Sir Michael, who previously practised law from Littleton Chambers, retired from the High Court in 2016 but continues to sit as president of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, which rules on issues involving surveillance and the secret services. He has instigated a series of reforms at the tribunal to increase transparency.
Other lawyers on the prestigious list include Dame Frances Nash, legal director at the Department for Work and Pensions, who was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath. OBEs were awarded to Edinburgh University’s Professor Hector MacQueen, professor of private law; Grace Ononiwu, Chief Crown Prosecutor, West Midlands; Northern Ireland solicitor Jill Downing; Joanna Greenidge, deputy director, Government Legal Department; Iona McDonald, Senior Sheriff, Kilmarnock Sheriff Court; Nicholas Moss JP, magistrate and bench chair, North and North East Hertfordshire Bench; Nicola Pittam, senior lawyer, Statutory Instrument Hub, HM Treasury; and Karl Young, senior lawyer, HMRC.
MBEs went to White & Case banking partner Joshua Siaw, and Herbert Smith Freehills partner and global head of practice, alternative legal services, Libby Jackson.