Benn Sheridan
- Call
- 2022
Benn is developing a broad commercial and group litigation practice, in line with Chambers’ profile. He has appeared led and unled in the High Court and has a busy practice in the county court and employment tribunal. He has a growing criminal and environmental regulatory practice.
Benn’s current and recent instructions include:
- Acting in a High Court anonymity application against two silks (Braunford & Anor [2025] EWHC 1952 (Ch)) (unled). Benn played a major role in pleading out the defence to the underlying Chancery Division claim for breach of confidence (led by Arnold Ayoo of Maitland Chambers). The case raises complex issues of employment and IP law.
- Acting in a £1.9million commercial dispute in the Companies Court. Benn prepared the respondent’s defence to a bankruptcy petition (led by Thomas Evans). At the final hearing, acting pro bono and unled, Benn obtained a pro bono costs award against the unsuccessful petitioner.
- Acting unled in a prospective High Court claim by a business against its former business partner for breach of warranty, breach of fiduciary duty, and misrepresentation.
- Multiple successful strike out applications on behalf of a well-known high street bank, resisting claims for breach of contract, restitution, and discrimination.
- Acting for the respondent employer in the Final Hearing in the Employment Tribunal of an ex-employee’s claim for an unpaid discretionary bonus.
- Acting unled for the defendant, a large commercial property company, in an ongoing criminal regulatory matter.
- Advising a high-profile organisation on a data protection matter.
Prior to joining Chambers, Benn worked in the disputes team of a leading City solicitors’ firm, gaining experience in commercial litigation, employment, and environmental group litigation.
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Expertise
Group Actions and Product Liability
Benn has recently been instructed on the following product liability matters:
- For a large telephone handset manufacturer in a successful application to strike-out a claim where it was alleged that one of its products was harmful.
- Settling the defence of a software developer in a claim where it was alleged that the developer had wrongfully terminated a customer’s account on its app.
Benn assisted senior members of chambers on a range of product liability matters and group actions during pupillage, including:
- A potential claim arising from the supply of defective electrical components (assisting James Purnell).
- Settling the defence to a product liability claim on behalf of a manufacturer (assisting James Williams).
- Legal research relating to a large product liability claim against a manufacturer (assisting Prash Popat KC).
- Legal research relating to a group litigation against an organisation carrying out a regulatory function (assisting Geraint Webb KC and Ognjen Miletic).
- Legal research relating to an environmental group action (assisting Charles Gibson KC and Celia Oldham).
In his paper on reforming the civil procedure rules for environmental mass tort claims, Benn explored the procedural difficulties of bringing ‘class actions’ under CPR 19.8 (the representative action) and CPR 19.21-26 (group litigation orders and test claims).
Commercial Litigation
Benn is developing a practice in heavy commercial litigation. He has experience both as sole counsel and as a junior in the KBD and Chancery Division. He also has a busy practice acting unled in the fast/intermediate tracks.
Recent instructions include:
- Advising a business and drafting Particulars of Claim in relation to a potential High Court dispute involving issues of contractual interpretation, relational contracts, misrepresentation, and breach of confidence.
- Acting for the defendant in a complex Chancery Division claim concerning allegations of corporate espionage.
- Acting unled and pro bono for the respondent to a bankruptcy petition. Benn successfully resisted the £1.9 million petition in the Companies Court and obtained a pro bono costs award.
- Representing the defendant building contractor at trial in a professional negligence dispute.
- Successfully resisting a summary judgment application in a contract dispute concerning the sale of industrial vehicles.
- Successfully resisting the introduction of a lis alibi pendens defence in a commercial property dispute.
- Successfully resisting a High Court injunction application (unled). Benn obtained an order ‘holding the ring’ to allow the parties to mediate.
- Successfully securing the variation of a passport order (unled), allowing his client to leave the jurisdiction.
- Acting for the respondent to an Imaging and Injunction Order (led by Arnold Ayoo)
As a pupil, Benn assisted Henry Warwick KC with legal research and hearing preparation in relation to an unlawful means conspiracy claim, and assisted Arnold Ayoo in preparing a high value, without notice, freezing injunction application.
Representative cases
grid listEmployment and Data Protection
Benn is building a busy employment and data protection practice which intersects with his commercial and regulatory expertise. He is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association.
Benn’s employment experience includes:
- Acting for an employer in a dispute with a departing employee over the employer’s decision to withhold a discretionary bonus payment. Benn prepared the grounds of response and represented the employer at trial in the ET.
