At 2TG our people are hard-working, forward-thinking and approachable. We believe our supportive culture is one of our greatest strengths.
With the set comprising around 60 barristers, we know each other well and work effectively together. We often operate in large teams with clients. Our practice management team is modern and commercial, matching barrister experience thoughtfully to clients’ requirements.
At 2TG our barristers are expert in a broad range of complementary practice areas and we enjoy repeat instructions from a variety of loyal clients.
Practised advocates from the start, all our Silks and the vast majority of our Junior barristers are recognised as leaders in their chosen fields. Many of us are at the forefront of shaping the law in our specialist areas and we pride ourselves in having excellent industry knowledge.
At 2TG our barristers have excellent experience acting across a range of industry sectors and we are able to offer advice in an informed and commercial context.
Our combination of practice area excellence and industry expertise means we possess real insight into the commercial realities facing our clients operating in these areas. Secondment plays an important part of our commitment to developing our skills and understanding.
2TG is home to award-winning accredited mediators, arbitrators, adjudicators and experts with considerable experience of alternative dispute resolution.
Our barristers are also skilled as advocates in different alternative dispute resolution procedures and work strategically with clients to understand their commercial objectives, and then to resolve litigation as cost-effectively and expeditiously as possible.
Work with an international dimension forms a significant part of many barristers’ work at 2TG.
We appear in international courts and arbitral tribunals all over the world, frequently acting on complex multi-jurisdictional disputes. We are particularly well-known for managing cross border litigation on matters of jurisdiction and applicable law and appear regularly in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal.
At 2TG, in addition to our professional advice, we are recognised for our excellent contribution to education and development. We provide regular high-quality training.
Our reputation among the legal profession and other clients for our first-rate webinars and in-person conferences is very important to us. We also contribute frequently at industry events and as editors of leading texts and authors on topics of legal interest.
Helen Wolstenholme is a highly experienced specialist in Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury (including accidents abroad).
She has been recognised as a leading junior in both practice areas in the legal directories for many years. Acting for both claimants and defendants, Helen is particularly known for her work in exceptionally sensitive cases or those involving catastrophic injury.
Helen is recommended in recent editions of Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500 for her written work (“she commands authority and writes beautifully”, “her drafting skills are exemplary”, “her written work is very impressive”); her advocacy (“an excellent advocate… quick to grasp the essential issues in the claim”, “a hugely impressive barrister”); and her client management (“very attentive and clients really like her”, “she fights her client’s corner”, her calm and thorough approach means she’s highly regarded by clients”, “she is meticulous at planning and clients have a lot of confidence in her”).
Helen was appointed a Recorder in May 2023, deployed to the Midlands Circuit; she was elected to the Executive Committee of the Professional Negligence Bar Association (PNBA) in January 2023; and she became a member of the Ogden Working Party in April 2024. Helen is an experienced pupil supervisor and chairs 2TG’s ED&I Committee.
Away from the Bar, Helen is a founding trustee of the educational charity LMK (Let Me Know), which works with young people to prevent relationship abuse and domestic violence.
Helen has considerable experience of claims related to obstetrics and gynaecology (e.g. wrongful birth, shoulder dystocia, maternal death, PTSD following traumatic labour, stillbirth); orthopaedics; cardiology; infection control (e.g. sepsis, necrotising fasciitis, discitis following neurosurgery); cosmetic surgery; oncology; emergency medicine; mental health (including the management of patients with suicide ideation); spinal injuries (including cauda equina syndrome); and general practice.
AB v Dr C & others (2023)
Helen acted for the defendants in this claim arising out of a delay in diagnosing base of tongue cancer. Breach of duty was admitted but causation denied, the key issue being whether the claimant’s treatment – and her prognosis – would have been the same in any event. The expert evidence was particularly contentious, one of the claimant’s experts having sought to alter his opinion after the joint statement was prepared. The claim was pleaded in excess of £7m and settled for a modest sum at a JSM shortly before trial.
