Michelle Butler > Matrix Chambers > London, England > Barrister Profile
Matrix Chambers Offices
GRIFFIN BUILDING, GRAY'S INN
LONDON
WC1R 5LN
England
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Michelle Butler
Position
Barrister specialising in public and private international law, arbitration, crime, commercial law, civil liberties and human rights.
Career
Qualified solicitor 2002 (New South Wales); called to the Bar 2007 (Inner Temple); trained Matrix 2007-08; member 2008; FCO Public International Law C Panel (2014). Publications include: Clayton and Tomlinson’s ‘Law of Human Rights’ (2009), the International Bar Association’s ‘Manual on International Criminal Law’ (2010), ‘Human Rights and Criminal Justice’ (2012) and Livingstone, Owen & Macdonald’s ‘Prison Law’ (2015).
Education
University of Queensland (2000, BA); 2002 LLB (first class); College of Law (2002); University of Cambridge (2004, LLM).
Lawyer Rankings
London Bar > International crime and extradition
(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 1Michelle Butler –Matrix Chambers ‘Michelle is superb.’
London Bar > Public international law
(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 2Michelle Butler –Matrix Chambers ‘Michelle is one of the very few to have done a witness examination before the ICJ, and she does it extremely brilliantly. She is outstanding.’
Members of Matrix Chambers are active across the whole range of public international law including investment treaty claims, state-versus-state disputes as well as cases before the ICJ and are frequently called upon to advise on international legal issues arising in the UK litigation context. The set was bolstered in March 2023 with Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC taking silk. On the junior end, Toby Fisher joined in September 2022 from an in-house role in the New Zealand government – he was instructed to act on behalf of New Zealand to intervene in the ICJ proceedings brought by Ukraine against Russia under the Genocide Convention. In a high-profile ICJ case concerning the status and location of the land boundary between Venezuela and Guyana, Edward Craven represented Guyana in its high-profile ICJ dispute with the government of Venezuela, which claims more than half of Guyana’s territory by rejecting an 1899 arbitral award. Michelle Butler, led by Antony White KC, is instructed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to contest jurisdiction in the claim of Ghanem Al-Masarir, represented by Richard Hermer KC, on the basis of sovereign immunity – the Saudi dissident claims damages in the London courts for the alleged hacking of his mobile phone using Pegasus spyware.
London Bar > Administrative law and human rights
(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 4London Bar > International arbitration: counsel
(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 2Michelle Butler –Matrix Chambers ‘Strengths include her deep knowledge and expertise in various fields, whether in public international law or commercial matters. She has impressive fact-finding skills and distinguished capabilities in analysing the facts, is a valuable asset in any legal team due to the miscellaneous aspects that she can cover and handle during the arbitration process. She is always very cooperative with other members of the team.’