Ben Upton

Ben is a highly experienced litigator with expertise in commercial, banking, insolvency, trust and property disputes. He is also sought after to advise on work in various Pacific Island jurisdictions and on international trust disputes.

He regularly appears as counsel in courts at all levels, arbitrations and tribunals. He has advised in numerous mediations and negotiations in a wide variety of contentious matters, ranging from the large and complex to the nuanced and discrete.

Ben is results focused and always has an eye to finding an appropriate commercial solution.  As one client in Chambers Global remarked: “… he strikes the perfect balance between advising and listening to his clients, and has an ability to focus on the big picture and help clients to achieve great outcomes.”

Ben was named in Asia Pacific Legal 500 Restructuring & Insolvency where clients said he is a "highly knowledgeable bank, asset recovery and insolvency litigator … key member of the team."

Chambers also reported that he was a "deep thinker" and "a very solid operator". 

Ben was counsel in leading / reported cases on important areas of law and practice: GE v Bartle; Toll Logistics v McKay; Gardiner v Westpac; Lange v Atkinson; Olsen v Goodman Fielder, to name a few.

Ben is also admitted as barrister in the Cook Islands and can appear in other Pacific Island courts (Samoa and Fiji). He was a solicitor and solicitor advocate in England and Wales (1998-2004) and a registered as foreign qualified lawyer in Hong Kong (2004-5).

He also has a strong interest in promoting social equity and advises on a pro-bono basis in the area of contractor law reform.

Ben is a member of INSOL, RITANZ, and BFSLA.