CD v E NHS Trust (2022)
Helen acted for the defendant in this claim arising out of an allegedly negligent delay in diagnosing necrotising fasciitis in a patient who had recently given birth. The claimant required multiple procedures, developed chronic pain and suffered permanent disability. The claim was pleaded in excess of £3.3m and settled at a JSM shortly before trial.
FG v H NHS Trust (2022)
Helen, led by Caroline Harrison KC, acted for the claimant child in relation to her claim for damages arising out of negligence in the management of her birth. She suffered a hypoxic brain injury and developed atypical four-limbed cerebral palsy. The claim was settled shortly before trial, the capital value of the settlement being in excess of £18m.
IJ v K NHS Trust (2022)
Helen acted for the defendant in this claim arising out of a maternal death following a negligent delay in diagnosing pulmonary hypertension during pregnancy. Liability was admitted. The claim settled at mediation, the contentious issues being the deceased’s “but for” life expectancy and ability to provide services.
LM v N NHS Trust (2022)
Helen acted for the defendant NHS Trust in relation to this sensitive claim brought by the family of an illegal immigrant who killed himself whilst awaiting deportation at a Detention Centre. It was alleged that the Trust had failed properly to assess the risk by suicide and had discharged the deceased from inpatient care with inadequate provision in place. The case included a Human Rights Act claim. Valuation was challenging because of the uncertainty in predicting the deceased’s future but for his death. Settled at mediation.
Thomasson v Salford Royal NHS FT (2021) Recorder David Allan KC, Manchester CC
Helen acted for the defendant in this claim arising out of an allegedly negligent delay in performing emergency neurosurgery leading to blindness. The claim was dismissed following a 5-day trial. The judgment is reported and known to be of significance because of its analysis of the reasons for preferring one medical expert over another.
Helen’s personal injury practice focuses on high value claims across the spectrum of employer’s liability (including industrial disease and psychiatric injury); occupiers’ liability and defective premises; accidents abroad; RTAs (including claims involving allegations of fraud); and the Animals Act. She has a particular interest in cases involving serious psychiatric, as well as physical, injuries, and in chronic pain.
AB v the Ministry of Defence (2022)
Helen acted for the claimant, a member of the Royal Navy, in his claim for damages arising out of an injury suffered during a training course when he was placed in a stress position during a mock interrogation. The career-long loss of earnings claim was particularly complex, requiring expert evidence from specialist employment and accountancy experts. The claim settled shortly before trial.
The Estate of CD v Various Parties (2022)
Helen acted for one of three defendants in this claim arising out of the death of a pedestrian who fell head-first, when severely intoxicated, into an unfenced waterworks excavation in the pavement outside his home. The contractual position between the defendants was complex and a key issue was the extent to which the deceased caused his own death because of extreme alcohol consumption. The claim settled at a JSM.
EF v G NHS Trust (2022)
Helen acted for the defendant NHS Trust in this employer’s liability claim brought by a consultant pathologist arising out of her negligent exposure to formaldehyde. She developed an allergic reaction and was unable to perform ‘cut-ups’, a key part of pathology work, and claimed to have suffered a secondary psychiatric injury. Quantum issues related to the claimant’s likely career path and earnings and pension but for her exposure, and the extent to which they would have been impacted by pre-existing psychiatric disorder. The claim settled shortly before trial.
The Estate of HI v J Ltd (2021)
Helen acted on behalf of the defendant in a very sensitive FAA claim, which settled pre-action at a JSM. The deceased, who was attending her daughter’s wedding, was run over by a Range Rover driven by the wedding venue’s manager whilst crossing the car park. The dependency claim involved the contentious issue of assessment of loss in the context of a family business.
Stephenson v Coleman (2020), Oxford County Court
Helen acted for the owners of an equestrian centre who permitted an employee and his wife to sleep in an old converted horse box after an event. The wife fell from an unfenced bed above the cab, a distance of six feet, and suffered a traumatic head injury. The claim was dismissed at trial, the judge having been persuaded that the danger was an obvious one, the claimant had willingly accepted it and, in her intoxicated state, had failed to take reasonable care.
