of proceedings brought by the Financial Reporting Council, and has also represented clients in ICAEW and ACCA matters.

Helen also acts in disputes against surveyors and valuers (many of which have involved alleged large scale frauds). She has represented banks bringing claims against a variety of professionals arising out of property frauds as well as for the professional defendants. She is well regarded for her expertise in obtaining freezing injunctions and other urgent interim remedies arising from fraud.

Helen is recommended for her insurance work in the Legal 500.  The 2020 edition comments that “she is intellectually brilliant, a clear thinker who cuts to the chase, and has exceptional knowledge of professional indemnity insurance.  One of the most thorough barristers I have ever dealt with”.  The 2019 edition described her as “able to cut through large volumes of material and get to the nub of the problem“.

Helen has a varied insurance practice, and her current and recent work includes the following:

• Multi-party managed arbitrations arising out of business interruption claims following the outbreak of Covid-19;
• A high profile coverage dispute arising out of a large fraud allegedly perpetrated by a solicitor/Helen’s work frequently includes advising on brokers’, D&O and other management liability, IFA, accountants’ and solicitors’ professional indemnity cover;
• A coverage dispute relating to credit risk insurance after the collapse of Carillion;
• Claims against coverholding or other insurance agents.  Helen is currently instructed on a large-scale claims by insurers against claims handling agents, involving the handling of thousands of underlying motor insurance policies across a number of years;
• A jurisdictional dispute concerning the appointment of arbitrators to determine a claim involving a fraud on an Isle of Man company;
• Disputes arising out of aviation hull and liability insurance (including freezing injunctions in that context);
• Claims relating to legal expenses insurance.  Helen has acted in relation to claims brought by litigants against legal expenses insurers and also has extensive experience of issues arising from policies of “after the event” insurance;
• Claims against professional advisers for prejudicing a client’s insurance cover or delaying insurance claims;
• Disputes involving brokers.  Recent examples include disputes over secret commissions, the appropriateness of cover produced by brokers and allegedly negligent advice by brokers on what should be disclosed to insurers;
• Disputes over whether insurers have “maintained” litigation and exposed themselves to costs liability as a result.

“A name to note as she is instructed in high-profile disciplinary matters”, “An extremely bright junior who easily inspires clients’ confidence.” – Legal 500, 2020 and 2021 editions

Helen’s disciplinary and regulatory practice is primarily focused on lawyers, accountants and auditors. She is recommended in the Legal 500 for her disciplinary work. Comments in the directories include “she knows her stuff in regulatory issues like no one else and adds a lot of value”, and “hardworking, good with clients and has a good grasp of the detail”.

Helen has been involved in cases before the major accountancy regulators and the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. Until it was disbanded in 2020 she was a member of the Bar Standards Board’s Panel of Prosecuting Counsel and still prosecutes cases for the BSB on an ad hoc basis.

Current and recent examples of her work include:

• Advising national firms of accountants in relation to investigations by the ICAEW, FRC and offshore regulators;
• Acting in multiple sets of SDT proceedings relating to the involvement of solicitors in alleged collective investment schemes;
• Acting for a partner of a prestigious city firm in SDT proceedings involving serious breaches of the Solicitors Accounts Rules (including in relation to the settlement of those proceedings);
• Acting for a firm of solicitors committing a former partner to prison for contempt of court in fraud proceedings;
• Defending a QC accused of contempt of court;
• Prosecuting a barrister for behaving in a way which was likely to diminish the trust and confidence which the public places in him in his correspondence about a judge: BSB v Becker;
• Prosecuting a barrister for failing to represent his client properly in Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) proceedings (BSB v Matthew Boyden);
• Acting for the finance director of the Equity Red Star Lloyd’s Syndicate in long-running proceedings before the Disciplinary Tribunal of the FRC relating to the adequacy of the Syndicate’s reserves (FRC v KPMG and Morgan);
• Defending two audit firms in separate proceedings before the ACCA regarding inadequate audits and defective reports to the SDT about solicitors’ accounts (ACCA v Woodhouse and ACCA v Mungur).

Helen is co-editor of the chapters on solicitors and barristers’ negligence in Jackson & Powell on Professional Liability and therefore has in-depth knowledge of lawyers’ practices and regulatory rules.

Helen also has extensive experience of accountants’ and auditors’ negligence cases, tax and financial services regulation, which provides an ideal backdrop for financial disciplinary work.  She is often involved in cases focusing on the interplay between financial services regulation and the role performed by professionals such as accountants (e.g. pursuant to ICAEW rules) and solicitors.

Helen is a member of the Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers and regularly writes on disciplinary and regulatory matters.

“Absolutely brilliant technically; she has certainly developed a niche in freezing orders and injunctions” – Chambers & Partners, 2021

Helen is sought after for her extensive experience in numerous multi-million pound claims arising from solicitors’ misappropriations of client funds.  In 2019-2020 Helen acted in two sets of complex litigation arising out of frauds by solicitors, one of which led to contempt proceedings before the Court of Appeal and the other involved multi-party litigation in the Chancery Division.

Helen has also recently been involved in pursuing a high value insurance coverage dispute arising out of an underlying large-scale fraud by a professional.

Helen regularly advises on the liability of accountants, auditors, directors, insolvency practitioners and others for frauds.  Her cases often involve a company law or insolvency element and she is experienced at dealing with fraud in both the corporate and partnership context.  She is adept at dealing with complex forensic accountancy evidence.  Helen has extensive experience of obtaining urgent orders, including freezing injunctions, proprietary injunctions, orders to restrain parties from leaving the jurisdiction, committal and Norwich Pharmacal and Bankers Trust orders.  She often handles multiple connected applications in quick succession.  She is calm under time pressure and strategic in her approach.

Current and recent examples of her urgent application work include:

• Obtaining back-to-back proprietary injunctions, freezing injunctions, and Norwich Pharmacal relief in multiple cases involving frauds on solicitors’ client accounts;
• Appearing in the High Court and Court of Appeal on the committal of a solicitor to prison for contempt of court: Law House v Adams [2020] EWHC 2344 (Ch);
• Advising solicitors and accountants about injunctive relief in relation to a “Friday afternoon frauds” by email impersonation;
• Obtaining Norwich Pharmacal orders to assist with tracing the proceeds of a large-scale property fraud;
• Acting for a defendant on the return date of a freezing injunction arising out of an alleged breach of trust;
• Dealing with an application to restrain a defendant from leaving the jurisdiction and requiring the surrender of their passport.