Edward Benson

Practice Areas

Ed practises in all areas of private family law. He specialises in financial remedy work (including Part III and Schedule 1 claims), jurisdiction disputes, cohabitee claims under TLATA, nuptial agreements, and Inheritance Act claims.

Since joining 1 Hare Court, Ed has appeared frequently in the High Court in complex financial remedy cases with leading counsel, and also in his own right. He recently appeared in the Court of Appeal, led by Richard Todd KC, in Simon v Simon & Anor [2023] EWCA Civ 1048.

Ed regularly undertakes advisory and drafting work, both domestically and internationally (recent work includes instructions from the Bahamas and Australia). He enjoys working closely with solicitors as a part of a team on complex litigation, and spent the summer of 2022 on secondment at the top ranked family team at Payne Hicks Beach.

Career

Call 2019.

Before joining 1 Hare Court, Ed undertook pupillage at a leading commercial Chambers. As a result of his commercial background, he is comfortable with the complex commercial and legal issues that often arise in financial remedy work, and producing written opinions and pleadings. He has a particular interest in ‘intervenor’ cases involving third party claims in financial remedy proceedings; he has appeared in several of the recent leading authorities involving intervenors.

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 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.