Date of Birth: 1974Date of Call: 1999
General Information
He was educated at Magdalen College School, Oxford and Peterhouse Cambridge. He was a scholar in History at Peterhouse obtaining a Starred First for the top result in final examinations. He went on to study for an MPhil in Medieval History, and was awarded the Wood-Legh Prize for a dissertation entitled Norman Palermo: Conflict and Convivencia in the Central Mediterranean. He also represented the University at Rugby Union and Rugby League. He obtained the Diploma in Law at City University in 1998.
Peterhouse, Cambridge, 1993-97
BA (History) 1st Class (Starred), MPhil (Medieval History), MA (Cantab)
Wood-Legh Prize, Lady Ward Scholarship in History, the Makin Foster and Herbert Butterfield Prizes
City University, 1997-98
Middle Temple, Queen Mother-Fox Scholar 1997, Queen Mother Scholar 1996
Practice
Michael specializes in all aspects of commercial law, including insurance and reinsurance, shipping and international trade, professional negligence (including underwriting agents, brokers and solicitors), conflict of laws and jurisdiction disputes, as well as more general commercial disputes. He appears regularly in the Commercial Court, and the Chancery Division of the High Court as well as in arbitration.
Insurance and Reinsurance
Michael has considerable experience of questions of construction of insurance and reinsurance contracts, coverage disputes, issues of non-disclosure and misrepresentation, questions of proper law and jurisdiction, contribution claims among insurers, the principles and practice associated with the Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 1930 and cases involving the professional negligence of brokers and underwriting agents.
In particular, Michael has been substantially involved in the film-finance litigation, acting for the JP Morgan Chase Bank in the litigation arising out of the Phoenix Slate and the three Paramount Slates. He appeared in the Court of Appeal in July 2001 and in the House of Lords in July 2002, led by Lord Grabiner QC and Colin Edelman QC on preliminary issues in the Phoenix Slate arising out of the construction of the Truth of Statement clause in those policies (HIH v Chase [2003] Lloyds Rep IR 203, [2003] 1 All ER (Comm)349) and subsequently in the trial of the Phoenix Slate before Langley J. Michael has subsequently acted for the Bank of Scotland and the National Bank of Canada in coverage disputes arising from insurance-backed film finance transactions.
From November 2005 he has also acted for a substantial firm of solicitors in an economic tort and deceit claim arising out of the insurance-backed film finance transactions known as Hollywood 4, 5 and 6 underwritten by Lexington.
Michael also has experience in more traditional contingency insurance disputes and professional indemnity litigation. He recently appeared with Sioban Healy for the assureds in Encia Remediation Ltd v Canopius Managing Agents [2007] EWHC 916 in a dispute regarding the breadth of coverage provided by the environmental consultants professional indemnity EC4 00/01 form.
In 2005 and 2006, Michael acted for Gerling and their US subsidiary in a dispute between insurers relating to the design and production of blow pipes on the Western hemispheres largest blast furnace.
In March 2003, he appeared for the assureds with Gavin Kealey QC in an arbitration arising out of the postponement of a high-profile international sporting occasion as a result of the events of September 11.
Michael is presently acting for the Law Society in subrogated claims against the Assigned Risk Pool in twelve actions in the Chancery Division.
In the field of reinsurance, Michael has recently acted with Christopher Butcher QC for AIRCO, a company in the AIG corporate family, in relation to two long-term, highly-funded sometimes referred to as finite reinsurance contracts written for ERC Frankona which were the subject of litigation in the Commercial Court.
Michael has also been involved in reinsurance arbitrations arising out of the PA spiral and the decision of the Commercial Court in Sphere Drake v Euro International.
From 2002 to 2004, Michael acted for an international pool of reinsurers in a Commercial Court claim against Hannover Re and others arising out of a series of contracts of bodily injury carve-out reinsurance in the general aviation market. More recently, he has been involved in arbitrations being led by David Edwards QC relating to the inclusion of aviation bodily injury carve-out in what purported to be traditional PA risks.
In addition, Michael was junior counsel for Deutsche Rückversicherung AG in claims against fronted-for companies arising from their participation in the ICRA pools in the 1970s, appearing in the Commercial Court before Aikens J in a jurisdiction battle relating to those claim in July 2002 (Deutsche Rückversicherung AG v Le Secours de Belgique SA and AXA Royale Belge SA).
Shipping and International Trade
Michael has substantial experience in shipping and the international carriage of goods. He has been involved in numerous charterparty disputes involving issues of seaworthiness, cargoworthiness, cargo management, dangerous cargos, refrigeration systems, negligent navigation, unsafe ports, force majeure, quarantine, questions of laytime and demurrage, stowaways, stevedore damage and General Average.
In addition, Michael has experience of disputes arising out of sale of vessels and oil and natural gas rigs.
Many of these disputes were the subject of LMAA and other forms of arbitration. As a consequence, Michael also has considerable experience of the involvement of the Commercial Court in arbitration references. He has been involved in a number of freezing injunction applications, both pre-reference and post award. He has also been involved with applications for anti-suit injunctions, the enforcement of peremptory orders and the delivery up of documents by third parties, as well as appeals from arbitration awards.
In November 2005, Michael acted for tug owners in a three-handed dispute before Andrew Smith J in the Commercial Court which touched on a number of issues relating to the proper construction of the TOWCON form and the implied terms as to speed within that contract: Ease Faith v Leonis [2006] 1 Lloyds Rep 673.
Michael also has considerable experience of bill of lading claims.
General
Michael has acted in a wide variety of general commercial disputes including agency disputes, cases arising from the domestic carriage of goods by road and rail, fraud claims, sale of goods cases, misrepresentation actions, and bailment claims.
