Michael Campbell

Michael has extensive experience as a commercial disputes lawyer, having worked on numerous complex and high-profile cases both as a solicitor and during pupillage. Michael’s experience in this area includes:

• Município de Mariana & Ors v BHP
  As a solicitor at Slaughter and May, and as in-house counsel, Michael was part of the team advising BHP on what the Financial Times described as the “largest mass lawsuit in English legal history”, a multibillion-pound claim brought on behalf of c. 600,000 claimants. Michael was heavily involved in numerous aspects of the case, including disclosure, witness evidence, pleadings and case strategy.
• Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc v Goodrich Corporation [2023] EWHC 1637 (Comm)
  As a solicitor at Slaughter and May, Michael was part of the team acting for Rolls-Royce in relation to its claim for declaratory relief and its defence to a counterclaim for breach of contract. Michael assisted in all aspects of the dispute, including disclosure, fact witness evidence, expert accountancy evidence and trial preparation.
• As a pupil, Michael assisted Donald Lilly KC in successfully overturning an interim antisuit injunction originally granted to restrain multimillion-dollar proceedings in Brazil in favour of arbitration.
• As a pupil, Michael assisted Joseph Wigley in drafting Particulars of Claim in relation to an indemnity claim under a share purchase agreement.
• As a pupil, Michael assisted Joseph Wigley in advising a corporate investment vehicle as to its rights under a suite of debt securities contracts.
• As a solicitor at Slaughter and May, Michael was part of the team advising a multinational insurance company in relation to a claim by multiple Premier League football clubs under Covid-19 business interruption insurance policies.
• As a solicitor at Slaughter and May, Michael was part of the team advising a leading automotive manufacturer in relation to multibillion pound collective opt-in proceedings in the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

Michael’s experience in this area includes:

• Morgan v Morgan & ors
  As a pupil, Michael assisted Joseph Wigley in preparing witness statements and drafting a defence and counterclaim to an unfair prejudice petition concerning a family farming business.
• As a pupil, Michael assisted James Knott in drafting a skeleton argument concerning the scope of a company’s disclosure obligations in unfair prejudice proceedings.
• As a pupil, Michael assisted James Knott in advising a company in relation to a shareholder dispute concerning the dilution of a party’s shareholding following a debt-to-equity conversion.

Michael’s experience in this area includes:

• Barclays Bank PLC v Dylan [2024] EWHC 2776 (Ch) and [2025] EWCA Civ 20
  As a pupil, Michael assisted James Knott acting for Barclays Bank in all aspects of contempt of court proceedings against three alleged contemnors, including successfully resisting an appeal of a prison sentence in the Court of Appeal.
• Wang v Tianjin Gerui Electronic Technology Co Ltd
  As a pupil, Michael assisted Donald Lilly KC in appearing on behalf of a victim of a substantial Ponzi scheme fraud in China seeking compensation through the winding up of a Chinese company in England. The proceeds of the alleged fraud amount to c. USD 4 billion in Bitcoin, which have been frozen by the DPP pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act. The case concerns novel conflict of laws points as to the applicable law for proprietary claims to cryptocurrency.
• CNP Investments NV v Dovell Limited & ors.
  As a pupil, Michael assisted Donald Lilly KC in drafting a Reply and RFI in a claim for rectification following multiple alleged breaches of director duties under BVI law.
• As a pupil, Michael assisted James Knott with a claim by an officeholder against a former director which gave rise to issues of unjust enrichment / quantum meruit for services rendered to the company.

Michael’s experience in this area includes:

• As a pupil, Michael assisted James Knott in drafting a skeleton argument seeking a stay of High Court proceedings under the Insolvency Act 1986.
• As a pupil, Michael assisted Joseph Wigley in a private examination of a bankrupt connected to an ongoing high-profile multi-million pound insolvency.
• As a pupil, Michael assisted Donald Lilly KC in advising the administrators of a company in Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US in relation to the insolvency of a BVI cryptocurrency investment vehicle.
• As a pupil, Michael assisted Donald Lilly KC in advising in relation to the sale and assignment of claims by a trustee in bankruptcy.

Michael’s experience in this area includes:

• CNP Investments NV v Dovell Limited & ors.
  As a pupil, Michael assisted Donald Lilly KC in drafting a Reply and RFI in a claim for rectification following multiple alleged breaches of director duties under BVI law.
• As a pupil, Michael assisted Donald Lilly KC in advising the administrators of a company in Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US in relation to the insolvency of a BVI cryptocurrency investment vehicle.

Michael’s experience in this area includes:

• Wang v Tianjin Gerui Electronic Technology Co Ltd
  As a pupil, Michael assisted Donald Lilly KC in appearing on behalf of a victim of a substantial Ponzi scheme fraud in China seeking compensation through the winding up of a Chinese company in England. The proceeds of the alleged fraud amount to c. USD 4 billion in Bitcoin, which have been frozen by the DPP pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act. The case concerns novel conflict of laws points as to the applicable law for proprietary claims to cryptocurrency.

Michael’s experience in this area includes:

• As a pupil, Michael assisted James Knott in considering the impact of the sanctions regime on an offshore family trust involved in large scale Commercial Court litigation.

• Associate, Slaughter and May, 2022 – 2024
• Trainee Solicitor, Slaughter and May, 2020 – 2022

Qualifications

• GDL and Accelerated LPC, BPP University (2020)
• PhD in Philosophy, Duke University (2018)
• MA in Philosophy (First Class), Gonville & Caius College, University of Cambridge (2014)

Awards

Scholarship, Gonville & Caius College, University of Cambridge (2012 – 2014)