Partner
Hesketh Henry
Helen is a partner in the litigation and disputes team at Hesketh Henry. She obtained a BA in English, an MA in Philosophy from Auckland and obtained her law degree from Oxford. Helen was admitted as a barrister in London before moving to New York where she worked as a litigation attorney for 15 years with leading US and international law firm Shearman and Sterling.
Helen joined Hesketh Henry in 2007, becoming a partner in 2017, and is now a key member of the firm's construction law team. She has acted in leaky building and consultant professional negligence cases and CCA adjudications, provided project and drafting advice in the residential commercial, energy and infrastructure sectors and leveraged her international experience to advise on investigations in relation to projects funded by international funding institutions. Complementing her construction expertise, Helen has developed an insurance practice with specialisations in material damage and and defence of claim work with a focus on the construction sector. A highlight of the last year include acting as defence counsel on a dispute relating one of New Zealand's largest infrastructure projects.
Helen was re-elected this year as a council member of the Society of Construction Law (SCL), was on the organising committee for, and a panelist and moderator at, the 2021 SCL International conference. She is a frequent presenter at both construction and insurance law conferences, and a recognised expert in legal issues relating to ACP (aluminium comoposite panels) cladding. Over the last two years, she has been part of a steering group initiating an amendment of NZS 3910.
Helen is individually recognised by The Legal500 Asia Pacfic 2021 Directory as a "Recommended Lawyer" in the construction practice area.
