• "He is well-known for his longstanding experience in shipping work." (Legal 500, 2021)

• "He is well-known for his longstanding experience in shipping work." (Legal 500, 2020)

• "Extremely well regarded." (Legal 500, 2019)

• "..A silk with vast experience..." (Legal 500, 2017)

• "...He brings an excellent knowledgebase to his cases..." (Legal 500, 2016)

Michael has been the Leader of the Admiralty Bar of England & Wales since 2000.

As Counsel, he has appeared in cases relating to all aspects falling within the jurisdiction of the Admiralty Court, including numerous wreck inquiries, disputes relating to oil pollution or pilotage, prosecutions for negligent navigation resulting in collision or near collision and limitation actions. In addition, he has successfully conducted section 471 Inquiries for the Department of Trade relating to prosecution of merchant naval officers for alleged deficiencies in their navigational capabilities, with a view to removing their Master’s tickets.

He has acted as arbitrator in collision disputes and was a member of the panel of salvage arbitrators appointed by the Committee of Lloyd's from 1987 to 2009. He has sat as a Recorder of the Crown Court for over 25 years, sitting 3 or 4 weeks a year as a judge in criminal cases involving personal injury and cases in which the concept of recklessness has been central to the prosecution.

Michael has acted in virtually all areas of dry shipping both as advocate and as arbitrator. Disputes arising out of charterparties and bills of lading, cargo claims, marine insurance (and reinsurance), shipbuilding and shipsale disputes. The overwhelming majority of these have been in arbitrations. He thinks he is unusual in having acted as advocate and as arbitrator in disputes about general average.

Michael frequently acts as arbitrator. His first appointment was in 1983, since when he has been appointed several hundred times by parties, arbitrators or arbitral bodies as arbitrator, either sole or as one of a panel (in the latter case usually, but not invariably, as umpire or chairman of arbitral tribunal). He has acted as such in a wide range of maritime disputes and has also been the sole arbitrator or one of the three arbitrators hearing several straight commercial disputes. Virtually all the arbitrations in which he has figured as arbitrator have been international arbitrations and the overwhelming majority have no English parties at all.

Michael has been appointed as an ICC arbitrator and an LCIA arbitrator. He is frequently appointed umpire or third arbitrator by members of the LMAA. He is a member of the LCIA., a supporting member of the LMAA. and a member of the Panel of Salvage Arbitrators appointed by the Council of Lloyd's.

Michael is an accredited mediator, and is enthusiastic about hearing mediations, though he has so far heard only one mediation as mediator (a settlement was reached).

Michael acts in general commercial disputes relating to contracts: e.g he has advised on the sale of a haulage business and has acted as arbitrator in relation to a sole distributorship agreement. He has acted both as advocate and arbitrator in relation to international sales of goods where the disputes have no shipping dimension. He has very occasionally become involved in pure corporate disputes (protection of minority shareholders, disqualification of directors).

Although the cases involved were shipping cases, Michael was the one of the architects of two major changes in English commercial law, being successful junior counsel in N.Y.K. v Karageorgis [1975] 1 W.L.R. 1093 (C.A.) (the case in which Mareva injunctions were invented) and The Despina R; The Folias [1979] A.C. 685 (H.L.) (the case which established that unliquidated damages are recoverable in currencies other than sterling).

Michael has acted as adviser and advocate in both insurance and reinsurance cases. Most of his work in this area has been in the field of marine insurance and reinsurance, but he also has acted in general land-based insurance relating to e.g. fire and business interruption insurance. Most of his work has been in the field of direct insurance; but he has done a certain amount of re-insurance work, mainly but not exclusively in the marine field throughout his career.

Michael is an accredited mediator, and is enthusiastic about hearing mediations, though he has so far heard only one mediation as mediator (a settlement was reached).

Michael has been instructed in a wide range of shipbuilding and related construction projects.

Michael has experience in disputes relating to the construction of platforms and onshore/offshore oil and gas facilities, as well as the purchase and/or hire of oil rigs and platforms.