Benjamin Parker has a breadth of experience across a wide range of commercial law disciplines.
He is rated by the legal directories as a leading junior in all his practice areas—commercial law, insurance, shipping & commodities, and international arbitration. Leading market participants describe him as a “class act” with “star quality”, who is “always a delight to work with” and “has an excellent reputation which is fully deserved”. He “represents a triple threat: his drafting, advices and advocacy skills are all really impressive. He takes complex and detailed information and converts it into clear, sound and practical advice.”
Benjamin has significant appellate experience and has appeared in the House of Lords, the Supreme Court, and the Court of Appeal. He increasingly appears in hearings as an advocate, often acting unled against QCs. He has a substantial advisory practice on top of his litigation and arbitration work.
Recent leading cases in which he was instructed include Manchester Building Society v. Grant Thornton (Supreme Court), SBM v. Zurich Insurance (the largest insurance claim ever to come before the Commercial Court), ABN Amro Bank v. RSA plc (a leading case on coverage and brokers’ duties), Rathbone v. Novae (subrogation), BAT v. Exel Europe (a decision of the Supreme Court on international jurisdiction), and The Ocean Glory (one of the very few successful challenges to an arbitration award under s. 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996).
In 2020 he won the Chambers & Partners Bar Award for Insurance Junior of the Year.
Commercial disputes of all varieties lie at the heart of Benjamin Parker’s expertise and practice at the Bar. He is particularly experienced at dealing with multi-jurisdictional disputes, and in advising on issues relating to the “conflict of laws”. In recent years he has also had much experience of obtaining urgent relief from the courts, including anti-suit injunctions and freezing injunctions. He is well-versed in bringing committal proceedings for contempt of court.
Benjamin Parker is experienced in handling complex insurance and reinsurance disputes, across the spectrum of marine and non-marine business. Between 2015 and 2018 he was instructed on behalf of excess insurers to defend the highest value insurance claim to come before the Commercial Court in London. In 2020 he was awarded Insurance Junior of the Year by Chambers & Partners. His work in this area includes the following:
Many of Benjamin Parker’s recent cases have concerned disputes relating to energy and natural resources. His instructions in this area include the following:
Benjamin Parker has been involved in some of the most significant shipping law and international carriage cases of the past decade, including The Rena casualty in New Zealand and the seminal decision of the House of Lords in The Achilleas (in which he represented the successful appellant). He is regularly instructed by P&I Clubs direct, and has been noted in the legal directories for his expertise in advising on the construction and effect of P&I Club rules. His instructions in the area of Shipping and Transport include the following:
Much of Benjamin’s Parker work concerns international arbitration across the whole spectrum of commercial disputes. He is also experienced in making applications to the English courts in relation to arbitrations, and succeeded in making one of the few successful challenges to an arbitration award under s. 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996. Recent work in this area includes:
Benjamin Parker is experienced in dealing with disputes falling within the jurisdiction of the Admiralty Court, and with maritime litigation and arbitration of a “wet” variety. He was instructed for MSC in the well-known Rena casualty in New Zealand. He has dealt with numerous collision actions, claims for salvage, and claims in general average.
Queen Mother Scholar of the Middle Temple
MA (Jurisprudence) University of Oxford (First Class).
BCL University of Oxford (First Class).
MA University of Cambridge (by incorporation).
Whilst at the University of Oxford, Benjamin Parker was awarded numerous university and college prizes, including the Sweet & Maxwell Prize for the best performance in his year, the Gibbs Prize, the Hurry Prize for the most distinguished first in finals, the Prize for International Trade, and the Prize for Corporate Insolvency.
Between 2001 and 2007 Benjamin Parker held a Fellowship in Law at St John’s College, Cambridge.
He was also a University Lecturer in Commercial Law and Assistant Director of the University’s Centre for Corporate and Commercial Law.
He has extensive experience of undergraduate and postgraduate lecturing in Commercial Law, International Sales, the Law of Agency, and Tort Law.
He was a member of the Editorial Committee of the Cambridge Law Journal between 2003 and 2007.
He is the author of numerous publications on commercial law, including Jack on Documentary Credits (a leading practitioner work on international financing mechanisms).
COMBAR
LCLCBA
Languages: French, German, Italian, Spanish
A tale of Cocoa, Cargo Insurance, and Credit Risks
7KBW wins three awards at the Chambers UK Bar Awards 2020
7KBW nominated for 9 awards at the Chambers Bar Awards 2020
7KBW features in The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases of 2020
7KBW features in The Lawyer’s Top Appeals of 2020
"Extremely practical and a joy to work with, Benjamin is a tremendously perspicacious legal adviser and an utterly compelling and skilful advocate."
Chambers & Partners 2020