Helen Malcolm KC

“Helen is an elegant advocate and knows her stuff inside and out. She is at the absolute top of the game.”  Chambers UK 2026:  Extradition

“Helen is unflappable in court and a real pleasure to work with.”  Chambers UK 2026:  Extradition

“Helen is incredibly intelligent. She brings the courtroom to a standstill. She is incredibly hard-working and tenacious. She is a class act.”  Chambers UK 2026:  Financial Crime

“A brilliant advocate who stands out from other barristers in court.  Formulates some brilliant legal arguments and has the ear and respect of the court.”  Legal 500 2026:  International Crime and Extradition

“Helen is a superb advocate.  She presents extremely complex cases and legal arguments in a succinct and powerful way.”  Legal 500 2026: Fraud Crime

“She is really at the forefront of the extradition practice.”  Chambers UK 2025:  Extradition

“She is an excellent and very well-established practitioner.”  Chambers UK 2025:  Extradition

“Helen Malcolm is an outstanding silk with real court presence.”  Chambers UK 2025:  Financial Crime

“Helen is an outstanding and effective advocate, commanding the respect of both the court and jury in complex matters.”  Legal 500 2025:  Fraud: Crime

“Helen is extremely bright and has a great command of extradition law. She is particularly good at dealing with complex factual cases.”  Legal 500 2025:  Extradition

“Helen is a tour de force. She is totally dedicated and fearless.”  Chambers UK 2024:  Financial Crime

“… thorough and very precise. Nothing really fazes her.”  Chambers UK 2024:  Financial Crime

“… a wonderful practitioner. She gets straight to the point and is very sharp-witted and very sensible.”  Chambers UK 2024:  Financial Crime

“A brilliant courtroom operator. Her written work is exceptional, and her courtroom presence is awesome.”  Legal 500 2024:  International Crime and Extradition

“Helen is a ferocious advocate.”  Chambers UK 2021:  Financial Crime

“Enormously experienced and has great gravitas and authority.”   Chambers UK 2021:  Extradition

“…amongst the best in at the Bar for anything with a cross-border, extra-territorial or multi-jurisdictional dimension.”  Legal 500 2021:  Fraud

“She has great tactical judgement and attention to detail. She commands great respect from judges and other advocates.”  Legal 500 2021:  International Crime and Extradition

“A lawyer with a sharp brain and the determination to seek out every decent point in a case. She really fights for her clients.” Chambers UK 2020: Financial Crime

“My heart sank when I saw she was my opponent because the courts trust her, listen to her, and she knows exactly which buttons to press. She is brilliant at what she does.” Chambers UK 2020: Extradition

“Obviously superb, she has a huge wealth of European law knowledge and a lovely personable manner. She is forensic in her focus on the issues in a case.” Chambers UK 2020: Extradition

“A silk with class.” Legal 500 2020: International Crime & Extradition

“Advises with great clarity, has a reassuring manner and is very impressive.”

“A hard-working and industrious silk, who really gets stuck in. Clients like her as she takes command of a case from the off.” Chambers UK 2019: Extradition

“A hardworking and efficient barrister who is eloquent in court.” Legal 500 2019

“She is a real class act who is increasingly busy, prosecuting as much as defending.” “Impressive and a pleasure to work with.” Chambers UK 2018: Financial Crime

“She is really top drawer and a very engaging speaker.” “Responsive, personable, and someone with good client skills, she is at her very best in appellate proceedings.” “So commanding and fantastically clever.” Chambers UK 2018: Extradition

“Solicitors praise her for her attention to detail and client care.” Legal 500 2017: Fraud

“A heavyweight extradition practitioner, who provides outstanding advocacy and really good strategic advice.” Legal 500 2017: International Crime & Extradition

“Extremely clever and extremely hard working, she instils considerable confidence in clients.” “She comes into her own for appellate proceedings, is pleasant to work with and responsive. When complex issues are to be addressed, she stands out as a result of her great intelligence.” Chambers UK 2017: Financial Crime

“She combines her mastery of extradition with her capabilities in fraud law.” “She has great gravitas and commands a lot of respect from other counsel and the court.” “The most hard-working QC and just so dependable, she is absolutely the safest set of hands you could ever want and very clever.” Chambers UK 2017: Extradition

• Oriental Studies (Persian with Arabic), Oxford University, 1983
• Diploma in Law, 1985, Called to the Bar 1986
• Pegasus Scholar, Washington DC, USA 1990

• General Editor, International Criminal Law Reports  From set-up to 2004
• Practitioner Editor, Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice, chapter 30 on Commerce, Financial Markets and Insolvency 1995-2013
• Author of the chapter on extradition in Fraud: Law Practice and Procedure, Butterworths 2004
• Lecturer and sometime examiner, Inns of Court and Bar Educational Trust
• Has appeared on television and radio as an extradition expert, France and UK
• Has lectured internationally on transnational criminal and environmental law, Bribery Act 2010, corruption, terrorism and human rights – Delhi, Hyderabad, Brussels, Turkey, Dublin, Paris, Slovenia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Northern Cyprus
• Has devised and run training sessions in interview techniques for regulatory bodies
• Has trained CPS, SFO and others on the Extradition Act 2003
• Regularly gives evidence to House of Lords Select Committees on effect of Brexit on extradition and criminal law

