Partner
Hickman & Rose’s co-founding partner is one of the most respected defence lawyers in the country. For over 30 years Ben has successfully represented individuals and corporations in the most serious financial, regulatory, and general criminal matters. He has established himself a ‘go to’ solicitor for high profile individuals seeking discreet resolution of sensitive legal problems and is an expert on regulatory and civil matters as they impact financial wrongdoing.
A specialist in both financial and general criminal law, Ben offers a complete defence service. He has acted for some of the world’s largest companies in corporate criminal matters and has represented company CEOs, directors, and general counsel in some of the most significant white-collar criminal, health and safety, and regulatory cases worldwide. He has strong track record of success representing clients caught up in complex SFO, HSE, FCA and FRC investigations.
Ben has carved a formidable reputation acting for HNW and well-known individuals including politicians, celebrities, entrepreneurs and their families. For these clients, Ben handles sensitive legal concerns which may constitute the biggest crises of their lives.
As well as criminal legal matters, Ben provides expert advice in relation to money laundering and proceeds of crime issues such as Unexplained Wealth Orders and Account Freezing Orders. He is often involved in cross-jurisdictional matters and is expert in setting overall legal strategy and coordinating teams of lawyers across the globe.
Ben’s wealth of experience enables him to formulate the legal strategies most likely to secure the best outcome. He has achieved significant success for clients during the pre-charge stage of a police investigation and has, in the process, managed to ensure that even the most sensational allegations remain out of the public domain.
Calm organised and sympathetic, Ben forges powerful working relationships with his clients. He takes care to concisely communicate what can often be complex legal concepts in ways that are clearly comprehensible to his clients, who are often extremely time-pressured people.
Ben co-founded Hickman & Rose in 1991. He is a former chair of the Criminal Law Committee of the International Bar Association and founded the charity Grit.
Ben is consistently involved in the most significant financial crime matters as they touch on both individuals and companies. He formulate the strategies to resolve complex, often cross-jurisdictional, fraud-related issues and acts as a reassuring ‘guiding hand’ for the most sensitive clients.
Ben’s client list includes some of the world’s biggest companies, as well as their CEOs, directors and senior managers. Those in the public domain include BAT, Credit Suisse, Olympus, HP/Autonomy, Macmillan Publishing, and News Corporation. He routinely acts in regulatory matters, and represented many of the key individuals investigated by the FCA and the SFO in connection with allegations of LIBOR fixing including Ryan Reich, Pete Koutsogiannis and Neil Danziger.
Ben’s clients value the fact that he is always available and the reassuring way in which he confidently and clearly communicates the best strategy to achieve a positive outcome. He has achieved great success achieving results for his clients during the investigation and before charge.
Ben provides specialist representation in relation to fraud-related civil law matters such as actions brought under the Criminal Finances and Proceeds of Crime Act.
He has provided advice to the recipients, and potential recipients of, Unexplained Wealth Orders and Account Freezing Orders, and has a wealth of experience dealing with proceeds of crime actions.
Ben regularly represents individuals facing parallel criminal and regulatory cases, achieving significant success in matters before the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Financial Reporting Council (FRC).
Personable and highly strategic, Ben excels at co-ordinating the often complex interplay between criminal and regulatory matters. Clients include Pete Koutsogiannis who was discharged by the FCA’s Regulatory Decisions Committee in relation to allegations of LIBOR fixing and Neil Danziger who was also accused in relation to LIBOR allegations.
Ben is highly experienced at managing complex matters across legal jurisdictions. Organised and completely strategic, he is able to draw on a network of international contacts to facilitate his client’s legal needs, where ever in the world they may be.
He is especially experienced dealing with UK interactions with various US authorities, most importantly the DoJ; and in handling cases involving European investigation agencies’ requests under MLA for assistance regarding a UK-based individual or company. He has represented clients in some of the UK’s most significant extradition matters.
Ben’s multi-jurisdictional clients include Surjan Singh, the Credit Suisse trader accused of orchestrating so-called “tuna bond” fraud and and the former VP Finance of Autonomy caught up in civil, regulatory and criminal proceedings in the UK and US.
Ben Rose oversees Hickman & Rose’s private client practice and is the primary port of call for HNW and high profile clients – and their family members – facing what many consider to be the biggest crisis of their lives.
A highly experienced criminal defence lawyer with detailed knowledge of reputational matters and an excellent ‘bedside manner’, Ben confidently and calmly guides the most nervous HNW client through their legal concerns, whatever they may be.
Ben’s work in this area runs the full gamut of allegation: from violent and serious financial crime, through ‘MeToo’-type sexual allegations to drink, drugs and communication-type offences which while relatively minor can have a disproportionately large reputational impact.
Ben’s client list includes globally famous celebrities and others in the public eye who come to Ben because of his reputation for being able to successfully deal with even the most sensational cases with discretion. Most of Ben’s client work in this area is confidential. Clients that have been in the public eye include the artist David Hockney, businessman Hans Rausing, television presenter Kirsty Gallagher and the X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos. Other clients include one of the world’s biggest musicians and one of Britain’s best known entertainers.
In recent years Ben has taken on a growing number of ultra HNW business clients, many of whom have required legal advice in relation to money laundering and POCA matters. He is frequently quoted in the media commenting on legal developments in this field, particularly the impact of the recent introduction of Unexplained Wealth Orders.
Highly organised and completely strategic in his approach, Ben is able to draw on a vast network of contacts – both domestic and abroad – to facilitate his client’s legal needs. He has achieved significant success at the initial stage of an investigation by persuading law enforcement agencies not to proceed with unmerited charges. He has been able to ensure that even the most sensational cases remain outside the public domain.
Ben is highly experienced at representing clients for whom maintaining a good professional reputation is of paramount importance. He understands the severe negative impact an unproven criminal allegation can have and is expert in devising the legal strategies which take this into account.
He has achieved significant success in ensuring criminal allegations are dealt with in the most discreet way possible. He has often achieved this by ensuring an investigation ends before the charge stage. However he has also been able to make sure that information remains outside the public domain beyond that.
Ben is able to provide the full suite of legal services to individuals facing what is often the greatest challenge of their lives. He works closely with lawyers in the firm’s civil litigation department – and alongside media and reputational legal experts outside the firm – to ensure that the adverse impacts of any allegation of criminality are mitigated as much as possible.
Ben’s clients in this field include some of the world’s most famous people. Clients in the public domain include the businessman Hans Kristian Rausing and the artist David Hockney.
27 Oct 2023
Hickman & Rose has again been recognised by The Times newspaper in its annual list of the best law firms in the UK.
Hickman & Rose is included in the 2024 list as a leading firm operating…
19 Oct 2023
Hickman & Rose continues to be recognised as one of the UK’s leading law firms in the latest edition of the Chambers & Partners legal directory.
The Serious & General Crime and…
13 Oct 2023
Hickman & Rose client Carlo Palombo’s conviction for EURIBOR manipulation will be re-examined by the Court of Appeal after it was referred by the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
Carlo was…
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