Ben Davies is a civil litigator and partner in the specialist fraud firm of PCB Byrne. His practice focuses on high-value, Commercial Court litigation in England, often with a cross-border element. Ben has particular experience in asset recovery matters and in the obtaining and defending of worldwide asset freezing injunctions and search orders. He also advises in relation to the defence of extradition requests.

In your view, what is the biggest challenging facing asset recovery lawyers in the current market?

Accessing funding for defendants, in the face of increasingly far-reaching proprietary claims which prevent assets being used for legal costs.

What is the most complex fraud litigation you have worked on during your career to date?

Acting for a group of defendants in the US$1.5 billion tax fraud claim brought by Skattestyrelsen (the Danish tax agency) in England – a near unmanageable piece of litigation.

In your opinion, what do clients look for when selecting an asset recovery lawyer?

Tenacity and inventiveness – someone who will achieve results.

What do you enjoy most about your role as an asset recovery and civil fraud lawyer?

Working closely with the best barristers and overseas lawyers in the business.

Do you think there is enough uptake of technological innovations such as AI and other intelligent software in your practice area and what is PCB doing to ensure that there is?

As a specialist practice we have to make sure we keep up with the bigger firms in all aspects of our work, and we do.

What inspired you to become a civil fraud lawyer and why?

The brilliant lawyers I started out working for as a trainee, who are now my partners.

What has been the biggest learning curve for you over the course of your career so far?

Defending Abdourahman Boreh against claims by the Republic of Djibouti – a longrunning, multifaceted case in which I learned so much.

How do you see your practice area developing over the next five years?

Acting in more sovereign debt litigation (I currently represent the Republic of Cuba in a €70 million claim in the Commercial Court). It will be interesting to see what comes out of the inevitable post-pandemic litigation boom.