The Women’s White Collar Defense Association (WWCDA) has named Helen Gredd a recipient of the 2026 Laurie A. Miller Leadership Award.

The award is given to a current or former WWCDA member in recognition of their leadership and sustained support of WWCDA’s mission to promote inclusion and excellence in the white collar defense field around the world. Helen previously was honored by WWCDA in 2021 as one of the trailblazing women whose efforts helped pave the way for the organization and its members.

A nationally recognized white-collar litigator and a central figure in the New York legal community, Helen has an extensive record of defending executives, financial institutions, law firms, and corporations in regulatory enforcement proceedings, white collar criminal and corporate internal investigations, and complex commercial disputes. Her matters have involved investigations and actions brought by the Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Federal Reserve Board, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, New York State Attorney General, and other federal and state authorities.

Helen is ranked Band 1 by Chambers USA for White Collar Crime & Government Investigations in New York, which has described her as “willing to go to the ends of the earth for her clients.”  In addition, she is regularly recognized by Legal 500, Best Lawyers in America, Benchmark Litigation, Lawdragon 500, GIR 100 and Super Lawyers. Among other distinctions, Benchmark Litigation has named her to its lists of the Top 250 Women in Litigation and Top 100 Trial Lawyers.

Helen’s commitment to the legal profession also extends well beyond her practice. She has long served as a court-appointed member of committees tasked with improving legal services to the indigent, including the Second Circuit’s Criminal Justice Act Advisory Committee and the First Department’s Indigent Defense Organization Oversight Committee. She has been a longstanding fundraiser for the Judges and Lawyers Breast Cancer Alert, an organization dedicated to mobilizing New York’s legal community to assist breast cancer patients in underserved communities.  And she was an early leader in groups dedicated to advancing and supporting women in the legal profession. 

Before entering private practice at Lankler Siffert & Wohl LLP, Helen served from 1985 to 1993 as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York. During her tenure, she held several senior positions, including First Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, Chief Appellate Attorney, and Deputy Chief Appellate Attorney. She began her legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Leonard B. Sand of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The award will be presented at the WWCDA Awards Gala at the Ritz Carlton in Washington D.C. on December 1, 2026.