Mike is an experienced specialist commercial and construction lawyer practising in all forms of contract-related work generally. He has specialised in insurance contract law since being called to the Bar in 1989. Mike has an outstanding academic track record (including a first in law awarded in an accelerated two academic year period rather than the usual three). He was first recommended by Chambers & Partners as early as the mid-1990s as one of the leading juniors practising in commercial law in the North West. His practice has developed substantially and consistently since that time.
Mike practises and accepts instructions across all areas within insurance contract law. He has been instructed in particular in, and is specialist in, the following areas of insurance contract law:
Acting on behalf of both Insureds and Insurers in the context of insurance contract disputes relating to the international carriage of goods.(His previous experience before being called to the Bar as an international management consultant acting on behalf of a range of international agencies including the World Bank (based in Washington DC) ITC UNCTAD GATT (United Nations based in Geneva) and the EC Commission (based in Brussels) has contributed substantially to his expertise in this general area. Mike had experience of international insurance arbitrations in the course of his consultancy career.)
Cases again on behalf of both Insured Clients and Insurers in disputes relating to Insurers’ refusal to indemnify.
Claims brought under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999
Disputes relating to the interpretation and construction of insurance contracts.
Cases relating to proposal forms and non-disclosure/duty of disclosure/good faith issues.
Actions addressing the role of insurance intermediaries and the (prospective) liability of intermediaries in contract, particularly in the context of the intermediary’s failure to provide the requisite cover.
• Construction and interpretation of employment law contracts
• Drafting of employment law contracts
• Commercial agency and the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993 as amended
Mike has practised in the above areas of employment law primarily in the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal. He has appeared equally (but less frequently) in actions in the High Court and the County Court.
Insurance Cases
Typical insurance cases in which Mike has been involved successfully in the context of the above subject areas are illustrated below:
• More than 30 cases (on behalf of Owners Carriers and Insurers) involving insurance claims relative to the (international and domestic) carriage of goods by road and sea.
• Advice provided to Clients in more than 40 cases relative to the meaning and effect of terms and conditions incorporated into contracts of insurance.
• A successful £500,000+ claim maintained by an Insured against the Insurer in the context of the latter’s refusal to indemnify the Insured relative to his fire insurance claim. The action was settled by the parties in the Claimant’s favour part way through the trial.
• A successful claim brought by a second person named on the insurance policy faced with an Insurer’s refusal to indemnify in the context of a vehicle insurance policy.
• The above are no more than examples of the range of cases in which Mike has been involved in his 20+ years practising in insurance law generally.
