Recent work has included:- On-going judicial reviews of HMRC decision-making in relation to penalties and discovery assessments - Working with a leading Magic Circle law firm on a multi-billion dollar international tax case involving questions of tax treaty interpretation and constitutional law - Advising a local authority on the tax liability of a potential disposal of an art collection worth over £4m- Advising in a complex £12m corporation tax avoidance case… Show more Recent work has included:- On-going judicial reviews of HMRC decision-making in relation to penalties and discovery assessments - Working with a leading Magic Circle law firm on a multi-billion dollar international tax case involving questions of tax treaty interpretation and constitutional law - Advising a local authority on the tax liability of a potential disposal of an art collection worth over £4m- Advising in a complex £12m corporation tax avoidance case involving beneficial loan arrangements, COP9, and international trade agreements. - Advising a leading recruitment company on the applicability of the DOTAS rules to claims for the employment allowance (s.1 NICA 2014) - Representing an Appellant utility company in the Tax Tribunal. The Tribunal set HMRC's Sch 36 FA 2008 Information Notice aside, and HMRC's attempts to seek further information in the context of an investigation into the Appellant's use of an offshore trust vehicle were adjudged to have been unreasonable. HMRC had issued protective Regulation 80 determinations and Section 8 decisions to the tune of c.£2m in light of the taxpayer's alleged failure to comply with the Information Notice. The net effect of the taxpayer's success in the Tax Tribunal was to nullify the basis for the protective assessments. - Advising the taxpayer in a forthcoming judicial review of an Accelerated Penalty Notice- Representing the successful Appellant in the Privy Council (led by Nigel Lickley QC) in R v Lawrence.- Representing the successful Appellant employer in Kids City Ltd v Gayle (UKEAT/0106/13/MC). The EAT (HHJ Eady QC) held that the Tribunal's decision that the dismissal was unfair was perverse. - Representing the successful Claimant in M v The Chief Constable of North Yorkshire, a sex discrimination case brought by a serving firearms officer. The case was listed for 3 weeks. The Tribunal awarded aggravated damages as well as damages for injury to feelings. Show less

Court of Appeal: October 2009 – March 2010 Judicial Assistant to Lord Dyson. March 2010 to August 2010 Judicial Assistant to Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, Master of the Rolls.Michael spent a year as a judicial assistant at the Court of Appeal. During his secondment Michael wrote opinions on the merits of over 75 cases, including:R (on the application of Davies & Gaines Cooper) v HM Revenue & Customs [2010] EWCA Civ 83 (16 February 2010):… Show more Court of Appeal: October 2009 – March 2010 Judicial Assistant to Lord Dyson. March 2010 to August 2010 Judicial Assistant to Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, Master of the Rolls.Michael spent a year as a judicial assistant at the Court of Appeal. During his secondment Michael wrote opinions on the merits of over 75 cases, including:R (on the application of Davies & Gaines Cooper) v HM Revenue & Customs [2010] EWCA Civ 83 (16 February 2010): http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2010/83.htmlWhether the Appellant taxpayers had a legitimate expectation that HMRC would apply the policies within its guidance document, IR20, in determining whether taxpayers were resident and ordinarily resident in the UK for tax purposes.Ladele v London Borough of Islington [2009] EWCA Civ 1357 (15 December 2009): http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2009/1357.htmlA landmark case on whether a Christian registrar, who was opposed to same-sex civil unions, could object to presiding over such civil ceremonies on the grounds of her religious beliefs under Article 9 ECHR and the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003, SI 2003/1660. R v Chaytor & Ors [2010] EWCA Crim 1910 (30 July 2010): http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Crim/2010/1910.htmlAn appeal from the decision of a Crown Court judge to the Court of Appeal Criminal Division (Sir Anthony May (President), Lord Judge (Lord Chief Justice) Lord Neuberger (Master of the Rolls)) on whether 3 Members of the House of Commons and 1 Member of the House of Lords were immune from prosecution, having been indicted for false accounting contrary to section 17 of the Theft Act 1968. The case was a legal first on the meaning of Article 9 of the Bill of Rights 1968 and the nature and extent of Parliamentary privilege. Show less

Employment law, local government law, housing law, human rights law, judicial review.