Edward Benson

Practice Areas

Ed practises in the financial and international elements of family law. He specialises in financial remedy work (including Part III and Schedule 1 claims), jurisdiction disputes, cohabitee claims under TLATA, and nuptial agreements. He also sits as a private FDR evaluator.

Ed regularly represents clients in complex and high profile financial remedy cases led by silks. He has appeared in the High Court in his own right on multiple occasions and in 2023 he appeared in the Court of Appeal, led by Richard Todd KC.

Ed frequently undertakes advisory and drafting work. He has a growing offshore practice, providing advice and representation this year on English law issues in cases in the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, and Switzerland.

Having undertaken pupillage at a leading commercial Chambers, Ed has a particular interest in the areas where commercial and trust law overlap with family law. He has significant expertise and experience acting in ‘intervenor’ cases involving third party claims in financial remedy proceedings, appearing in several of the recent leading authorities involving intervenors.

Career

Call 2019. Pupillage at 4 New Square (commercial set).

Prior to pupillage, Ed was the Harold G Fox Scholar at Canada's leading litigation firm, working on complex financial and public law cases. He also was a judicial assistant at the Ontario Court of Appeal, and a trainee in the Cabinet of Bernd Hammerman at the EFTA Court in Luxembourg.

Professional Memberships

FLBA, Resolution, Advocate (formerly the Bar Pro Bono Unit), Lincoln’s Inn.

Publications

Ed is an editor of Rayden and Jackson, specifically the chapter on Injunctions in aid of financial proceedings.

Ed lectures on topics of interest in family law to both large conferences and firms of solicitors.

Personal

Ed graduated with a First-Class degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford Unversity. He then undertook his legal training at BPP Law School and City University.

Ed was awarded numerous scholarships and prizes throughout his studies. These include:

St Edmund Hall, Oxford University: Open Scholarship (2015), Final Honour School Prize (2016).

Oxford University: Ranked 1st in Year: British Politics and Government (2016).

City, University of London: Academic Scholarship (2017).

Inns of Court: Hardwicke Award (2017), Lord Denning Scholarship (2017), EFTA Court Scholarship (2018), Harold G. Fox Scholarship (2018).

Other: 2nd Prize: UK Law Society Association International Mooting and Advocacy Competition (2018).

Work Highlights

Simon v Simon & Anor [2023] EWCA Civ 1048 (led by Richard Todd KC)

A leading case addressing when litigation funders should be permitted to intervene in financial remedy proceedings and the permitted scope of such interventions.

HA v WA & Anor [2022] EWFC 110 (led by Richard Todd KC)

A six-day preliminary issue hearing acting for the successful intervenor where it was established that two properties in the wife’s name were in fact held on trust by her for the intervenor.

Simon v Simon & Level (Joinder) [2022] EWFC 29 (led by Richard Todd KC)

A leading case concerning if, and if so in what circumstances, a litigation lender could be joined to financial remedy proceedings when the husband and wife had reached an agreement as to their financial remedy claims.

Simon v Simon [2022] EWFC 35 (led by Richard Todd KC)

Acting for the husband in an intervenor’s application for civil proceedings to be heard concurrently with the husband and wife’s financial remedy proceedings.

LS v PS [2021] EWFC 108 (led by Richard Todd KC)

A leading case on the privilege which accords to FDRs, the applicability of FPR PD9A para 6.2 to private FDRs, and the circumstances in which the ‘absolute bar’ for disclosure of FDR material may be lifted.