Year of Call: 2019
“Tim is very intelligent, conscientious and strategic. He demonstrates real depth to his legal analysis, as well as the ability to assimilate huge volumes of factual information, from which he identifies what is core to the issues in dispute.”
Tim is ranked as a Rising Star in the Legal 500. Over the last couple of years, he has been instructed on three of The Lawyer's Top 20 Cases. Alongside those high-profile matters, Tim has appeared many times in the High Court as sole advocate. He has particular experience in heavy interlocutory applications, having successfully obtained (unled) summary judgment, a freezing injunction, a passport order, and disclosure orders.
Tim has a broad commercial chancery practice across the range of work undertaken in Chambers, with a particular focus on civil fraud, company law, and trusts. He has experience of litigation (both domestic and offshore) and arbitration (under various rules). Tim is comfortable working as sole advocate or as part of a larger counsel team (including being led within or out of Chambers).
In civil fraud, Tim is particularly experienced in applications for interlocutory relief, including search orders, freezing injunctions, proprietary injunctions, mandate orders, Norwich Pharmacal orders, and Bankers Trust orders. His recent cases include PIFSS v Al Wazzan (one of The Lawyer's Top 20 Cases for 2025) where he acts for one of the defendants to the claims brought to recover close to US$1 billion relating to alleged bribes. Tim also acted for two defendants in Jinxin v Aser Media PTE Limited & Ors (another of The Lawyer's Top 20 Cases for 2025) where the alleged fraud related to the acquisition of media rights in Italian Serie A, and FIFA World Cup, football matches.
In company law, Tim regularly advises and acts in shareholder and insolvency disputes. Tim represented one of the former directors in Re BHS Group Limited (one of The Lawyer's Top 20 Cases for 2023) where the complex insolvency proceedings (and what is thought to be the largest ever wrongful trading claim: [2024] EWHC 1417 (Ch)) arose out of the collapse of the BHS group of companies, once a major presence on the British high street.
In trusts disputes, Tim was part of the counsel team in Wong v Grand View, a Bermudian claim relating to trusts worth around US$15 billion – believed to be one of the largest disputes anywhere in the world. He also acted in Volpi v Delanson in relation to a series of challenges arising out of a trust arbitration seated in The Bahamas. Those proceedings have led to a number of important judgments dealing with various novel questions relating to the interaction of trusts law and arbitration.
Tim read law at the University of Oxford where he graduated with a first class degree (ranking fifth in his year) and a Distinction on the BCL. He previously taught Trusts and Land Law at the University of Oxford. He was awarded the Lord Mansfield scholarship by Lincoln’s Inn (the Inn’s top award).
Before coming to the Bar, Tim worked in the international arbitration group at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, a leading US law firm. During his time at the firm, he worked on a number of arbitrations, and arbitration related court applications, for corporate clients from a variety of industries, including energy, commodities and telecommunications. He has continued this strand of his practice where he is currently instructed in a high-value LCIA arbitration.
BA in Law, Brasenose College, University of Oxford (First Class, ranked 5th in year)
BCL, Brasenose College, University of Oxford (Distinction)
BPTC, City Law School (Outstanding)
Lord Mansfield Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn
Buchanan Prize, Lincoln’s Inn
Accommodation Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn
Hardwicke Award, Lincoln’s Inn
Prize for Outstanding Achievement on the BCL, Brasenose College
Barry Nicholas Scholarship, Brasenose College
Law Faculty Prize for Best Performance in Personal Property Law, University of Oxford
Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Finals, Brasenose College
Undergraduate Scholar, Brasenose College
‘The ICC’s new rules: late to the party, but welcome as tools to ensure efficient and fair process’ Global Legal Post, Zoe O'Sullivan QC, and Tim Benham-Mirando, 30 October 2020