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Ben Trust

Partner
Co-Head of Litigation and Arbitration

CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP
Cannon Place
78 Cannon Street
London
EC4N 6AF
United Kingdom
Languages English

Ben Trust is the co-head of the firm’s Litigation & Arbitration team based in the London office. With a strong international perspective, Ben resolves complex disputes for primarily corporate clients and financial institutions. He acts in both an advisory and representative capacity for clients from a diverse range of sectors including, financial services, construction, sports, gaming, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, real estate and energy.

Clients benefit from Ben’s considerable experience as a commercial litigator both in the English courts at all levels, as well as internationally, including offshore jurisdictions. Ben’s practice is far reaching and includes the full range of commercial activity, with a formidable track record in disputes arising out of joint ventures, shareholder activism, claims against directors, fraud and investment/M&A transactions. 

Ben also advises on sports and esports claims, including advising on strategy, governance and wider transformational change. Ben acts in a wide range of disputes for both individuals and corporate clients, relating to football, rugby, motorsport, tennis and golf. 

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"Calm, sharp, thoughtful and responsive"

Client Testimonial

"Demonstrated immediate and thorough mastery and understanding of complex issues"

Client Testimonial

"Hugely reassuring to clients"

Client Testimonial

"He gave first-class advice on our case and was highly valued by us"

Client Testimonial

“Dynamic, charismatic and brilliant”

Legal 500, 2024

Ben Trust “has extensive experience handling complex, cross-border disputes for significant corporate clients”.

Chambers, 2024

"He has a great tactical mind and is commendably practical at the same time”.

Chambers, 2024

"He has excellent judgement, is very hard-working and seems to be able to fit 25 hours of work into a 24-hour day."

Chambers, 2024

"To say that Ben is held in high regard by clients is an understatement. He is representing some seriously significant clients. He has a great tactical mind, which he brings to bear significantly on cases."

Market Commentator

"Ben’s level of sophistication is very strong. His commercial vision is strong. He gave first-class advice on our case and was highly valued by me and my colleagues. He was always accessible and was clear and comprehensible in his explanations."

Client Testimonial

"Ben is an all-round excellent partner, both as a lawyer and as co-counsel."

Market Commentator

A "highly regarded adviser".

Legal 500

"Very experienced and very practical”

Chambers

Ben Trust is an “excellent and imaginative lawyer” with a “breadth of experience in corporate governance and transactional disputes”.

Legal 500

Ben Trust "is the 'go to’ contact for director’s duties disputes”.

Legal 500

Relevant experience

Recent highlights include:

  • A Distribution and Agency dispute involving a world leading automotive brand. 
  • A joint venture dispute regarding a significant heritage vehicle manufacturer.
  • Former Non-executive directors of Petropavlovsk Plc, a UK registered corporate, involved in English High Court proceedings concerning allegations in relation to director’s duties and shareholder activism.  
  • Two Chinese financial institutions in relation to a complex and long running fraud dispute regarding a well-known multiplayer online role playing platform. 
  • A Bank regarding allegations of breaches of funding and confidentiality agreements with a high profile European toy manufacturer. 
  • Liquidators of a UK entity – advising when pursuing seven defendants, each of whom was involved in the operation and management of the insolvent company and whose actions had caused significant loss to the company and its ultimate owners. The matter was multi-jurisdictional with defendants based in the UK, Czech Republic and Mauritius and assets transferred through those and other countries, including Slovakia and Luxembourg. Criminal investigations and charges were also advanced in Luxembourg.
  • Leading pharmaceutical company – representing them in the largest claim in English legal history under a cross undertaking in damages following the granting of an injunction. Advising the client in relation to proceedings spanning almost three years before the Patents court.
  • Directors of an offshore trust – defending them from allegations they acted in breach of their duty and without authority in relation to certain transactions. The transactions involved the purchase and sale of high profile assets in the UK and abroad. This included an ancillary action representing the corporate service provider in claims before the Chancery Division of the High Court. The claims included rectification/construction of certain contractual provisions in relation to the operation of a contractual profits waterfall following the sale of the Somerfield supermarket group
  • F1 organisation – advising them in a dispute with a significant investor and the associated identification, attribution and separation of collective business interests and assets.
  • Reported cases include: Murray Holdings Limited v Kaupthing Hf & Ors; S v A; Picnic at Ascot; Pets at Home; Tamsin Barks v Instant Access Properties & Ors; Goodman v Tangerine Investments (part of Axiom); Thirdway Group.

