Michael has a wealth of experience handling high stakes cyber events. He has acted on some of the largest and most sensitive data breaches for Australian and international companies, government agencies and educational institutions.
Michael supports clients to lead the cyber crisis response, coordinating the forensic, communication, government engagement, insurance and legal aspects of a major data breach. He represents clients in responding to regulatory inquiries, OAIC representative actions and class actions arising from cyber incidents.
He advises boards and senior executives on their responsibilities in overseeing cybersecurity and data protection. Michael also works with companies to develop or review incident response plans, leads tabletop exercises, and trains executives in cyber response. He is retained by boards to provide independent advice and oversight of data breach responses where significant risks arise.
A litigator with more than 20 years’ experience, Michael is at the forefront of the fast-changing liability, regulatory investigation, and civil penalty regimes, developing and implementing defence strategies to minimise ongoing liability and cost. He regularly acts for clients suffering ransomware or data theft attacks to obtain injunctive relief to protect stolen data sets, preventing access and republication. Michael also advises and represents technology clients in complex litigation, focusing on significant liability issues and contractual disputes. He is recognised as a leading alternative dispute resolution lawyer.
Michael leads Corrs Legal Technology Solutions group and is the Sydney pro bono partner. He has a significant interest in the intersection of human rights and technology and is the chair of the Diplomacy Training Program, based at the UNSW law school.
Key deals
Cyber response
Michael has acted for a number of major companies in responding to cyber security breaches. A sample of the matters he has acted on include:
- Advising a multinational professional services firm advising on and co-ordinating its response to a cyber related system vulnerability.
- Advising a large Australian University in relation to a series of large data breaches involving multiple notifications to the whole University community, including acting in Supreme Court injunction proceedings.
- Advising on and overseeing a breach response, forensic investigation and reporting for an ASX listed company in respect of unauthorised access to the e-mail accounts of senior corporate officer.
- Advising an IVF provider in relation to a ransomware attack and the publication of data on the dark web, including acting in Supreme Court injunction proceedings.
E-discovery and technology in law
Michael has overseen a significant number of major e-discoveries in some of Australia’s largest matters.
Michael is also recognised as one of Australia’s leading legal technologists and has been involved in the development of a number of award winning initiatives.