After reading law at Queens' College Cambridge, Michael was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple in 1974 where he was a Duke of Edinburgh Scholar and Paul Methven Scholar. After pupillage with Standing Counsel to the Department of Trade, he practised in mixed common law chambers until 1977 gaining experience of most types of civil and criminal work. He transferred to the government legal service where he became a Senior Legal Adviser in the Solicitor's Office of HM Customs & Excise.His work there included criminal prosecutions in complex VAT and duty frauds, VAT appeals and litigation, legislative drafting and advising on European Community law and customs duties.

From 1986 his career path was dictated in particular by the sudden demand for indirect tax expertise by major accountancy and law firms. He joined KPMG as a Senior Tax Manager then moved to Coopers & Lybrand in 1988 where he became a tax partner jointly responsible for the firm's flourishing indirect taxes practice. In 1991 he decided to return to mainstream legal practice and to requalify as a solicitor. He was a Senior Manager in the tax department at Freshfields and in 1993 moved to Allen & Overy where he was a tax partner until 1997.

Michael decided to realise a longstanding ambition and return to the practising bar. He was re-admitted to the Inner Temple in September 1997 and took silk in 2002, transferring to Temple Tax Chambers in January 2009.