Helen began her legal career as a mergers and acquisitions lawyer at Bristows and before moving to  Ashurst in London.  A strong desire to combine being a generalist lawyer with opportunities to see her new husband led her to join the corporate legal function of Philips Electronics as the sole lawyer in Cambridge, a role she held for 10 years until Philips withdrew from the region in 2000.

In 2002, she accepted a temporary maternity leave cover role managing a very small legal team within the administration of the University of Cambridge.  As her contract came to an end, she and the returning manager agreed to try a permanent job-share, a decision which unexpectedly led to a fruitful and extremely enjoyable partnership lasting 15 years.  They together developed a  full-service legal team of 14 lawyers uniquely tailored to meeting the rather unconventional needs of an 800 year old research-intensive university.

With all her children at university, Helen decided in 2017 that she herself needed a change from university life and is now enjoying being able to explore new ways of using her diverse experience.