Ben Harding

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Year of Call: 2005

Profile

Ben joined Kings Chambers in April 2008 having completed pupillage at 8 King Street Chambers, Manchester.

Ben practises in all aspects of commercial dispute resolution and in a range of chancery work.  He is instructed predominantly by corporate and institutional clients and undertakes drafting, advisory and advocacy work in equal measures in an increasingly busy junior practice.

Banking and Finance

Ben acts for and against banks and other financial institutions in relation to a range of finance litigation and lending (secured and unsecured, regulated and unregulated), including in particular guarantee enforcement actions, mortgage litigation, hire-purchase and conditional sale dispute and loan enforcement actions.

A substantial minority of his practice consists of consumer credit work.  Ben regularly advises, drafts and appears in Court in relation to all aspects of regulated lending, including improper execution, unenforceability, cancellation and termination, requests for statutory copies, enforcement orders, exemptions, extortionate credit bargains, unfair relationships and certain aspects of consumer credit licensing.  He is also familiar with connected aspects of finance litigation including secret commission claims, mis-selling of related insurance products, allegations of breach of the FSA Rules and claims for breach of data protection rights.  He represented a number of lenders in the Manchester PPI litigation before HHJ Waksman QC and continues to defend PPI claims at trial.

Company

Ben has acted in a number of disputes involving share and asset purchase agreements, director's remuneration agreements and breach of fiduciary duty claims.  He is also familiar with corporate insolvency work and applications to restore.

Dispute Resolution

Ben undertakes work in all aspects of commercial dispute resolution, including contractual disputes; agency disputes; disputed assignments; construction contracts (including associated funding arrangements); factoring agreements; franchise agreements; sale and supply of goods and services; share and asset purchase agreements (including warranty claims); enforcement procedures, nuisance claims; claims under the Building Act 1984; and various forms of interim relief (including freezing orders and other injunctive relief).  He appears regularly in the County Court, the Chancery Division and the Mercantile Court (both on applications and at final hearings).  He also has experience of acting in mediations, at joint settlement meetings and in relation to various other forms of negotiated settlement.

Insolvency

Ben appears regularly in relation to bankruptcy proceedings in the County Court and corporate insolvency proceedings in the Chancery Division and Chancery Applications List.  He is familiar with a wide range of applications and actions under the insolvency legislation, including applications for annulment, validation orders, permission to use prohibited company names, transactions at an undervalue, preferences and director’s misfeasance.

Insurance

Ben is regularly instructed to advise, draft and appear inrelation to a range of insured loss recovery disputes, including a number of claims for losses exceeding £1M.  He also has a growing practice in insurance policy coverage disputes, involving claims to avoid liability based on material misrepresentation / non-disclosure, breach of warranty, breach of duty of utmost good faith, fraud and breach of condition precedent. 

Professional Negligence

Ben has a growing professional negligence practice and undertakes advisory, drafting and advocacy work in relation to claims against solicitors, financial advisers, insurance brokers, construction professionals, accountants and other professionals.

Memberships

Chancery Bar Association
Northern Chancery Bar Association
Northern Circuit Commercial Bar Association

Seminars:

Ben contributes regularly to legal and professional seminars.  His recent seminar titles include:

-         "Insurance Policy Coverage – an overview for litigators" – in-house

           seminar June 2012 for Berrymans Lace Mawer LLP

-         "Annual Consumer Credit Seminar" - NCCBA half-day seminar on June 11

           2011, to which Ben contributed a case law update

-         “Consumer Credit Update” – Kings Chambers seminar May 2011

-         "Expert evidence and disclosure: impact of the Jackson report" -in-house

           seminar for Cobbetts LLP May 2010

-         "Perspectives on professional negligence" - case law update contributed to

           NCBA 1-day seminar May 2010