A full CV of relevant experience, sector expertise and practise history is available on request.

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Publications

  • Ben is also widely published and a frequent contributor to technical and industry publications.
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Lectures list

  • Ben is a regular speaker on a variety of disputes issues, in addition to payments law, electronic disclosure and the wider issue of technology-led litigation solutions.
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Education

  • 1999 – LL.B, University of Wales, Cardiff
  • 2000 – Legal Practice Course (PG. Dip), (Distinction), University of Wales, Cardiff
  • 2005 – LL.M, (1st in year) Nottingham Law School
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Feed

17/11/2021
Future Facing Disputes - ESG Risk and Shareholder Activism
Shareholder activism is increasingly influencing corporate agendas. Shareholder activists are increasingly focusing on environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) issues to influence a company’s behaviour in light of climate change, the most significant challenge facing humanity today. With COP26 (the 26th UN Climate Change Conference) having just taken place in Glasgow, the approach taken by businesses to climate change will be under increasing scrutiny as shareholder activists intensify their focus on ESG issues. To read this future facing disputes paper download the pdf below. 
26/10/2021
The impact of technology in construction
Technology and data in construction has become an increasingly important topic as the amount of technology being used on construction sites increases – from drones, to wearable tech such as smart...
07/10/2021
Evolution not revolution: Corporate Responsibility and Climate Change
Climate change, sustainability, and ESG are no longer niche areas of interest – they have become fundamental to the way businesses operate and impact the way we live our lives. Companies face an important...
04/10/2021
Will ESG related concerns result in courts adopting a more purposive approach...
Given the increasing prominence of ESG issues, the decision of the Supreme Court in Okpabi and others v Royal Dutch Shell Plc and another [2021] UKSC 3 has po­ten­tially pro­found implications for group...
02/07/2021
Future Facing Disputes - Is there a future for robo-directors?
‘Robo-dir­ect­ors’ and ‘Robo-ad­visors’ - liability for bad decisions based on AI technologies AI technologies are increasingly influencing the decisions we make in our private and professional lives...
01/07/2021
Future Facing Disputes - Enforcing the Ethical Charter
In recent years, the damaging environmental impact of our modern way of living has become a hot topic on society’s agenda and there has been a notable shift towards making choices based on their ethical consequences. If we take the fashion industry as an example, when purchasing a new item of clothing, consumers are now more interested than ever before in the supply chain that led to the creation of that item:Where did the raw materials, for example the cotton, come from?Were the raw materials grown using pesticides?Did the farmers get a fair price for the raw materials?Were the clothes manufactured in a factory producing significant emissions?Did the workers who made the clothing receive a good wage?
21/06/2021
Future Facing Disputes - The future of judicial review after Brexit
In the future, we may look back on this moment as being pivotal for judicial review (the core legal means of challenging public authorities’ exercise of power). There is a ‘perfect storm’ of change: Brexit has happened;  due to the pandemic the state has been granting itself sweeping powers which would have been un­think­able  be­fore; regulators are continuing to take a much more aggressive and interventionist approach; and the Queen’s Speech in May foreshadowed a yet-to-be-seen Judicial Review Bill that may well narrow the ambit of any potential remedies available for judicial review claims.
11/05/2021
Future Facing Disputes - The Future Risks of the Remote Workplace
The way we work is changing. The traditional concept of the ‘workplace’ and the nature of workplace disputes is therefore changing too. As the working world adapts and looks to establish increasingly...
01/05/2021
SustainAbility May 2021
SustainAbility is a new, regular update from CMS highlighting how we can help you address climate change and ESG issues. Each edition will include five key topics which organisations should consider...
29/04/2021
The European Super League: An overview of legal challenges
Twelve football clubs announced on Sunday, 18 April 2021 that they will create the European Super League (ESL). Since then, most of the clubs have withdrawn, but the idea of a breakaway competition left...
28/04/2021
Greening your supply chain (Video)
Many businesses want to turn the impact of COVID-19 on their supply chains into an opportunity to improve efficiency and increase margins. They can do so by integrating sustainable environmental processes...
14/04/2021
Prepare for scrutiny of your behaviour - 2021 and beyond (Video)
As the world takes stock of global events in 2020, many will be hoping for more stable, and brighter, times ahead. Amidst the sea of change that 2020 brought, it also saw a slowing of daily life and more...