Ben Hamer

Ben Hamer
Ben joined 5RB in October 2018 after completion of pupillage in Chambers. He specialises in privacy, defamation and data protection law, acting for both claimants and defendants. Ben regularly appears in the High Court. Examples of Ben’s recent work include:

  • Appearing for a local authority in a successful strike out and summary judgment of a claim for libel in the High Court.
  • Advising and successfully resisting a data protection appeal in the First-Tier Tribunal on behalf of a non-departmental public body.
  • Acting for the Claimants in the ongoing phone hacking litigation against The Sun and former News of the World relating to a large number of claims from celebrities and others in respect of phone hacking and other unlawful activities.
  • Advising the successful claimant in the first privacy injunction of a British Overseas Territory.
  • Instructed by the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in the ongoing Undercover Policing Inquiry, chaired by Sir John Mitting.
Ben provides pre-publication advice to various publications such as The Times and The Sunday Times as well as HarperCollins and Bloomsbury publishers. He is security cleared to SC level.

Ben began as a tenant at 5RB after successful completion of pupillage at Chambers. His supervisors were Adam Wolanski QC, Jonathan Barnes, Richard Munden and Adam Speker QC.

During pupillage, cases with which Ben assisted included:

  • NT1/NT2 v Google: the first ‘right to be forgotten’ case in England & Wales
  • Monir v Wood: a week-long Twitter libel trial
  • Zarb-Cousin v ABB: preliminary issue of meaning and serious harm in a defamatory broadcast
  • Reid v Price: interim injunction in privacy and confidence

Ben was called to the Bar in 2017 at Lincoln’s Inn, where he was a Lord Bowen and Lord Denning scholar.

In 2017, Ben was presented with the Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize, run in conjunction with the Daily Telegraph, for his writing on free speech, social media and ‘fake news’. As an undergraduate, he edited Palatinate, where he won the Hunter Davies Prize for Student Journalism.

Scholarships and Awards

Hubert Greenland Scholarship (Lincoln’s Inn)
Lord Denning Scholarship (Lincoln’s Inn)
Lord Bowen Scholarship (Lincoln’s Inn)
Hardwicke Entrance Award (Lincoln’s Inn)
Buchanan Prize (Lincoln’s Inn)
Advocacy Scholarship (University of Law, Bloomsbury)
Law First Scholarship (University of Law, Moorgate)
5 Paper Buildings Prize for Cross-Examination (University of Law, Bloomsbury)
Resolution of Disputes Out of Court Prize (University of Law, Bloomsbury)
Judicial Review Prize (University of Law, Bloomsbury)
Maltby Exhibition (best dissertation)
How Prize (top First in Finals)
Maltby Prize (best mark in year)

Called

2017 Called to the Bar of England and Wales

Education

University of Law, Bloomsbury (BPTC: Outstanding)
University of Law, Moorgate (GDL: Distinction)
University of Oxford (MSt)
University of Durham (BA (Hons): First Class)

Areas of work

Privacy and Confidence
Harassment
Defamation and Malicious Falsehood
Data Protection and Information Law
Pre-publication Advice
Reporting the Courts and Contempt
Human Rights
Injunctive Relief

Memberships

Member of the Bar Representation Committee of Lincoln's Inn
Joint Chair of the Junior Members' Committee of Lincoln's Inn

All cases

Defamation and Malicious Falsehood

Soriano v Forensic News & ors

[2021] EWHC 56 (QB) 15/01/2021

Privacy and Confidence

Soriano v Forensic News & ors

[2021] EWHC 56 (QB) 15/01/2021

Reporting the Courts and Contempt

Dimitri Rozanov v EFG Private Bank Limited

2208031/2017 03/01/2020

In 5RB News

21 Nov 2020

Meaning of Coleen Rooney’s social media posts determined in Vardy v Rooney libel case

The meaning of Instagram and Twitter posts by Coleen Rooney decided by High Court

18 Jun 2019

5RB at the London Legal Walk 2019

4 Oct 2018

Ben Hamer joins 5RB

Chambers welcomes new tenant and new pupil

Contact

Email: benhamer@5rb.com
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