Ben Lewy
Barrister
Call 2018
Ben specialises in high value and high profile commercial, civil fraud, and competition litigation. He is recommended by Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners as a leading junior:
“…an intellectual heavyweight” (Legal500 2026, Competition)
“[a]n excellent advocate who is super intelligent and commercial” (C&P 2026, Civil Fraud)
“…able, efficient, personable, clever and collaborative” (C&P 2026, Competition)
“very polished and smart, and quick to get down to the key issues” (C&P 2025, Civil Fraud)
“very commercial and user friendly. He is very approachable, practical and makes the difficult concepts easy for clients” (Legal500 2025, Competition)
Ben’s current and recent instructions include:
- Stasi v Microsoft – Ben acts for Dr Maria Luisa Stasi, the class representative in opt-out collective proceedings which allege that Microsoft abused a dominant position through its Windows Server and Azure cloud computing licensing practices. The CAT certified the claim in April 2026 after a contested CPO hearing. The proposed class comprises approximately 59,000 organisations and estimated damages exceed £1.7 billion (led by Sarah Ford KC).
- FDIC v Barclays Bank Plc and others – Ben acted for Lloyds Banking Group and Lloyds Bank in the long-running USD LIBOR litigation, defending competition and US-law fraud claims brought on behalf of failed US banks. The English proceedings formed part of a global settlement in 2025, ahead of a 19-week trial (led by Richard Handyside KC and James Duffy KC).
- Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation v Director of the Serious Fraud Office - Ben acted for Mr John Gibson, a former Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) prosecutor responsible for managing the SFO’s investigation into Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (“ENRC”). ENRC sued Mr Gibson for allegedly conspiring with other SFO personnel in order to leak confidential information about the SFO’s investigation into ENRC to the press. The case was listed for a seven-week trial starting in October 2024, but settled on confidential terms on day two of trial (led by Ben Strong KC).
- Magomedov v Transneft – Ben acted for Transneft, defending a $5bn conspiracy claim brought by jailed Russian oligarch Ziyavudin Magomedov. Mr Magomedov alleges that the Russian state (and entities linked to it) conspired to seize his shareholding in the Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port (led by James MacDonald KC).
In addition to his led work, Ben frequently appears unled in significant matters. Ben has recently acted unled in a four day Circuit Commercial Court trial (Del Bosque v Shafie), unfair prejudice petition (Lecaille v Lecaille [2025] EWHC 2281 (Ch), High Court jurisdiction challenge (Seraphine Ltd v Mamarella GmbH [2024] EWHC 425 (IPEC)), a three-day Business List (ChD) trial (Henderson & Jones v Geo Quarries), a 3-day Tax Tribunal appeal (Dougan v HMRC [2022] UKFTT 140 (TC)) and numerous applications before the High Court and Competition Appeal Tribunal.
Before coming to the Bar, Ben worked as a lawyer at the European Court of Justice and as a writer for The Economist. He has undergraduate and graduate degrees in economics from Oxford University and studied law as a Lord Bowen, Lord Mansfield and J.P. Warner Scholar of Lincoln's Inn.
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Examples of Recent Cases
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Administrative & Public Law
- Motorola v CMA [2023] CAT 76; [2022] CAT 4 - Successfully defended the CMA in challenges concerning the Airwave emergency-services network, first to the market investigation reference and later to a price cap worth approximately £200 million per year (led by Josh Holmes KC and Sarah Abram KC).
- Dye & Durham v CMA [2023] CAT 46 - Acted for Dye & Durham in judicial review proceedings concerning whether the CMA should permit a divestment remedy to be implemented by a stock-market listing (led by Kieron Beal KC).
- Havant Biogas and others v Ofgem [2021] EWHC 84 (Admin) - Acted for renewable-energy developers who obtained quashing orders against Ofgem in proceedings concerning a subsidy scheme and projects involving approximately £500 million of investment (led by Thomas Sharpe KC).
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Arbitration
- ICC Arbitration
Acted for a leading technology company, defending a c.€40m claim for misuse of confidential information (led by Patrick Harty). - LCIA Arbitration
Advised (with Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury) on the interpretation of various parts of an arbitral award, for use before a foreign court.
- ICC Arbitration
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Banking and Financial Services
- FDIC v Barclays Bank Plc and others - Acted for the Lloyds defendants in substantial USD LIBOR competition and fraud litigation brought on behalf of failed US banks. The claims formed part of a global settlement in 2025.
