Michelle Taylor
PartnerAbout Michelle
An accomplished lawyer with more than 25 years' experience as a litigator, Michelle specialises in maritime and transport law.
Michelle features as a leading shipping and transport practitioner in Chambers, Legal 500, Doyle’s and Best Lawyers. She is also very active in the maritime and transport industries including being the President of the Maritime Law Association of Australia and New Zealand (MLAANZ) and on the Executive of the Australian Maritime and Transport Arbitration Commission (AMTAC).
Michelle has been recognised internationally for her extensive shipping experience and of casualty and pollution matters in particular. Her casualty experience includes some of the most significant maritime incidents in Australian and New Zealand waters in recent years.
With exceptional skill in marine insurance, including hull, liability, pollution, cargo and transit claims, Michelle has been at the forefront of drafting insurance policy wordings for the Australian and London markets. She has significant expertise in admiralty practice, as well as maritime related disputes in the Asia Pacific region.
Her depth of knowledge in relation to the road transport industry is extensive, with Michelle being involved with the defence of many high-profile prosecutions under chain of responsibility legislation, including the Heavy Vehicle National Law.
Michelle has more than a decade of working with Commonwealth Government, including the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and the Department of Defence. She was recently invited to contribute to the Commonwealth Government's consultation on the Wreck Removal Convention.
Michelle has a Master of Laws in Maritime Law from UQ (Dean's Honour Roll for outstanding academic excellence).
Michelle joined Sparke Helmore as a partner from the Transport Team at Colin Biggers & Paisley. Before that, she worked as a maritime lawyer with Norton Rose Fulbright for eight years.
Michelle spends every spare moment with her family. She has combined her love for travel and the ocean by learning to dive on shipwrecks. She also enjoys cello concerts and running with her sons.
