Practice Profile
Commercial
Michael has been instructed on cases at all levels of the tribunal and court hierarchy in England and Wales, from the first-tier tribunals to the UK Supreme Court. He has acted in 4 cases heard by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Luxembourg.
Michael regularly appears in commercial courts in England & Wales (including the Business & Property Courts List) and international commercial courts at first instance and appellate levels.
As a “hands-on” practitioner, he is instructed in cases requiring detailed legal research and analysis. He has an ability to master complex factual circumstances and relishes getting to grips with a welter of evidence (e.g., acting as sole Counsel for a party in a case involving c. 400,000 pages of documents – which, physically, filled some 600 lever-arch files – and in which over 40 witnesses were called).
He has spent more than a decade building a strong professional profile in the Gulf. He is regularly retained to advise and act for parties in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) jurisdictions, particularly in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts (CFI and CA) and in the Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM) jurisdiction (full details available on request).
He is a member of the Scientific Board of the MENA Business Law Review.
Arbitration
In arbitrations, Michael has broad experience both as counsel and as arbitrator. As arbitrator, he has acted as sole arbitrator, panel-Chair, and panel-member. His experience includes arbitrations held under ICC, LCIA, DIFC-LCIA, DIAC and LMAA institutional rules, as well as in ad hoc arbitrations.
When acting as counsel, he will often be leading a multi-jurisdictional legal team.
He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb), holds a post-graduate diploma (with merit) in International Commercial Arbitration from Queen Mary University of London. He is a member of the international advisory committee for the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA) and is a member of international arbitration organisations. Through his in-depth knowledge of the Gulf and MENA regions, he has extensive connections with arbitral institutions, arbitrators and practitioners across the GCC, Egypt and the Levant.
Indirect taxation
Michael’s specialist expertise in indirect taxation (VAT and excise duties) has been developed over some 20 years of practice. He has argued cases from the first-tier Tax Tribunal to the Court of Appeal, and has been counsel in 3 CJEU VAT cases (Optigen/Bond House, Halifax and Bonik EOOD). In Bonik, he appeared jointly with Bulgarian counsel on a reference made by the Bulgarian Courts.
Multi-jurisdictional experience
Michael has a proven successful track-record of leading multi-national teams in litigation and arbitration, and is adept at working in civil law, as well as common law environments.
Mediation
Michael is a CEDR-trained mediator (accredited in 2015). He is experienced in using mediation for the successful resolution of commercial disputes and undertook a CEDR “peer review” further training course in 2017.
Work Undertaken
Michael specialises in commercial litigation, arbitration (international and domestic), indirect taxation (VAT) and commercial mediation.
Full CVs setting out Michael’s experience in each of his areas of professional experience are available on request.
Publications
Michael has written and published widely on legal topics:
- Patchett-Joyce, Michael, Specialist Techniques for Construction Dispute Resolution: How Many Ways Can the Cat Be Skinned?, BCDR International Arbitration Review 4, no. 1 (2017): 73-98,. Kluwer Law International BV;
- Patchett-Joyce, Michael, The New Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration, MENA Business Law Review #4, 2016: 8-11];
- Patchett-Joyce, Michael, E-Justice: The Next Step in Dispute Resolution, FinanceME, Issue 52, September 2016, CPI Financial;
- Patchett-Joyce, Michael, VAT in the GCC – the Issues Explored and The New VAT Laws and Regulations in KSA and the UAE, MENA Business Law Review #3, 2017: 27-38, and “scientific coordinator” (guest editor) for this MENA Business Law Review Special Edition;
- Series of articles in The National newspaper (UAE national daily broadsheet) in 2017 in run-up to VAT implementation on 1 January 2018;
- Patchett-Joyce, Michael (editor and narrator), Resolving Disputes Today, CIArb Audiobook, January 2020
And (forthcoming):
- A book chapter in a forthcoming book on differences (and complementarities) between the common law and civil law in international arbitration;
- A book chapter in a forthcoming book on international commercial courts
Academic Lectures
Over recent years, Michael has delivered a very well-received series of lectures on the DIFC Courts Law for the DIFC Academy. He has also given a module on costs in the DIFC Courts as part of a DIFC course on common law practice and procedure.
Next month (July 2020), Michael will again be the lead presenter on VAT at the Summer Course on European Tax Law hosted by the European Law Academy (ERA), Trier, Germany. Michael has previously delivered the course to delegates in a lecture format in Trier, but the course will be delivered remotely this year.
Michael is also developing a more extensive experiential-learning course on contract drafting in conjunction with an international academy of law.
Conferences and Seminars
Michael is a sought-after speaker at conferences and seminars on his areas of experience.
In addition to in the UK, he has recently spoken at conferences and seminars in Germany, South Africa, UAE (Dubai and Abu Dhabi), Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and Kazakhstan.