Michael accepts instructions across all areas of competition law.  He has extensive experience advising clients across a range of sectors on competition disputes and related issues, both as a solicitor and since transferring to the Bar.

His recent work includes:

• Hunter v Amazon – proposed collective proceedings alleging an abuse of dominance concerning the Amazon ‘Buy Box’ (as a pupil, assisting Sarah Love)
• Kelkoo v Google – an abuse of dominance claim concerning Google Shopping and AdSense (as a pupil, assisting Sarah Love)
• Apple v Optis – FRAND litigation concerning standard essential patents in which abuse of dominance is alleged (as a pupil, assisting Sarah Love)
• Meta Platforms v Commission (‘Facebook Data’) – acting for Meta in its EU General Court challenge to RFIs issued by the European Commission
• Gutmann v London & Southeast Railway (‘Boundary Fares’) – acting for Southeastern in its defence of the first standalone abuse of dominance claim brought under the competition collective actions regime
• Trucks – acting for Volvo/Renault in follow-on damages litigation arising from the European Commission’s Trucks cartel decision
• JD Sports v CMA – acting for JD Sports in its successful challenge to a CMA decision blocking its merger with Footasylum
• Brake Systems – advising Continental AG on follow-on damages litigation arising from the European Commission’s Brake Systems cartel decision
• BT v Ofcom (‘Pay TV’) – acting for BT in litigation concerning a ‘wholesale must offer’ obligation for Sky Sports channels
• Advising BT on various competition and regulatory matters, including its deal with Ofcom regarding the enhanced functional separation of its Openreach network business
• Acting for a tech multinational, a financial institution and a private healthcare provider in competition investigations carried out by the European Commission and CMA
• Advising a financial institution on complex competition law issues concerning information sharing and abuse of dominance

Michael has experience advising commercial parties, government departments and NGOs on a range of public law and regulatory matters, both as a solicitor and since transferring to the Bar.

His recent work includes:

• R (Elliot & Jane Street) v London Metals Exchange – a claim for judicial review and Human Rights Act damages concerning regulation of the nickel market (as a pupil, assisting James McClelland KC)
• Greenpeace v Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero – a claim for judicial review of a decision to approve licensing of oil & gas exploration in the North Sea (as a pupil, assisting James McClelland KC)
• Advising a generic pharmaceuticals manufacturer on potential challenges to market authorisation decisions in the UK and EU (as a pupil, assisting Sarah Love)
• Eurotunnel v Secretary of State for Transport (‘Brexit Ferries’) – acting for Eurotunnel in its high-profile judicial review/public procurement challenge to a decision to award no-deal Brexit freight contracts to three ferry companies, culminating in a £33m settlement
• R (Help Refugees) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (‘Dubs Amendment’) – acting for the AIRE Centre in its intervention in a successful challenge to the Home Office’s assessments of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children
• Group M v Cabinet Office – acting for Group M in a public procurement challenge concerning media planning and buying services

Michael has been a volunteer advocate for the Asylum Support Appeals Project since 2015, and has represented more than 50 asylum seekers in appeals against Home Office decisions concerning accommodation and support before the First-Tier Tribunal.

Since 2018 Michael has been a trustee and board member of the AIRE Centre, a specialist legal charity which works to protect fundamental rights under the European Convention and EU law.

Michael accepts instructions across all areas of commercial litigation and arbitration. 

His recent experience includes:

• Azima v Dechert and Stokoe v Dechert – defending claims arising out of alleged hacking (as a pupil, assisting Craig Morrison KC)
• Advising a renewable energy company on a contractual claim brought by a former consultant (as a pupil, assisting Craig Morrison KC)
• Advising a tech multinational on a contractual dispute with an Indian counterparty which raised issues under the Hague Service Convention (as a pupil, assisting Craig Morrison KC)
• A confidential matter regarding potential fraud claims, including advising on a possible freezing injunction (as a pupil, assisting Craig Morrison KC)
• Acting for a multinational beverage company on an urgent injunction in the Commercial Court regarding the regulatory obligations of a merger counterparty
• Acting for a global consumer goods company in an expert determination concerning a price adjustment mechanism in the disposal of an $11bn business
• Advising a global automotive company in an arbitration under DIS Rules arising from its acquisition of a former JV company
• Advising a tech multinational on a contractual claim arising from the acquisition of a software start-up

Michael has experience advising on a range of international law issues, particularly in matters concerning human rights and modern slavery. 

His recent experience includes:

• Advising a human rights defender on a potential complaint to the UN Human Rights Committee regarding unlawful detention and deportation (as a pupil, assisting Jennifer MacLeod)
• Henry & Edwards v Jamaica – acting for the complainants in a successful challenge to Jamaican laws criminalising homosexual activity before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
• Advising multinationals in the extractives, food, apparel, professional services and technology sectors on compliance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, including advising on emerging forms of litigation risk.

Michael has published on a variety of topics in competition, EU and public law, including:

• Prevention or Cure? Damages in Private Antitrust Claims in the US and the EU [2020] G.C.L.R. 13(1) 1-8 (with James Langenfeld and Mark Sansom)
• Hybrid settlements: a sting in the tail? [2019] G.C.L.R. 12(1) 16-27
• A chapter on appellate court practice across the EU in Reforming the ECtHR: would closer co-operation with national supreme courts help? (BIICL, 2019)
• Co-author of To Assist the Court: Third Party Interventions in the Public Interest (JUSTICE, 2016)

Michael also has a long-standing interest in the field of business and human rights.  He has spoken on corporate liability for human rights violations at a range of civil society events and academic conferences, including at the United Nations, World Economic Forum, University of Oxford and Innovation Forum.  He has contributed to various publications in this area, including Business and Human Rights: Navigating the Legal Landscape (UN Global Compact, 2020).  During his time at Freshfields, Michael edited, and regularly contributed to, the Freshfields Sustainability and Human Rights blog, which publishes updates on developments in national and international human rights law relevant to multinational businesses.

2023-present – Tenant, Brick Court Chambers

2022-2023 – Pupil, Brick Court Chambers

2018-present – Trustee, the AIRE Centre

2020-2021 – Judicial Assistant to Lady Justice Asplin, Court of Appeal of England & Wales

2014-2022 – Associate and Senior Associate, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

2012-2014 – Trainee Solicitor, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

2012 – Accelerated Legal Practice Course, BPP University

2011 – Caseworker, Office of Capital Defense Counsel in Jackson, Mississippi (Amicus ALJ internship)

2008-2011 – BA Law (Jurisprudence), Lincoln College (University of Oxford)

2000-2007 – Durham Johnston Comprehensive School