Helen’s travel and jurisdiction practice is built on her personal injury and clinical negligence expertise. She was involved in the leading case of Wall v MPA (practical application of Rome II) and has particular experience of cases involving Spanish law.
AB v C Insurance Co (2022)
Helen acted for the claimant, who suffered a spinal injury during a speed boat tour of the harbour in Barcelona. Liability was conceded and the claim settled shortly before trial, one of the key issues being the extent to which interest should be awarded in accordance with Spanish rates or English rates.
DE v F Insurance Co (2022)
Helen acted for the defendant insurer in a claim brought by a Bulgarian national, living in the UK, arising out of a road traffic accident in Germany. The claimant suffered major psychiatric disorder following the accident and developed a severe acquired stammer. The claim settled at a JSM shortly before trial.
GH & others v I Insurance Co
Helen acted for the claimant family who were all injured in a serious road traffic accident whilst holidaying in France. Valuation and settlement of the 7-year-old son’s case was particularly challenging because of a thorny legal issue regarding provisional damages.
JK v L Insurance Co
Helen acted for the claimant, who suffered severe facial injuries while being treated for anaphylactic shock as a result of an allergic reaction to penicillin while on holiday in Spain. Clinical negligence claim against Spanish doctor settled before trial.
Acted for the successful appellant pro bono under the ELAAS scheme.
My contact details:
ICO Reg No: Z8758400
Address: 2 Temple Gardens, London, EC4Y 9AY
Email: clerks@2tg.co.uk
Phone: +44 (0)20 7822 1200
The type of personal information I collect
To enable me to provide you with legal advice and representation in courts, tribunals, arbitrations and mediations, I currently collect and process the following personal information:
Personal identifiers, contacts and characteristics (for example, name, date of birth and contact details), bank and financial details, your background and circumstance and education.
Other personal data relevant to, or included in instructions to provide legal services, including data specific to the instructions in question and data included in documents provided to me as part of instructions or otherwise.
Such information may include personal information relating to family members, associates, agents, employees, shareholders or beneficial owners. By providing such personal information to me, you automatically confirm that you are authorised to do so. It is not reasonably practicable for me to provide the information set out in this Privacy Notice to those individuals. Accordingly, where appropriate, you are responsible for providing this information to any such individuals.
Where necessary, I may also need to process Special Category data about you including
How I get the personal information and why I have it
Most of the personal information that I process is provided to me directly by you or via the professional you have instructed such as a solicitor or consultant or other professional adviser who instructs me on your behalf to provide legal services.
I use the information that you have given me in order to
I may share this information with
Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the lawful basis I rely on for processing this information is
How I store your personal information
Your information is securely stored in Chambers or at my home. I use reasonable technical and organisational security measures such as password protection and encryption of computer generated data and keeping paper data secure to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost or destroyed, or used or accessed in an unauthorised way.
In this connection, Chambers, as data processor, acting on my behalf, will only process your personal data on my instructions and is subject to a duty of confidentiality.
The data will be held in line with any regulatory obligations and generally be kept for 6 years but may be 12 years, or longer where, for example, the case includes information relating to a minor, from the date of completion of instructions. At this point any further retention will be reviewed and the data will be marked for deletion or marked for retention for a further period.
All data will be securely deleted or securely shredded after this time without reference to you. I will store some of your information which I need to carry out conflict checks for the rest of my career. However, this is likely to be limited only to your name and contact details and the name of the case. It will not include any information that is “sensitive information” for GDPR purposes.
Your data protection rights
Under data protection law, you have rights including:
Transfer of your information outside the European Economic Area (EEA)
This privacy notice is of general application and as such it is not possible to state whether it will be necessary to transfer your information out of the EEA. If I do transfer your personal data I will use safeguards to ensure the data is fully protected as required by the UK Data Protection Regulations.
Changes to my Privacy Policy
From time to time, I may need to make chances to my privacy policy. If so, the changes will appear on my entry on the 2TG website.