- Arma Partners v Wejo - Acted for the claimant financial adviser in a £10 million success-fee dispute arising from a SPAC transaction. The case was selected as one of The Lawyer's Top 20 Cases of 2023 (led by Daniel Toledano KC).
- Crane Bank v DFCU Bank [2022] EWHC 2266 (Comm); [2023] EWCA Civ 886 - Acted for the claimants in £200 million-plus litigation arising from the resolution of a Ugandan bank. The Court of Appeal held that the claims fell, at least arguably, within the commercial activity and public policy exceptions to the foreign act of state doctrine (led by Lord Pannick KC and Hannah Brown KC).
- Helix Subco v Bank of Cyprus - Acted for the claimant in Commercial Court proceedings worth more than US$30 million arising from the purchase of a portfolio of asset-backed loans (led by Camilla Bingham KC).
- Gurinov v Shaw - Acted unled for borrowers in a £7 million leveraged property-finance dispute involving allegations of bribery and misuse of personal guarantees.
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Commercial Litigation and Civil Fraud
- Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation v Director of the Serious Fraud Office - Acted for a former SFO prosecutor defending conspiracy and misfeasance claims arising from the SFO's investigation of ENRC. The case was listed for a seven-week trial and settled on confidential terms on the second day (led by Ben Strong KC).
- Magomedov v TPG Group and others - Acted for Transneft in preliminary injunction proceedings within the multi-billion-dollar Magomedov litigation, including [2023] EWHC 2655 (Comm) and [2023] EWHC 3134 (Comm) (led by James MacDonald KC). The claims against Transneft were later dismissed in [2025] EWHC 59 (Comm).
- Del Bosque Ltd v Shafie and others - Appeared as sole counsel for the claimant at a four-day Circuit Commercial Court trial in June 2026. The claim concerned alleged breaches of directors' duties, dishonest assistance and unlawful means conspiracy.
- Biffa v Sortera - Ben acts for Biffa (an operator of landfill sites) in ongoing proceedings against a customer which allegedly fraudulently misrepresented the nature of waste deposited at Biffa’s landfill sites (led by Seb Isaac KC).
- Crane Bank v DFCU Bank - Ben acted for the Claimants in high value (£200m+) litigation arising out of the resolution of a Ugandan commercial bank. The Court of Appeal allowed a jurisdiction challenge holding the Claimants’ allegations fell (at least arguably) within the commercial activity and public policy exceptions to the Act of State Doctrine [2023] EWCA Civ 886 (led by Lord Pannick KC and Hannah Brown KC).
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Company and Insolvency
- Isilay v AVP Capital A FCPI and others [2026] EWHC 1254 (Ch) - Acts for the founder and former CEO of Cognism Ltd in a substantial unfair prejudice petition against venture-capital investors (led by Orlando Gledhill KC).
- Lecaille v National Parking Enforcement Ltd [2025] EWHC 2281 (Ch) - Appeared unled for the successful petitioner at trial in a deadlocked 50:50 company, obtaining relief under section 996 of the Companies Act 2006.
- Henderson & Jones Ltd (2026) - Appeared unled in a four-day Business and Property Courts trial, obtaining judgment of approximately £1 million in a dispute concerning an oral settlement agreement.
- Employee Ownership Trust litigation – Ben has acted for a number of clients involved in disputes relating to the establishment of Employee Ownership Trusts and the size of payments made to shareholders.
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Competition
- Stasi v Microsoft [2026] CAT 34 - Acts for the class representative in £1.7 billion opt-out collective proceedings concerning Microsoft's Windows Server and Azure licensing practices. The CAT granted certification following a contested hearing in April 2026.
- Bulk Mail Claim Ltd v International Distribution Services Plc - Acted for Royal Mail in a certified opt-out follow-on claim valued at approximately £1 billion. Ben also acted in the related Whistl proceedings before their withdrawal following settlement in February 2025.
- Merchant Interchange Fee Umbrella Proceedings - Acted for Mastercard in multi-billion-pound merchant claims, including issues of pass-on and limitation in [2022] CAT 31, [2023] CAT 49 and [2023] CAT 60 (led variously by Timothy Otty KC, Sonia Tolaney KC and Matthew Cook KC).
