Essex Court Chambers

Benedict’s practice is focused on high-value commercial litigation and arbitration, specialising in civil fraud, banking and finance, and both commercial and investment arbitration across a range of sectors.

Benedict has acted in proceedings at all levels of the English courts, and increasingly takes on significant advocacy roles as junior counsel.

He is also developing a practice in offshore work focussed on fraud and asset recovery, and has experience both at first instance in the Commercial Division of the BVI High Court and on appeal before the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal.

In arbitration, he has appeared in or advised on proceedings under the ICSID, ICC, LCIA, HKIAC, SIAC, LMAA, ICDR and UNCITRAL Rules, seated both in London and abroad.

Highlights of Benedict’s recent or current work include acting:

• for the primary defendant in Suppipat v Narongdej [2023] EWHC 1988 (Comm), a $2 billion multi-party fraud claim arising out of the sale of Thailand’s largest renewable energy firm, tried over 20 weeks in 2022–2023;
• for the beneficial owner of a shares in a $200 million fund in just and equitable winding up proceedings arising from serious misconduct by fund management (BVI High Court and ECCA);
• for the claimant in Lonestar Communications Corporation LLC v Kay (Commercial Court), a conspiracy claim concerning a large-scale cyber attack on a Liberian telecommunications network; and
• for the Republic of India in Vedanta Resources Ltd v India, a multi-billion dollar claim alleging breaches of an investment treaty by way of a taxation measure.

Called 2016, Lincoln’s Inn. Prior to joining Essex Court Chambers Benedict qualified in New Zealand (2012), where he prosecuted serious criminal cases before moving to commercial practice.

COMBAR

University of Auckland, BA / LLB (Hons) (2007–2012, ranked first in year); Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge, LLM (2015–2016, ranked first in year).