Michael signed the Bar Roll in 1990 following 10 years as a solicitor, including 5 years as a Partner at Doyle & Kerr in Geelong.

Michael is an experienced advocate practicing in all criminal and quasi-criminal jurisdictions. He appears regularly for both prosecution and defence in jury trials in the Supreme and County Courts, Appellate Courts and before regulatory and investigative bodies. He has extensive experience in Federal criminal matters, in particular in relation to large scale drug importations, terrorism offences and complex “white-collar” fraud matters. Trial and Court of Appeal matters have included the “Pong Su” case (Korean nationals charged with a $150 million heroin importation) and “Operation Bluewing” (Importation of 3 tonnes of hashish).

Michael was appointed In-House Counsel for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions in 2001, a role he held until 2004. He is a Committee Member of the Victorian Criminal Bar Association. He is the author of the recent Criminal Bar Association policy submission on Extradition, Mutual Assistance and the Death Penalty, a policy endorsed and supported by the Victorian Bar Council. Michael also instructs in an Advocacy Training Program for the Dhaka Bar Association in Bangladesh facilitated annually by the Honourable Murray Kellam QC.

Michael is a member of the Foley's List committee.