Ben is an experienced litigator of heavy and complex disputes in the Competition Appeal Tribunal, High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court in England and also in the EU Court of Justice and arbitrations. He is also experienced in guiding clients through competition and other regulatory investigations. He also has an extensive advisory practice. He has a broad client base, acting for both private clients and public authorities. Particular areas of expertise include competition, consumer, procurement, subsidies/state aid and international trade. According to clients Ben is “a go-to junior for competition matters’’ and “brings clarity to very complex issues”. He is “noted for his strong advocacy skills”, “intricate knowledge of competition law institutions” and the fact that he is “user friendly” and “will work extremely hard to get the right result”. Work has included the following sectors: pharmaceuticals, water, energy, postal services, communications, satellite licensing, gaming and lotteries, organisation of sporting events, rules of professional associations, e-commerce.
Ben is a former Legal Secretary at the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal. Ben has acted on numerous occasions as a consultant on competition law to the UN Conference on Trade and Development and worked on competition law in a number of different jurisdictions. Ben was called to the Bar of Ireland in 2018.
Called 1996, Inner Temple.
At the end of 2000 he was appointed as legal secretary (referendaire) to the President of the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (“CAT”), Sir Christopher Bellamy (formerly Judge of the Court of First Instance of the European Communities).
As legal secretary to the CAT he was involved in all the first “landmark appeals against the decisions of the OFT and sectoral regulators under the Competition Act 1998, reviews of merger control decisions under the Enterprise Act 2002 and the first “follow on” claims for damages brought in the Tribunal under the 1998 Act. He was also closely involved in the first appeals brought against decisions of the Office of Communications under the Communications Act 2003, which implements the EC Commission’s new Electronic Communications Package.
At the CAT he also assisted in drafting the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure and Practice Directions and also liaised with central government departments in relation to legislation relevant to the operation of the CAT, including the operation of the European Commission’s “Modernisation” proposals embodied in EC Regulation 1/2003.
Fluent French; basic German, basic Italian.
Administrative and Constitutional law Bar Association; Bar European Group; British Institute of International and Comparative law; Competition Law Association and Criminal Law Bar Association.
Cambridge University (MA); Oxford University (BCL).