Helen is a lawyer focused on providing practical immigration assistance to the UK’s tech sector. Helen helps founders, business owners and entrepreneurs, investors and corporates. Her experience includes Tech Nation visas and other Exceptional Talent applications for world leaders in tech, science and the arts, as well as work and family immigration, Brexit-related matters and global mobility for multinationals.
Helen qualified as a solicitor at City of London firm, Berwin Leighton Paisner in 2003. She then worked for legal publisher, PLC researching, writing and editing legal know-how and legal market reviews. She brings her editing and writing experience to her immigration practice for the benefit of her clients. After volunteering with Amnesty International in Sydney, Australia, Helen worked in some of London’s leading immigration law firms: Wesley Gryk Solicitors, Kingsley Napley and Fragomen, assisting clients ranging from refugees to global corporates.
Helen launched her own firm (Helen Smith Immigration) in 2020, focused on providing personalised solutions to UK immigration matters to enable sustainable growth and stability for both corporate and private clients. Prior to this, in 2015, Helen set up the immigration department at North Star Law in London.
Helen speaks regularly on immigration issues and contributes to the LexisPSL Immigration service. She also does pro bono immigration work for victims of domestic abuse. Helen has lived in five countries outside the UK and also speaks Spanish.