Helen Peden specialises in immigration and housing law and acts in public law cases relating to her core practice areas.
Helen has a busy multidisciplinary practice and is able to advise on matters with intersecting immigration, housing, and community care issues. She is particularly interested in cases impacting children and young people, owing to her professional background.
Before joining the Bar, Helen worked for NGOs in the UK and Greece, including the British Red Cross and the Refugee Council. She held a number of frontline support and legal advice roles, through which she gained significant experience working with young and vulnerable clients on sensitive issues. She has a sound working knowledge of the migrant support, social housing, mental health, and community care systems, which she utilises in her practice as a barrister.
Helen has received a number of awards, including the Bruno Simma Prize for top performance in her LLM class, a Queen Mother Scholarship from Middle Temple, and the ICLR Pupillage Award for 2023.
Helen has a busy immigration practice and regularly appears in both the First-tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal. She accepts instructions in all areas of asylum and immigration law and is particularly experienced in protection, deportation, and entry clearance appeals.
Due to her previous work in the NGO sector, Helen has extensive experience advising young and vulnerable immigration clients. As a Children’s Adviser at the Refugee Council, Helen supported and advised unaccompanied minors on a wide range of legal issues, including asylum appeals, trafficking and the National Referral Mechanism, age assessments, and judicial review proceedings. She also worked within the International Family Tracing Service at the British Red Cross.
Helen frequently acts in family immigration and entry clearance appeals. Having previously worked as a family reunion caseworker at a grassroots NGO in Greece, Helen is committed to promoting access to justice for separated families and is willing to appear pro bono in out-of-scope matters.
Helen is experienced in working with victims of trafficking, both as counsel and in her previous roles. She has completed ATLAW, a specialist training programme for legal practitioners run by the Anti-Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit (ATLEU).
Helen accepts instructions in deportation cases and has acted in complex matters involving young appellants, EU citizenship, and family life considerations.
Helen regularly appears in the County Court in a broad range of housing matters. She has particular expertise in cases involving possession, disrepair, anti-social behaviour injunctions, and committal applications. Helen has acted for clients with complex vulnerabilities and has experience in cases involving disability discrimination, concerns of exploitation, and Care Act considerations. She is frequently instructed by the Official Solicitor.
Helen draws on her previous experience as a civil litigation paralegal and appreciates the challenges faced by instructing solicitors in this area. She is adept at working with clients who have complex needs, owing to her professional background.
Helen accepts instructions on homelessness appeals and can offer additional insight in cases involving an immigration or asylum support element, given her dual practice. She has experience in matters affecting the Gypsy and Traveller community and is keen to expand this aspect of her housing practice.
Helen has a growing public law practice and accepts instructions in matters overlapping with her core practice areas of housing and immigration.
Helen has experience in judicial review proceedings and has acted in cases challenging certified asylum appeals and trafficking decisions. She has a particular interest in age assessment challenges, having supported and advised age-disputed young people for many years.
Haldane Society.
Young Legal Aid Lawyers.
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