• Silk 2006
• Deputy High Court Judge assigned to the Administrative Court, April 2013
• Recorder of the Crown Court 2005
• Tutor in Criminal Law, Oxford University 2013 – 2016
• Bencher, Gray’s Inn 2011
• Chair of Election Information Committee of Gray’s Inn
• Trustee of Gray’s Inn Charitable Trust
• Special independent counsel (PII) 2003 –
• Special Advocate 2009 –
• Attorney General’s A List of Prosecutors 2002 –
• Re-appointed to the SFO Prosecution List 2013
• Appointed to the Foreign Office Pro Bono Advisory Panel October 2001 – 2007
• UK Representative on Criminal Law Committee of CCBE 2013
• Vice Chair of EU Law Committee of the Bar Council 2012-13
• Vice President of the European Criminal Law Association 2013
• Directions Judge for Bar Standards Board

• UN Consultant:  training senior Nigerian Judiciary, Nov 2017
• Advocacy Trainer, ICTY, The Hague Oct 2002, Mar 2004, June 2007, Jan 2010, Mar 2011
• Advocacy Trainer, International Criminal Court, The Hague October 2007
• Advocacy Trainer, Gray’s Inn (ongoing)
• Faculty Member, SE Circuit Advanced International Residential Advocacy Course, Keble College, Oxford 2003-06
• Vice President of the European Criminal Law Association (UK), and member of the European Criminal Bar Association
• UK representative on the Criminal Law Committee of the CCBE
• Member of the Criminal Bar Association
• Member of the Commercial Bar Association
• Member of the Bar Council’s European Committee, and of the Bar European Group
• Accredited CEDR mediator March 2007
• Trained in international arbitration, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, 2011

I, Helen Malcolm KC,  am a data controller and can be contacted at 3 Raymond Buildings, Gray’s Inn, London WC1R 5BH or by telephone on 020 7400 6400 or by email at helen.malcolm@3rblaw.com. My Data Protection Policy can be found below.

All personal data that I process is for the purposes of providing legal services, conducting conflict-checks, marketing, defending potential complaints, legal proceedings or fee disputes, keeping anti-money laundering records, training other barristers and pupils and when providing work-shadowing opportunities, and/or exercising a right to a lien. The types of data I process vary upon the nature of the legal matter in relation to which I am engaged to advise or otherwise participate, but can include names, contact details, biographic details and ‘special category personal data’ (such as details of racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, health, sex life and criminal convictions and proceedings).

Depending upon the circumstances of the case, the legal bases upon which I process personal data are (i) the performance of a contract to which the data subject is a party or in order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract, (ii) the processing is necessary to comply with legal obligations to which I am subject, or (iii) the processing is necessary for the legitimate interests set out above, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subjects which require protection of personal data, in particular where the data subject is a child. When I rely on (iii) legitimate interests, my ‘Legitimate Interests Assessment’ can be found here. When I process data which has not be obtained directly from the data subject (e.g. personal data contained in evidential materials), it will have been supplied to me as part of my instructions in circumstances covered by legal professional privilege.

Depending upon the circumstances of the case, I may share the personal data with:

1. my Chambers, which supplies professional and administrative support to my practice;
2. Courts and other tribunals to whom documents are presented;
3. my lay and professional clients;
4. potential witnesses, in particular experts, and friends or family of the data subject;
5. solicitors, barristers, pupils, mini pupils and other legal representatives;
6. ombudsmen and regulatory authorities;
7. current, past or prospective employers;
8. education and examining bodies;
9. business associates, professional advisers and trade bodies.

I retain personal data for no longer than 7 years after the case has come to an end or as otherwise required by law.

I do not intend to transfer data to any country which is not either within the European Union, ‘white listed’ by the EU or otherwise permitted by EU law (e.g. to the USA under the provisions of the ‘Privacy Shield’).

Under the GDPR, data subjects whose personal data I process have the right to request from me access to, and rectification or erasure of, their personal data, the right to the restriction of processing concerning them, the right to object to processing as well as the right to data portability. Data subjects also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ico.org.uk).

In cases where there is a contract between me and the data subject, the provision of personal data is a contractual requirement and the data subject is obliged to provide the personal data in order that I can supply legal services. A failure to provide such data may mean that I will not be able to provide the legal services.

Rev 1.1 – 18.07.2018

Data Protection Policy

Legitimate Interests Assessment

Helen Malcolm KC is qualified to accept instructions direct from clients under the Bar Council’s Public Access Scheme. This means that members of the public who seek specialist advice can come direct to her. In addition, she welcomes instructions from solicitors, in-house law departments, qualified foreign lawyers, and clients licensed by the Bar Council to give instructions direct to barristers under the Bar Council’s Licensed Access Scheme.

For further information please contact our Clerks.