- Allianz Global Investors and others v Barclays Bank and others - Acted for approximately 175 investment and pension-fund claimants in very large competition damages claims alleging manipulation of the foreign exchange market, including [2022] CAT 44 (led by Marie Demetriou KC and Colin West KC).
- On the Beach v Ryanair - Acted for On the Beach in standalone competition proceedings concerning alleged interference with its online travel agency business. The proceedings were withdrawn after the parties entered a long-term distribution agreement in 2024 (led by Robert O'Donoghue KC).
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Unled Work / Advocacy
- Lecaille v Lecaille (2024)
Ben acts (unled) for the petitioner in an unfair prejudice petition, seeking an order that his business partner (and ex-wife) sell her shares in a car park management business. The case is listed for a three-day trial in May 2025. - Del Bosque Limited v Shafie (2024)
Ben acts (unled) for the claimant in Circuit Commercial Court proceedings against a former director and persons allegedly associated with him. The claim involves allegations of unlawful means conspiracy and breach of directors’ duties. - Seraphine v Mamarella (2023/2024)
Ben acts (unled) for Seraphine, a manufacturer of maternity clothing, in its claim against Mamarella for copying its designs. Ben acted successfully in resisting a jurisdiction challenge [2024] EWHC 425 (IPEC) and application for a stay of proceedings [2024] EWHC 1507 (IPEC). - Gurinov v Shaw (2023/24)
Ben acted (unled) for the borrowers in a £7m leveraged property finance dispute litigated in the Commercial Court. The borrowers alleged that the lenders had (i) bribed their property advisor, and (ii) attempted to use personal guarantees in order to compel repayment of the projects’ (non-guaranteed) mezzanine debt. - Henderson & Jones v Geo Quarries (2023)
Acted (unled) for Claimant in a 3-day Business List (ChD) trial seeking payment of invoices in excess of £400,000. - Dougan v HMRC (2022). Acted (unled) for taxpayer in three-day appeal against discovery assessments for income tax and penalties. Sum in dispute c.£300,000. Issues involved sideways loss relief and limitation.
- Acted (unled) for government body in claim for public interest immunity from disclosure in the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
- Lecaille v Lecaille (2024)
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What the Directories Say
Legal 500 2026 (Commercial Litigation) - “Ben is very bright and understands the case quickly, almost always comes up with new and important points to help strengthen the claim and then advocates in a very pleasant yet persuasive manner.”
Legal 500 2026 (Competition) – “He is an intellectual heavyweight”
Legal 500 2026 (Banking and Finance) – “An advocate with a very pleasant yet persuasive manner.”
Chambers & Partners 2026 (Fraud: Civil) - “An excellent advocate who is super intelligent and commercial.” “Ben Lewy is a good advocate and cross-examiner who is very thorough on the documents.”
Chambers & Partners 2026 (Competition Law) - “He has shown a real ability as a junior to get across the detail and have a good set of technical skills. He is a key member of the team.” “Ben is able, efficient, personable, clever and collaborative.”
Chambers & Partners 2025 (Fraud: Civil) - “Ben brings blue-sky thinking to the case, which is really helpful. He is a very good drafter and gives top-drawer input.” “Ben is very polished and smart, and quick to get down to the key issues.”
Legal 500 2025 (Banking and Finance) - "Strong advocate, builds excellent rapport with the court."
Legal 500 2025 (Competition) - “Ben is very commercial and user friendly. He is very approachable, practical and makes the difficult concepts easy for clients.”
Legal 500 2024 (Competition) - “Ben is very bright. He is good at analysis and putting a case together, forming a strong link with the counsel team.”
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Education
- BPTC, City Law School [2017-2018]
- GDL, City Law School (Distinction) [2016-2017]
- University of Oxford, MPhil Economics [2013-2015]
- University of Oxford, BA Philosophy, Politics and Economics (First) [2009-2012]
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Academic Achievements
- Stagiaire in cabinet of Advocate-General Eleanor Sharpston, ECJ [2018]
- Lord Mansfield Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn [2017]
- J.P. Warner Scholar, Lincoln’s Inn [2017]
- Winner, European Law Moot Court Competition [2017]
- Winner, QUB-Herbert Smith Moot [2017]
- City Law School Scholarship [2017]
- Finalist, Maitland Advocacy Prize [2016]
- Lord Bowen Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn [2016]
- HEFCE Scholarship [2014]
- Marjorie Deane Scholarship [2013]
- Casberd Scholarship, St John’s College [2010]