Michael has been a commercial litigator for almost 20 years. He joined Mills Oakley in 2016 and has also worked at international law firms Ashurst, Baker McKenzie and King & Wood Mallesons.
Michael prides himself on his ability to quickly get to the heart of a dispute and master its detail without losing sight of paths to resolution out of court.
Michael’s experience is both deep and wide. He has acted for multinationals, ASX-listed companies, private companies, government bodies and enterprises (at all three levels) and high net worth individuals in matters involving complex commercial contracts, consumer protection law, competition law, companies and securities law and regulation, environmental contamination, financial services law and regulation and property transactions.
Expertise
Michael’s expertise includes:
- Commercial litigation — he has run trials in the Federal Court of Australia, Supreme Court of Victoria and County Court of Victoria
- Alternative dispute resolution
- Regulatory and anti‑corruption enquiries and investigations
- Class actions
- Schemes of arrangement for mergers and acquisitions
Recent Projects
- Advising in relation to substantial defence procurement contracts with the Commonwealth of Australia.
- Acting for the developer of a new suburb on Melbourne’s western outskirts in disputes with its former partner and neighbouring developers.
- Acting for ANZ in Australia’s largest class action; customers who sought to recover fees such as those charged for late payments on credit card accounts on the grounds they were penalties were ultimately unsuccessful.
- Acting for a foreign-owned financial services provider suing a competitor established by its former CEO for breach of confidence and inducing its customers to breach their contracts with it.
- Acting for a Melbourne local council in litigation arising out of environmental contamination of residential areas caused by a landfill it had operated.
Sector
- Commercial Disputes ,
- Restructuring & Insolvency ,
Services
