Call: 1996 QC: 2012
Ben has a thriving practice focusing on insurance, professional liability and general commercial litigation. As is apparent from his long list of reported cases, he appears in court frequently, acting for claimants and defendants in equal measure - this gives him a real advantage in all aspects of his work.
Ben combines an outstanding academic background with a modern commercial approach. He recognises that his cases and his clients need more than just a first class legal analysis. Typically his clients have either been wronged or are being sued, and want comprehensive and comprehensible advice, on time and on budget. Ben prides himself on being commercially astute, easy to deal with, and equally capable of taking the lead in a case or working as part of a larger team.
The quality of Ben’s work and practice has long been recognised in the Directories. He is ranked in the top category of professional negligence juniors by Chambers & Partners, where he is described as: “a very good and dangerous opponent.” Past comments in Chambers & Partners and the Legal 500 include:
”Ben Elkington does a broad and interesting range of professional negligence work to great acclaim. Clients say he is ‘approachable and very knowledgeable’ and admire his sound judgement and commercial approach, born of the way he ‘thinks through issues very comprehensively’”
“absolutely first-rate”;
“so thoroughly dedicated that he works like a Trojan to get the job done”;
“responsive and easy to deal with”; “
kept busy with high-quality work”;
“singled out for particular praise”;
“firmly established as a leading junior.”
Ben was previously admitted to the New York Bar and worked for Sullivan & Cromwell in Manhattan. He was a judicial assistant to the Court of Appeal. He is an editor of Jackson & Powell on Professional Liability. He is a committee member of COMBAR, and a member of the PNBA and LCLCBA. For several years he has been one of Chambers’ pupil supervisors.
Ben was top of his year in Bar Finals in 1996. Before that he took a First in Law from Cambridge, followed by a Masters in Law from the University of Virginia. He is a scholar of each of (i) Cambridge University; (ii) Trinity College, Cambridge; (iii) Gray’s Inn; and (iv) the Inns of Court School of Law.
Ben lives in London with wife and 4 young children. When not at work he can usually be found with his family on the Isle of Mull making camp fires in the rain, walking, and trying (and generally failing) to catch salmon and trout.
Education
M.A. (Cantab.) LL.M. (Virginia)