Ben Rose
Ben Rose is Hickman & Rose's founding partner. He has spent over 30 years representing individual and corporate clients facing the most serious allegations of wrongdoing.
An expert strategic litigator, Ben's skills extend beyond criminal and regulatory matters into extradition, Unexplained Wealth Orders, Production Orders, Confiscation and Forfeiture proceedings and working closely with foreign lawyers on multi-jurisdictional matters.
Ben is acutely aware of the importance of reputation for his clients and has these concerns at the heart of his strategy.
Ben frequently acts for corporations and individuals caught up in fraud investigations by law enforcement agencies such as the Serious Fraud Office, National Crime Agency, and the Financial Conduct Authority.
He has a high success rate in these matters, frequently persuading the authorities not to pursue matters beyond the initial investigation stage. Clients include News Corporation, global banks, as well as senior individuals at BAT, Olympus, Deutsche Bank, HP/Autonomy and Macmillan Publishing and many other major companies.
Ben has achieved significant successes for clients accused of fraud related to alleged -IBOR rate manipulation. In 2025 the Supreme Court quashed his client Carlo Palombo’s conviction for conspiracy to defraud in relation to EURIBOR: a ruling which, as well as righting a six-year miscarriage of justice, has ground-breaking significance for future SFO and other white collar prosecutions. Prior to this, Ben’s Barclays LIBOR client Ryan Reich was acquitted following a criminal trial; and UBS trader Panagiotis Koutsogiannis successfully defended regulatory misconduct proceedings before the FCA's Regulatory Decisions Committee.
Ben’s regulatory expertise has seen him represent former Banque Havilland employee Vladimir Bolelyy in an Upper Tribunal challenge to the FCA’s Regulatory Decisions Committee.
Ben has long experience defending against allegations of overseas bribery, particularly in the extractive industries. Current clients include senior individuals in the long-running SFO investigation into alleged corruption at the Kazakh mining group ENRC.
Ben also acts for companies facing criminal charges. He has defended clients accused of corporate manslaughter and is currently acting for ITH Pharma in relation to serious health and safety offences. Ben has advised many major English and US law firms on their disclosure obligations under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Hickman & Rose's success is built on an intimate understanding of every aspect of the criminal justice system, from police station to the Supreme Court. Ben draws on this deep well of experience when advising his private clients.
Ben routinely represents professional people who find themselves caught up in criminal matters that, if not handled with great care, can ruin lives. He takes strategic control from the earliest stage to steer a matter towards the best outcome. He has achieved significant success persuading the police either not to arrest, or to bring an investigation to an end before the charging stage.
Ben is acutely aware of the reputational impact of being involved in any criminal matter. His clients value the way he quickly grasps this aspect of their cases. He has developed strategies to handle the most sensitive matters in a way that avoids negative publicity. Many of Ben's clients in this area remain anonymous.
Ben has provided specialist legal advice to numerous individuals in relation to Operation Yewtree and 'Me Too' type sex offence allegations. Many of these cases have been disposed with the minimum - or even no - resulting publicity. His recent clients in this area include one of the best-known performers in the world, and a world-famous musician.
Many of Ben's criminal cases straddle jurisdictions. He is expert in setting overall legal strategy and co-ordinating lawyers working across the globe. Ben has an extensive track record representing High Net Worth and high-profile clients such as politicians, celebrities and their families in relation to a range of legal matters, both criminal and regulatory. In 2025 Ben represented the musician Chris Brown, charged with various serious violent offences shortly before starting a global tour.
Contrary to general opinion, famous people often find their high public profile a disadvantage in legal matters. Not only are the reputational risks greater, but law enforcement agencies have been known to focus on high profile suspects simply because of who they are. Ben has long experience of working in this area. He knows what may happen, and how best to mitigate against it.
Ben routinely advises his HNW clients on the implications of the Criminal Finances Act for offshore wealth including what to expect from Unexplained Wealth Order legislation, and how best to react when a UWO arrives. He also advises on money laundering and POCA matters.
The nature of Ben's work in this area means many of his clients’ identities are not in the public domain. Those who are include the artist David Hockney, the former X-Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos and the businessman Hans Kristian Rausing.
Ben often acts in the highest profile and significant extradition matters. He successfully prevented the Kyrgyz businessman Maxim Bakiev from being extradited to the US and for a Pakistani business tycoon in his US extradition case, as well as for former Credit Suisse broker Surjan Singh in his US extradition matter.