Ben Packer

Ben is a Partner in Litigation, Arbitration and Investigations in London specialising in disputes in the financial services, tech and sports sectors. His practice focuses on investigations, contentious regulatory disputes, business crime and crisis management.

In financial services, Ben has advised many significant institutions and senior individuals on Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) investigations, enforcement actions, skilled persons reviews and supervisory action. These disputes have covered a range of subjects, including prudential issues, systems and controls, market conduct, operational resilience, notification obligations and competition aspects. Often, those matters have involved several parallel investigations by multiple authorities into firms and individuals. Ben is able to draw upon his experience of having spent time on secondment to the FCA, as well as two secondments to Barclays, to help clients navigate these challenges. Beyond the PRA and FCA, Ben has also advised clients on investigations and disputes involving other authorities such as the Information Commissioner Office (ICO) and Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). He is recognised in the 2021, 2022 and 2023 Legal 500 directories as a “next generation partner” for contentious financial services matters.

Ben has also advised clients on several criminal matters, including investigations being conducted by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Department of Justice (DOJ). This has included advising on bribery and corruption and money laundering, including self-reports to the authorities. Ben has also helped lead internal investigations into cross-border tax evasion and product liability issues. Ben has experience assisting clients through unannounced visits by regulators and other crises. 

In the tech sector, Ben is a key member of Linklaters’ online harms team. He aims to use his experience of acting in highly-regulated sectors, like financial services, to the benefit of tech firms subject to new laws and regulations concerning online content. He has written and spoken extensively about the UK’s Online Safety Bill and has advised various tech companies on their preparation for the regime and related issues.  

In the sports sector, Ben has advised sporting teams and commercial partners on disputes relating to broadcast rights, sponsorships and sporting disputes.

In addition, Ben has experience acting on a wide range of other contentious matters, including public inquiries, Parliamentary Select Committees, High Court litigation and pre-dispute advisory work. Ben is a member of Linklaters Innovation Steering Group and a trustee of Cycling UK.

Work highlights

Recent work highlights include:

• acting for the former CEO of a major bank on a joint FCA and PRA investigation
• acting for a challenger bank on a joint PRA and FCA investigation
• advising a major technology firm on its evidence to a UK public inquiry concerning harmful content online
• advising a major technology company on threatened litigation concerning online content
• acting for a major corporate on the appeal of an ICO enforcement notice and the defence of associated litigation
• advising a major financial services firm on parallel investigations pursued by the SFO, DOJ and FCA into potential bribery and corruption
• advising on several high profile sporting disputes

Ben studied Law at the University of Sheffield.

He is qualified in England and Wales with Higher Rights (Civil).