Helen advises on all matters relating to family breakdown, divorce and cohabitation. She has a particular interest in helping those who have been affected by domestic abuse. This can include anything from isolating a person from their friends and family, monitoring their time or taking control over aspects of their everyday life (such as where they can go, who they can see, what to wear, their finances or when they can sleep. It can also include threats to hurt, to kill or even physical assault).

Helen recognises that the legal implications of domestic abuse are accompanied by a plethora of emotional and other issues, and she aims to ensure that clients are able to work through them with the right advice and support.

Helen’s aim is to ensure the situation people face, as a result of their relationship breakdown, is made as easy as it can be. She works with clients to deal with their problems in a constructive manner so the client, any children and everyone else involved can move forward positively. Helen is a qualified collaborative lawyer and a trained mediator. 

Helen is recognised for her calm and compassionate approach. She is named as a Next Generation Lawyer and is recommended for family law by the leading legal directory, Legal 500 UK 2021 and 2020 which comments: “Helen Greenfield is no-nonsense, effective and a problem solver. She is direct and pragmatic and never shies away from litigation if needed” and “Helen Greenfield provides great practical and emotional support and has phenomenal insight into her cases”. The 2017 edition noted her “great client-handling skills and a great beside manner. She is particularly good on children issues.” She “is able to resolve things amicably between the parties.”  The Legal 500 UK 2016 also recommended Helen for family mediation work, noting that she “gets things done“ and she “provides great practical and emotional support and has phenomenal insight into her cases”.

Helen was named a winner of the Lawyer Monthly Magazine Women in Law Awards 2019 and she is named in the Citywealth Leaders List.

Helen is a member of Resolution. She sits on the board of Support Through Court which provides pro bono support to litigants in person. She volunteers for the Family Law Panel’s domestic abuse helpline (run by OnlyMums and OnlyDads).

Helen is based in both Brighton & London and can see clients wherever is most convenient.

Helen’s recent cases include:

• Acting for a mother with a young child and assisted her to work through the issues she had with the father to ensure they could safely continue their co-parenting relationship after an abusive relationship and a difficult separation.
• Working with a father to resolve his financial issues whilst ensuring his relationship with his son remained intact.  As part of this, the volatile relationship he had with the mother needed to be recognised and Helen had to ensure that any safety issues needed to be at the forefront of any decisions.

Helen’s reported cases have included:

• Golubovich v Golubovich [2010] EWCA Civ 810, an important case regarding the recognition of foreign divorce decrees by the English Courts.
• Divall v Divall [2014] EWHC 95 FAM a case concerning which European court should decide a couple’s divorce.