- Representing a government employee (pro bono, via Advocate) in an unfair dismissal and disability discrimination claim.
- Drafting grounds of response for a multinational company following an ET claim arising from its refusal of a flexible working request.
- Acting (pro bono, via Advocate) for an employee of a large supermarket chain in her ongoing ET claim for unfair dismissal and discrimination.
- Acting for two employees said to have participated in a ‘team move’ following a management change at their company (pro bono, via Advocate)
- Acting in a breach of confidence claim brought by an employer against its departing employee (led by Arnold Ayoo)
- Preparing grounds of appeal in a holiday pay dispute (assisting James Williams, in pupillage).
- Acting for a company in its defence to a breach of contract claim following its decision to withdraw a job offer during a prospective employee’s onboarding process.
Benn’s data protection experience includes:
- Acting for the defendant in a complex breach of confidence claim in the High Court.
- Advising on the merits of a potential data protection representative action under CPR 19.8 (led by James Williams).
- Advising on the wording of FOIA requests in preparation for a prospective high-profile data protection claim.
Representative cases
grid list-
Braunford & Anor [2025] EWHC 1952 (Ch)
Judgment available here.
Environment, Health & Safety, and Personal Injury
Benn is regularly instructed on environmental, health & safety, and personal injury matters. His personal injury and criminal regulatory practice is strengthened by his commercial experience, which allows him to give pragmatic advice.
Recent instructions include:
- Prosecuting (as sole counsel) food businesses for public health offences, instructed on behalf of local authorities.
- Representing at trial claimants and defendants in road traffic disputes in the county court, and defendants accused of driving offences in the magistrate courts.
- Acting for a commercial property company in its defence to a private prosecution for a regulatory offence.
Aas a pupil, Benn:
- Assisted Kathleen Donnelly KC and Chloe Campbell (during pupillage) on a large nuisance group litigation
- Assisted James Williams with legal research into the application of the Compensation Act 2006 to a mesothelioma case involving asbestos exposure across multiple jurisdictions (in pupillage).
- Assisted Andrew Kinnier KC with legal research into the relationship between the coronial and criminal jurisdictions, in preparation for an inquest (in pupillage).
Competition and Financial Services
Benn’s experience of financial services litigation includes:
- Regular instructions by telecoms providers, retail banks, and multinational companies in strike out and summary judgment applications of consumer and financial services claims.
- A successful strike out application of a claim against a bank involving allegations of wrongful exercise of a contractual discretion to terminate a customer’s account.
- Securing a pragmatic outcome for his client by obtaining an unless order against a claimant in a preliminary hearing, which brought the claim to an end.
- Trial experience of consumer financial services and consumer claims in the county court.
- Assisting Andrew Kinnier KC and James Williams with legal research into consumer remedies as part of a large group litigation (in pupillage).
Benn’s competition experience includes:
- Assisting James White with legal research into the different approaches of the CAT and Court of Appeal to causation in the long-running FX Litigation (in pupillage).
News and articles
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Instructing Benn Sheridan
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- Government Legal Department, Junior Junior scheme (2025 to 29/04/2029)
- Contributing Editor, Butterworth’s Civil Court Precedents (Disclosure and Experts), 2025-present
- ‘An ‘opt-out’ class action regime for environmental claims’ (Bar Council Law Reform Essay Competition, 2024)
- Employment Lawyers Association
Education
- BVS, Inns of Court College of Advocacy
- GDL, City University – Distinction
- MA Intellectual History, UCL – Distinction
- BA (Hons) History, Magdalen College, University of Oxford – First Class
Scholarships and Prizes
- Bar Council Law Reform Essay Prize – Highly Commended
- Slaughter & May Africa Essay Prize – 1st Place
- Lord Denning Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn
- Lord Haldane Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn
- Richard Selig Prize for Poetry, Magdalen College, University of Oxford
- Demyship, Magdalen College, University of Oxford
All members of Chambers are registered with the Bar Standards Board of England and Wales. For our standard contractual terms click here.
For more information about the way barristers at Henderson Chambers work, including our fee transparency statement and our complaints process, please click here.
Bar Council Number: 77485
VAT Registration Number: 489768305
Legal Status: Barrister
Professional Insurance: All members of Chambers have professional liability insurance provided by the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund Ltd. Territorial coverage is world-wide and subject to the term of the Bar Mutual. Click here for details.
Regulated by the Bar Standards Board.
