Michael Vincent

Profile – Dr Michael Vincent

Background

Michael joined Queens University Belfast School of Law as a Lecturer in September 2021. He began his career working as a corporate and commercial lawyer in the City of London, gaining expertise advising blue-chip clients across a wide-range of industries. This included a period seconded to a global advertising agency with responsibility for legal and company secretarial matters throughout the EMEA region and Russia. He has subsequently developed a portfolio of innovation in teaching & learning within Higher Education, having designed and led courses in response to strategic and policy demands. He was awarded Senior Fellow (SFHEA) status by the Higher Education Academy in 2020, and an ESRC-LSB funded doctorate by the University of Warwick in 2021. This empirical research considered the effectiveness of the SRA’s outcomes-focused regulatory regime in respect of conflicts of interest in large international law firms.

Achievements

University of Warwick, Ph.D Law (ESRC – LSB funded Scholarship) 

Senior Fellow Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) 

AdvanceHE Professional Development Course for External Examiners 

Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England & Wales 

Durham University, Law LLB (Hons) 

Current Teaching

Company Law & Corporate Governance (LLB) Core Module Leader/Developer (290 students)

International Commercial Law (LLM) Core Module Leader/Developer

Company Law and Corporate Governance (MLAW) Core Module Leader/Developer

Undergraduate/Postgraduate Research Dissertation Supervisor

Previous Teaching

Land Law (LLB) University of Warwick, University of Bristol

Trusts & Equity (LLB) Queen Mary University of London

Commercial Law (LLB) University of Birmingham

Accountancy & Finance (BSc) University of Birmingham

Clinical Legal Education (LLB) University of Bristol

Public Companies Law (LPC) University of Law

Business Law and Practice (LPC) University of Law

International Commercial Law (BPTC) University of Law

Core Professional Skills (LPC) University of Law

Finance and Business Skills (Professional Skills Course) University of Law

Administrative Appointments

Northern Ireland Pro-Bono Working Group. 

QUB Merit Award - Panel Assessor and mentor for staff undertaking the university's accredited Senior and Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy Award.

QUB StreetLaw Programme Co-ordinator - Responsible for leading the university's programme in Northern Ireland.

Personal Tutor to 27 undergraduate students across years 1 - 3 of study.

Nottingham Law School (External Examiner) (2019 – 2021) Appointed by the Academic Standards & Quality Committee to uphold quality assurance on the LLM/LPC Private Acquisitions, Corporate Finance, and LLM/BPTC Legal Research modules.

University of Bristol Law School Curriculum Review Committee (2017 – 2018) strategic re-design of the undergraduate curriculum to enhance student experience, employability and skills, and in response to policy and educational reforms.

Research & Scholarship Highlights:

ESRC - Legal Services Board funded PhD:                                                  

The SRA’s Outcomes-focused regulatory regime (OFR) governs the solicitor’s branch of the English legal services market. Michael worked collaboratively with the LSB and investigated the impact that OFR has made upon decision-making around conflicts of interest in large global law firms. This doctorate was supervised by Prof Julian Webb (University of Melbourne), and examined by Prof Emeritus Avrom Sherr (Institute of Advanced Legal Studies) and Prof Davinder Singh (Warwick).

Legal Services Board Secondment:                                                  

Supported the LSB's in-house research team, notably in examining the cost of regulatory compliance for consumers and providers since outcomes focused regulation was introduced to the legal services market.

Jubilee Centre, University of Birmingham Research Consultant:        

Consultant on the Centre's ‘Virtue, Practical Wisdom and Professional Education’ Research Report funded by the John Templeton Foundation.

University of Warwick:

Warwick – Stanford University Transatlantic Research Fellow – Awarded a competitive funded visiting fellowship.

Legal Practice Experience

Qualified as a solicitor in England & Wales in 2010 with an international law firm, developing a specialism in international commercial law, and also gained experience on secondment with the advertising agency DDB, overseeing legal and company secretarial matters across the EMEA region and Russia. Highlights included:

Advice within the fields of professional responsibility and regulation of the UK’s legal services market in a global context to several law firms and US State Bars;

Leading negotiations between Tribal DDB, subcontractors, and Diageo Plc.’s subsidiary Guinness Storehouse Limited in the digital renovation of the Guinness Storehouse Visitor Centre, Dublin;

Drafting a significant service agreement in collaboration with local Swedish counsel for the provision of services by The Cloud/BskyB across the Scandinavian Telenor ASA Mobile network;

