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:

• Mirza v Lewin [2026] EWHC 1423 (Ch) – Acting as junior counsel in series of applications, including for a stay of enforcement of a costs order, for charging orders and for an examination under CPR Part 71. Earlier in the same proceedings Michael also acted in an application for a personal and proprietary freezing injunction.
• Acting as sole counsel in the trial of a debt claim in Norwich County Court. Michael successfully led settlement negotiations concluding shortly before the commencement of trial.
• Município de Mariana & Ors v BHP [2025] EWHC 3001 (TCC) – 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 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.

Michael’s experience in this area includes:

• Morgan v Morgan & ors [2026] EWHC 384 (Ch) – As a pupil, Michael assisted Joseph Wigley in responding to an unfair prejudice petition concerning a family farming business. Michael assisted in all aspects of pleading the claim and preparing witness evidence.
• 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.
• As a pupil, acting as sole counsel, Michael advised a company in relation to a potential claim regarding substantial property transactions under section 190 of the Companies Act 2006.

Michael’s experience in this area includes:

• Acting for the Defendants to an allegedly eight figure deceit and unlawful means conspiracy claim arising from the sale of shares in an international sports franchise (led by Andrew Hunter KC, Emma Horner and Nick Wright).
• 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.

As well as regularly appearing as sole counsel in the winding-up court and in bankruptcy matters, Michael’s experience in this area includes:

• Ms Georgina Marie Eason (in her capacity as Official Liquidator of Bank Sarasin-Alpen (ME) Limited) CFI 005/2016 – As a pupil, led by Sharif Shivji KC, Albert Sampson and Hossein Sharafi, Michael acted in an application for court sanction of a settlement agreement in the context of a company liquidation, the first of its kind in the DIFC.
• As sole counsel, Michael successfully obtained an annulment of a bankruptcy order under s. 261, 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.

Michael’s experience in this area includes:

• Ms Georgina Marie Eason (in her capacity as Official Liquidator of Bank Sarasin-Alpen (ME) Limited) CFI 005/2016 – As a pupil, led by Sharif Shivji KC, Albert Sampson and Hossein Sharafi, Michael acted in an application for court sanction of a settlement agreement in the context of a company liquidation, the first of its kind in the DIFC.
• 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.

Michael’s experience in this area includes:

• As sole counsel, Michael has appeared in Nottingham Magistrates Court to resist an application by HMRC for an account freezing order.
• 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)

• Contributor to Loose and Griffiths on Liquidators (10th ed. forthcoming).