• directors and officers issues, mass torts and civil liability;
• class actions, product liability and regulatory issues (especially concerning the financial services industry); and
• insurance - both insurance and risk solutions for policyholders, as well as insurance coverage disputes. 

Michael is the co-head of Freehills’ Insurance Solutions and Product Liability practices. Michael is an accredited mediator and also teaches courses in negotiation.

Michael is a trusted adviser to a number of Australia’s leading companies and directors, especially in matters of commercial or personal significance. Of these, the following recent examples have been reported upon publicly:

Lend Lease—Michael regularly advises and represents the Lend Lease group of companies in relation to its liability, insurance and risk transfer issues. Michael led Bovis Lend Lease’s successful defence and resolution efforts in relation to the World Trade Centre clean-up litigation, where over 18,000 plaintiffs sued the City of New York and several prime contractors for respiratory diseases alleged to have resulted from the WTC clean-up operations. The litigation is reported to be one of the largest mass tort actions in the United States. Michael played a key role in driving a resolution strategy which has seen 96% of the plaintiffs opt into a settlement and historic legislation become law in the US, such that Bovis Lend Lease’s exposure is effectively limited to available insurance. Michael also acted on the successful resolution of arbitration proceedings under a US $1 billion insurance policy.

ABC Learning — Michael is advising and representing the Non-Executive Directors following the collapse of this company, including in relation to an investigation by ASIC and a rumoured class action.

Ensham Resources—Michael is representing Ensham in relation to its insurance recovery claim in the Federal Court, following the devastating floods in northern Queensland in January 2008. This insurance claim ($500+ million) is said by others to be the largest pending single claim in the commercial insurance market.

Babcock & Brown—Michael is representing the Non-Executive Directors and certain officers of Babcock & Brown in the various regulatory and public examinations by the liquidator of Babcock & Brown into this prominent corporate collapse.

HIH Insurance Ltd—Michael led the Freehills’ legal team which represented the directors’ and officers’ insurers of the HIH Group, as well as other regulatory and litigation proceedings arising out of what is reported to be Australia’s largest corporate collapse ($5.4 billion).

United Medical Protection—Michael acted on behalf of the provisional liquidator of UMP, both in the successful negotiation of a bail out package from the Commonwealth Government and the rare result in which UMP traded out of provisional liquidation.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Jurisprudence and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Western Australia and a Master of the Science of Law from Stanford University.
Prior to moving to Sydney, Michael regularly appeared as counsel in commercial litigation and insurance disputes before State Supreme and Federal Courts of Australia, as well as being an accredited mediator of the Supreme Court of Western Australia and LEADR.

Michael is a board member of the RAND Institute for Civil Justice, as well as a member of the Federation of Insurance and Corporate Counsel, and a past national chair and director of LEADR (Association of Dispute Resolvers).

Michael has been rated in Band 1 for Insurance individuals by Chambers Global (2008 - 2011) and as a “leading individual” in Insurance and Dispute Resolution by Asia-Pacific Legal 500. Michael was specifically identified by PLC Which Lawyer? 2010, for Insurance – Contentious, as well as being awarded a ‘Best Lawyer International’ award for 2009,  2010  and 2011 in the Alternative Dispute Resolution, Insurance and Litigation categories.

Clients describe him as “an excellent lawyer – one of Australia’s strongest in the insurance sector.” (Chambers Global, 2009).
In February 2011, Michael was a guest lecturer at Stanford Law School on the topic of complex litigation and mass torts.