Helen Julia Kruuse is a Professor in the Faculty of Law at Rhodes University and an admitted Attorney of the High Court of South Africa. Her work focuses on the intersection of legal ethics, family law, and social change. She explores how South African legal culture and local values can be integrated into professional practice and legal education reform.

Helen’s research addresses complex issues in family and customary law, including the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act and matrimonial property rights. She is also a leading voice on the state’s role in regulating legal services and expanding access to justice through mandatory community service.

Deeply engaged in legal policy, Helen chairs the advisory committee to the South African Law Reform Commission on Matrimonial Property Law and is a Director of the International Association of Legal Ethics. She frequently provides expert opinions to the Department of Home Affairs and the Legal Ombud. A prolific author, she recently published Legal Ethics in South Africa (2026). Helen holds a PhD, LLM, and LLB from Rhodes University, where her doctoral work proposed reforming legal ethics through local South African values.