Old Square Chambers, London
Ben Collins KC is recognised by the directories as a leading silk in five different areas of practice: personal injury, employment law, clinical negligence, professional regulation and administrative and public law.
The Legal 500 says:
“Ben’s advocacy is as good as it gets. Even on complex and contentious points, he has judges eating out of the palm of his hand – he is a pleasure to watch on his feet. In con and with clients, he is similarly good to work with – everything you could want from a silk.”
He has vast experience in military disputes, having appeared in claims for and against the MoD for more than two decades, initially largely for the defendant, but in recent years primarily for claimants. He undertakes work relating to military clinical negligence; bullying, harassment and discrimination; illness and injury in the course of training and deployment; judicial review; and inquests. He has a number of reported cases in the military field (e.g. most recently Bass v MoD [2021] ICR 162) and over 50 reported cases more generally, including five in the Supreme Court in the last five years. He is a leading expert in criminal injuries compensation, having appeared in almost every major appellate case in that field over the last decade. The breadth of his expertise makes him particularly well placed to act in claims which straddle different disciplines.
Ben is also a Special Advocate and undertakes national security litigation, both in this jurisdiction and in Northern Ireland. He sits as a Recorder in the Crown and County Courts.
In recent years Ben has won awards as Pro Bono KC of the year (Advocate awards) and for Outstanding Case of the Year (Personal Injury awards), and has been shortlisted as Barrister of the Year (Lawyer awards). He is a Contributing Editor to Professional Negligence and Liability and Consulting Editor to Miers on Criminal Injuries Compensation.