Mike specialises in complex regulatory law issues, including contentious competition law disputes, public international law issues and large regulatory investigations into issues such as abuses of human rights, fraud, money laundering; sanctions busting; export control, data protection and cyber issues.

He is the former head of Competition Law and Regulation at DLA Piper.

Mike has acted for numerous major corporations and governments. Most recently he acted for the government for the Foreign Ministry of the State of Qatar in drafting a report on human rights on the construction sector in the run up to the 2022 World Cup. He is still retained by the State of Qatar to advise on such issues.

Mike acted for the previous Government of Libya in the negotiation with the Libya EU Free Trade Agreement. He was also the senior legal advisor to the Government of Lithuania on legal reform as part of the accession process under an EU technical assistance programme.

He has been involved in numerous complex competition law cases. Highlights include defending CEVA Logistics in the freight forwarding cartel; acting for Pernod Ricard in its dispute with the Havana Club, which led to a change in Competition Law relating to the rights of defence. Mike also acted for two directors of pharmaceutical companies in a case involving allegations by the Serious Fraud Office of conspiracy to defraud the NHS by price fixing.

Mike has conducted matters in front of numerous major regulators including the European Commission of the European Court, the General Court, the Competition Appeals Tribunal. He has also dealt with the European Commission, the Serious Fraud Office, the Financial Conduct Authority, HM Customs and Revenue and the Information Commissioners Office.

In addition to this, Mike has run numerous cases which have had an international dimension which stretched over numerous jurisdictions, including managing a major international completion investigation in 9 jurisdictions.

Mike has significant experience in cyber investigations from both a legal perspective and from a perspective of dealing with the public relations consequences.

He also regularly advises on the legal and provisional consequences of various strategies and lines of action taken by governments and major corporations.

Mike graduated from Lancaster University with an Honours Degree in Law, where he was awarded the graduates’ law prize. He also spent nine months at the University of Limburg in Maastricht, Netherlands where he was part of the university’s Jessop International Moot Court team. The team’s written memorials came third in the international competition and he was awarded the ASSER Institute prize.

Mike then undertook his Masters Degree in EU and International Law at the Free University of Brussels and graduated with an LLM (cum Laude).

He is qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales and as an Attorney in the State of New York.

Mike is a member of the Royal Institute of International Affairs and the Arab British Chamber of Commerce.

He is a freeman of the City of London.

Mike is also the co-author, together with John Brody Donald, of a book entitled “a Bolt from the Blue” which gives insight into why companies fail to deal properly with interventions by the regulator.