Benn Sheridan – Third Six Pupil

Benn read for a BA in History at Magdalen College, Oxford. There, he was elected to a Demyship and graduated with a first-class degree. He then worked in journalism, writing for publications including the Literary Review (where he was editorial assistant) and Private Eye, before undertaking graduate study in 16th-century intellectual history at UCL and Queen Mary, University of London. He graduated with an MA (Distinction) in 2020.

Benn converted to law at City University as a Lord Haldane Scholar in 2021, receiving a Distinction and placing second in the year in the Public Law paper. He then completed the Bar Course as a Lord Denning Scholar. In 2022-23, he worked at Travers Smith LLP, where he was a member of their ESG litigation working group and drafted research notes on “value chain” negligence. In 2023, he lived in Lyon, France, completing an intensive French language course to C1 level.

He has received several awards during his studies, including a college academic scholarship, the Richard Selig Poetry Prize (Magdalen College), and the Slaughter and May Africa Essay Prize (first place) for an essay on reforming the environmental mass tort claims costs regime post-Vedanta. His essay on employment law and the gig economy was published in Lincoln’s Inn’s Student Law Journal.

During his 12-month pupillage at a leading civil set, Benn worked on live matters, including trial preparation for a claim against an engineering firm for defective design of a container port and trial preparation for a claim brought by the operator of a vacuum furnace against the firm responsible for its servicing, following an explosion at the claimant’s site. He also drafted advices, pleadings, and position statements concerning insurance policy coverage, allegations of solicitor’s negligence, private nuisance, and breach of contract claims.

During his practising second six, in addition to a paperwork practice, Benn appeared in Court at least three times a week, acting for claimants and defendants in small claim and fast track trials. His court experience covers a spectrum of civil disputes, including personal injury, credit hire, and occupier’s liability trials, and strike-out applications. He is happy to be instructed at short notice.

Since starting his third six at Henderson, he has drafted research notes on cases raising issues under the Human Rights Act and the relationship between EU and UK law post-Brexit.