Marketing
As above, I may share your personal data with Chambers who may in turn use that data to notify you by email, or post about an invitation to seminars and similar events. You may opt out of receiving any such marketing communications at any time by using the “unsubscribe” link in any emails. In relation to how Chambers uses such data, please see Chambers’ privacy policy. Other than sharing personal data with Chambers as described above, I will not share your information with any other third party for marketing purposes.
How to complain
If you have any concerns about my use of your personal information, you can make a complaint to me or to my Senior Clerk, Lee Tyler at 2 Temple Gardens, London, EC4Y 9AY or clerks@2tg.co.uk. You can also complain to the ICO if you are unhappy with how we have used your data.
The ICO’s address:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Helpline number: 0303 123 1113
ICO website: https://www.ico.org.uk
© Briefed Ltd 2021. All Rights Reserved.
“Helen is thorough and pragmatic in her approach to cases.” “Helen is great in pleadings and advocacy. She has an empathetic tone.” “Helen is such an experienced junior counsel. She is very personable and very persuasive. Her attention to detail is second to none and she is very forensic.” “Helen is really attentive to the details and is very responsive.” “Helen is an excellent barrister who always goes the extra mile.” “She is a pleasure to work with: always well prepared, calm and very good with clients, creating a collegiate approach.”
Chambers UK 2025
“Attention to detail: Helen never misses anything, her knowledge in this field is second to none. Helen always provides clear and sensible advice and her drafting is outstanding.” “Helen is quick to respond and approachable, she is personable. She is cautious in her advice and will consider issues carefully before reverting.”
Legal 500 2025
“Helen is calm in difficult situations and is my go to counsel for sensitive or complex settlement meetings.”
“Helen has a good eye for detail and the commercial realities of the claims.”
“She is a very good technical lawyer who takes a pragmatic and commercial view.”
“She is an astute tactician and has an excellent manner with clients.”
Chambers UK 2024
“Helen is technically excellent, extremely knowledgeable and very articulate.”
“Very thorough and always well-prepared. Good negotiator and advocate.”
Legal 500 2024
“Helen has an excellent eye for detail and is very thorough.”
“She is a very assured advocate.”
“Helen is an excellent advocate. She is quick to grasp the essential issues in the claim.”
“Helen is a hugely impressive barrister. She is direct but also appreciates the needs of her clients and always delivers results.”
Chambers UK 2023
“Helen has a fantastic manner; her drafting skills are exemplary, she is responsive and is widely respected.”
“Her calm and thorough approach means she’s highly regarded by clients, and she has a great mind for quantum issues.”
Legal 500 2023
“She has incredible attention to detail and is very precise, efficient and approachable. She commands authority and writes beautifully.”
“She is a very good technical lawyer and advocate who takes a sensible and pragmatic approach to cases.”
“She is meticulous at planning and clients have a lot of confidence in her. She is an excellent junior.”
“She’s very impressive in RTMs and conferences.”
“She fights her client’s corner and is a robust and very good advocate.”
Chambers UK 2022
“Helen is an excellent advocate; knowledgeable and articulate.”
“Her calm and thorough approach makes her highly regarded with clients, and she has a great mind for quantum issues.”
Legal 500 2022
“She is very attentive and clients really like her.”
“Helen has a wonderful advocacy style.”
“Excellent in her analysis of both liability and quantum.”
“Very thoughtful, intelligent and organised. Her written work is very impressive.”
“Easy to work with and excellent with clients.”
Chambers UK 2021
“A thoughtful barrister with a real enthusiasm for the work.”
Legal 500 2021
“She is extremely incisive in terms of both her paperwork and her cross-examinations. She’s client-friendly and gives very practical and accurate advice.”
Chambers UK 2020
“She has excellent knowledge of clinical negligence law.”
Legal 500 2020
“She’s firm but pragmatic, and very good at what she does.”
“She’s very experienced, trustworthy and approachable.”
Chambers UK 2019
“A thorough and competent barrister with a good eye for detail.”
“She dealt beautifully with a tricky case.”
“Reputed for her ability to address allegations of exaggeration.”
Chambers UK 2018