Seconded to The Cloud/BSkyB to act as General Counsel on intellectual property, data protection, company secretarial, procurement, and employment matters;

Advocacy in the Employment Tribunal during proceedings relating to unfair and wrongful dismissal; discrimination, harassment; TUPE failure to inform and consult;

Drafting agency and distribution agreements and advising PharmaCare Limited (an Australian-owned pharmaceuticals company) on the e-commerce and Distance Selling Regulations;

Drafting DDB Europe Limited’s anti-bribery policy to comply with English anti-bribery legislation, then assisting human resources to develop new skills competencies for staff to comply with;

Commercial litigation research on behalf of Christie’s Auction House during High Court proceedings for an alleged negligent valuation of a portrait by the Italian artist Titian Vercelli;

Intellectual property research for the Smokeless Cigarette Company Limited on patent registration of its smokeless cigarettes under EU law;

Competition law research for Shell Oil on the application of block exemptions for anti-competitive arrangements under the EU Treaty and South American Mercosur regulations;

General commercial and contract law research and advice to Royal Mail for the purposes of updating standard terms and conditions relating to the carriage of dangerous goods in the post;

Local customary laws research on behalf of the British Arab Commercial Bank Plc. in litigation against the insolvent Al Gosabi Saudi business group to advise on the prospects of success in recovering a US$20 million loan; and

Tracing funds loaned by a major Russian bank to a fraudulent borrower through a complex international web of shell companies into which funds had been laundered.

Conferences & Seminars

"Taking Loyalty Too Far? Large Law Firms and Their Clients" Society of Legal Scholars Conference Oxford (June 2023) Presenter.

"How to Build a Commercial Law Clinic From Scratch" Irish Association of Law Teachers Conference Belfast (Nov 2022) Presenter.

"Regulating Contractual Conflicts of Interest" International Legal Ethics Conference University of California Los Angeles (Aug 2022) Panel Chair and Presenter.

"Outcomes Focused Regulation: A Failed Regulatory Experiment?" Irish Association of Law Teachers Conference Cork (Nov 2021) Presenter.

“Character and Ethics in Legal Practice” Jubilee Centre/Warwick Law School (Nov 2016) Organiser.

“Facilitating Access to Justice: Beyond Lawyers – A UK Perspective” International Legal Ethics Conference Fordham University, New York (July 2016) Presenter.

 “Ethics – A County East of London? Ethics in Commercial Legal Practice” University of Warwick & Osborne Clarke LLP (Nov 2015) organiser & Presenter.

“Power Practice and Privilege: Corporate Law Firms and Corporate Clients” ESRC Conference Birmingham University (June 2015) Presenter.

Publications

Virtue, Practical Wisdom and Professional Education (Jubilee Centre Research Report, Birmingham, 2017)

Challenging Traditional Rationalistic Models of Lawyer Decision-making – the Role of Self-view, Parallel Influences and Post-Rationalisation of Behaviour (SLS Conference, 2019)

Facilitating Access to Justice: Alternative Business Structures in the United States (International Legal Ethics Conference Paper, July 2016)

Copyeditor June 2015 Special Edition International Journal of Law in Context ‘International Economic Law, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development’.

Company Secretary’s Review Journal Case Law Analysis (LexisNexis):

-       “Autoclenz Limited v Belcher and Others” Vol. 35 Issue 1/1

-       “Publicis Consultants UK Ltd v O’Farrell” Vol. 35 Issue 9/1

-       “P Lancaster v TBWA Manchester” Vol. 35 Issue 8/2

-       “Cherfi v G4S Security Services Limited” Vol. 35 Issue 7/1

-       “McKie v Swindon College” Vol. 35 Issue 6/1

-       “Gosden v Lifeline Project Ltd” Vol. 35 Issue 4/1

-       “Eversheds Legal Services Ltd v De Belin” Vol. 35 Issue 3/1

-       “Sakharkar v Northern Foods Grocery Group Ltd (t/a Fox’s Biscuits)” Vol. 35 Issue 1/1

-       “British Airways Plc. v Mak” Vol. 34 Issue 26/1

Memberships

Westminster Higher Education & Legal Policy Forums

Society of Legal Scholars

International Association of Legal Ethics

Socio-Legal Studies Association

Association of Law Teachers

AdvanceHE/Higher Education Academy

Law Society of England & Wales