Ben Parry-Smith > Payne Hicks Beach LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile
Payne Hicks Beach LLP Offices
10 NEW SQUARE
LINCOLN'S INN
LONDON
WC2A 3QG
England
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Ben Parry-Smith
Work Department
Family
Position
Described in The Lawyer Hot 100 2019 as a “protégé of Fiona Shackleton”, Ben is a partner in the Family department and advises on all aspects of family law: children, divorce/civil partnership, co-habitation, pre/post nuptial agreements, complex financial disputes and jurisdictional issues. Much of his work has an international element. He has dealt with cases involving the relocation of children and on matters involving same-sex parents. Ben has experience of dealing with matters where decision-making capacity is an issue and often acts in cases involving trusts.
Ben has worked on the leading case involving “special contribution”, as part of the team representing HRH Princess Haya and recently on a case where a wife’s behaviour was so bad that the judge awarded her less than half the matrimonial pot. He has a broad practice and gives as much care and attention to a case in the Central Family Court where every penny spent on lawyers really matters, as he does to a Supreme Court case. He is one of a handful of lawyers doing heavy weight financial and complex children work. Ben read law at Merton College, Oxford and trained at Mishcon. Clients say Ben always remains cheerful under pressure and tries to find humour when things get grim.
Memberships
Resolution
Education
MA (Oxon): Jurisprudence (Merton College)
Lawyer Rankings
London > Private client > Family
(Leading individuals)‘The strength and prestige of the Payne Hicks Beach LLP team is peerless’. It is led by Rebecca Cockcroft, whose ‘forensic approach to cases is extremely effective, and she always goes the extra mile for clients’. The lawyers are at the ‘top of their game’ with ‘strength and depth across the board and are involved in some of the biggest cases’. Baroness Fiona Shackleton is praised for her ‘extraordinary judgment and tactical acumen’ and has been described as ‘the doyenne of ultra-high-net-worth financial remedies work’. The practice is highly regarded for its considerable expertise in handling both high-net-worth financial remedies and children law matters, and the group is frequently instructed in high-profile cases that appear in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal. Philip McGuirk has a busy practice in post and pre-nuptial agreements, which often involve a cross-jurisdictional element. Ben Parry-Smith covers all aspects of financial remedy work, while Sarah Williams is the head of the modern family law practice and Simon Beccle has extensive experience of dealing with complex financial cases. Other highly regarded members of the department include Matthew Booth, Nick Manners, Katie Parkes, and Catherine Costley. Joshua Moger was recently promoted to the partnership, and senior associate Amy Barrow joined the practice from Dawson Cornwell LLP in April 2023.
Lawyer Rankings
Top Tier Firm Rankings
Firm Rankings
- Private client > Agriculture and estates
- Public sector > Education: individuals
- Employment > Immigration
- Corporate and commercial > M&A: Smaller Deals, £10m-£100m
- Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Reputation management
- Real estate > Residential property
- Private client > Art and cultural property
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: mid-market
- Employment > Senior executives
- Real estate > Commercial property: corporate occupiers
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Crime: general
- Corporate and commercial > Partnership
- Real estate > Property litigation
- Private client > Charities and not-for-profit
- Real estate > Commercial property: development
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: white-collar crime (advice to individuals)