• Drafted Particulars of Claim in a claim for the delivery-up of a private jet following a lessee’s refusal to return the aircraft to the lessor upon termination of the relevant lease (Fox Flight v 247 Aviation LM-2024-000223) (with Koye Akoni).
• Acting (as sole counsel) on behalf of a balloon company against a claim by a landowner for alleged disruption caused by overflights.
• Regularly instructed as sole counsel on behalf of commercial airlines in passenger claims arising from EU Regulation 261/2004 and the Montreal/Warsaw Convention, including those involving a personal injury element.
• Assisted (as a pupil) in the Russian Aircraft Commercial Court litigation, involving claims by various aircraft lessors under insurance and re-insurance policies for losses arising out of the detention of commercial aircraft in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.
• Drafted (as a pupil) position papers for a mediation concerning damage to an aircraft engine during delivery maintenance.

• Assisting in defending a claim by a trader against his former employer for bonuses that were allegedly due to him.
• Advising (as sole counsel) on the formality requirements of a ship mortgage.
• Acted on behalf of a lender in an action for the recovery of vehicles supplied under hire-purchase agreements.
• Assisted (as a pupil) in an application for a worldwide freezing order against the alleged perpetrator of a multi-million dollar crypto-currency fraud (Chu v Je & Anor [2024] EWHC 90 (Ch)).

• LCIA Arbitration: defending a US$500m claim involving allegations of, inter alia, breach of contract, bribery and unlawful means conspiracy (with Poonam Melwani KC and Emily Saunderson).
• Acted on behalf of a well-known private members’ club, successfully resisting their joinder to proceedings concerning a membership scam perpetrated by an unconnected third-party. 

• Ad-hoc arbitration under the Arbitration Act 1996: successfully acted for the seller of a grain cargo in a c.US$15m claim against the buyer’s guarantor (with Ben Gardner).
• GAFTA Arbitration: successfully challenged the jurisdiction of a GAFTA tribunal on behalf of a respondent against whom proceedings had been wrongfully commenced in the absence of an applicable arbitration agreement (with Koye Akoni).
• Assisting (as a pupil) in an LCIA Arbitration concerning payments made under commodity supply contracts which had been blocked and frozen as a result of US sanctions against Russia.
• Advising (as a pupil) as to whether a seller could recover damages (worth potentially in excess of US$100m) against a buyer in relation to breaches of a long-term coal supply contract.

A significant proportion of Michael’s work occurs in the context of arbitral proceedings in the UK and abroad. In addition, Michael has significant expertise in dealing with arbitration-specific issues and related court applications, including:

• Acting for the appellants in their appeal under s.69 of the Arbitration Act 1996 against an LMAA arbitration award on the question of the proper interpretation of certain clauses in the SALEFORM 2012 standard ship sale form (with Andrew Leung).
• Successfully challenged the jurisdiction of a GAFTA tribunal on behalf of a respondent against whom proceedings had been wrongfully commenced in the absence of an applicable arbitration agreement (with Koye Akoni).
• Drafted a successful application for security for costs under s.38(3) of the Arbitration Act on behalf of a counter-claiming defendant in LMAA arbitration (with Will Mitchell).

• Port of Sheerness Ltd v Swire Shipping Pte Ltd (“The Kiating”) [2025] EWHC 7 (Admlty): acted for the Port in a six-day Admiralty Court trial concerning the enforceability of a “period toll” levied against a vessel for overstaying during discharge operations. The trial raised issues of contractual interpretation, expert evidence, and the application of “triple penalty” provisions under relevant local port legislation (led by John A Kimbell KC).
• Acting (as sole counsel) in a hire dispute under the Supplytime 2017 standard form (worth c. US$1 million).
• Advised (as sole counsel) on potential claims (worth up to US$3 million) by charterers and cargo interests against owners of an oil tanker arising from the placing of the vessel on the US OFAC sanctions list.
• Acting (as sole counsel) in proceedings concerning the sale of a co-owned barge moored on the River Thames.
• Advising and acting as sole counsel in various time, voyage and yacht charterparty disputes, involving issues such as agency, off-hire, demurrage, termination/cancellation and port safety.
• Advising and acting as sole counsel in various cargo claims under the Hague/Hague-Visby Rules.
• Advised a major commodity trader on the redrafting of its voyage charterparty standard terms.
• Assisting (as a pupil) in a two-week LMAA arbitration (worth up to USD 15 million) concerning an allision between a vessel and a berth. The trial concerned complex issues of fact and law and revolved around highly technical expert evidence.
• Assisting (as a pupil) in a successful application for an anti-suit injunction in the Commercial Court against Indian cargo interests
• Advising (as a pupil) on whether a shipowner could rely on a Himalaya clause contained within slot charterers’ standard bill of lading terms to prevent claims being brought against them by cargo interests
• Advising (as a pupil) on the correct interpretation of the Shelltime 4 off-hire clause, specifically with respect to its effect in relation to delays arising out of Covid-related quarantine.

• Acting as sole counsel in various disputes involving both international carriage under the CMR and domestic carriage under the RHA Conditions of Carriage.
   

• SIAC Arbitration: acting for a large shipyard in a contractual dispute (worth over US$1 billion) concerning the construction of a fleet of LNG carriers (with Luke Parsons KC and Gemma Morgan).
• LMAA Arbitration: acting for the seller in a dispute concerning the non-acceptance of an offshore oil rig (worth c. US$150 million) (with James Turner KC).
• LMAA Arbitration: acting for the buyers of a super-yacht in relation to a US$20m+ dispute against the yacht’s builders in relation to substantial defects in the yacht’s construction (with Robert Thomas KC and Max Davidson).
• Acting for the appellants in their appeal under s.69 of the Arbitration Act 1996 against an LMAA arbitration award on the question of the proper interpretation of certain clauses in the SALEFORM 2012 standard ship sale form (with Andrew Leung).
• Advised (as sole counsel) on the formality requirements of a ship mortgage.

Michael has a particular interest in technology-related disputes arising out of his previous experience as a freelance software developer. Accordingly, he is comfortable dealing with the technical issues and evidence that arise in such cases. His work in this area so far includes:

• Acting for an e-commerce business in relation to a £200,000 claim against their website maintenance provider (as sole counsel).