Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
I’m a Senior Lecturer at UWA Law School where I teach civil procedure and various private law subjects.
I have a keen interest in all aspects of private law but a specialisation in the principles applicable to cross-border litigation (private international law or the conflict of laws). In particular, I am interested in cross-border media law issues involving freedom of expression and privacy: subjects which I have commented upon on national television, at TEDx, and in academic journals.
I combine my academic work with legal practice: I work on litigious matters as a consultant at Bennett + Co. I’m also general editor of the Media & Arts Law Review and a reporter for the New South Wales Law Reports.
My academic research has been cited by the Supreme Court of New South Wales, by parliamentary committees, and in the extra-judicial writings of two High Court judges. I’m a regular contributor to popular media platforms, including the ABC. One of my recent pieces of commentary has been read more than 140,000 times.
In the ‘Fall’ of 2018 I researched conflict of laws and privacy law at Harvard Law School, where I also taught a couple of classes to JD and LLM students. In 2019 I am Visiting Scholar at the Hague Conference on Private International Law, which is developing a multilateral convention on the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments.
I am originally from Bunbury, Western Australia, and attended UWA Law School as a Fogarty Foundation Regional Scholar. Apart from my legal studies, I hold an Honours degree in philosophy and an MBA with Distinction. My PhD is supervised by David Rolph and William Gummow.
Books forthcoming in 2019:
Michael Douglas, Vivienne Bath, Mary Keyes and Andrew Dickinson (eds), Commercial Issues in Private International Law: A Common Law Perspective (Hart Publishing)
Martin Davies, Andrew Bell, Paul le Gay Brereton and Michael Douglas, Nygh’s Conflict of Laws in Australia – 10th edition (LexisNexis)
Research
Teaching overview
Future research
In 2019, I'm working on the 10th edition of Nygh’s Conflict of Laws in Australia, with Martin Davies, Andrew Bell and Justice Brereton, and the 6th edition of Balkin & Davis – Law of Torts, with David Rolph, Jason Varuhas and Penelope Crossley, each published by LexisNexis Butterworths.
Previous positions
Lecturer/Associate Lecturer, Curtin University
Solicitor, Lavan Legal
Industrial relevance
I'm a litigation lawyer, admitted in the Supreme Court of Western Australia and the High Court of Australia. I'm a Consultant at Bennett + Co in the firm’s commercial litigation and dispute resolution practice. I've worked on a wide variety of litigious matters and have appeared as counsel in the Supreme Court of Western Australia.
I'm a former director of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) National Coordination Committee for Australia. In 2013, I interned at the UNCITRAL Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific in South Korea, where he researched investor-State dispute settlement. I maintain an interest in the harmonisation of laws in respect of business, particularly in respect of private international law.
Funding overview
BarNetwork Pty Ltd project grant: $10,000 (2018)
UWA Teaching-Research Nexus grant: $2,500 (2018)
Walter Reid Scholarship – PhD travel scholarship, University of Sydney: $7,000 (2018)
Postgraduate Research Support Scheme, University of Sydney: $3,000 (2018)
CMCL & IPRIA ECR Workshop travel grant, Melbourne Law School (2017)
External positions
Barrister and Solicitor, Supreme Court of Western Australia and High Court of Australia
Consultant, Bennett + Co
Editor, Media and Arts Law Review
Reporter, New South Wales Law Reports, Council of Law Reporting for New South Wales
Network
Recent external collaboration on country level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots.
Research Output 2013 2019
Choice of Law in the Age of Statutes: A Defence of Statutory Interpretation after Valve
Douglas, M., 2019, (Accepted/In press) Commercial Issues in Private International Law: A Common Law Perspective. Douglas, M., Bath, V., Keyes, M. & Dickinson, A. (eds.). Hart PublishingResearch output: Chapter in Book/Conference paper › Chapter
Commercial Issues in Private International Law: A Common Law Perspective
Douglas, M. (ed.), Bath, V. (ed.), Dickinson, A. (ed.) & Keyes, M. (ed.), 2019, (Accepted/In press) UK: Hart Publishing.Research output: Book/Report › Edited book/Anthology
High Court – Appellate jurisdiction – Leave to appeal – Circumstances when leave necessary – Distinction between interlocutory and final judgment: Plaintiff S164/2018 v Minister for Home Affairs (2018) 92 ALJR 1039
Douglas, M., 2019, In : Australian Law Journal. 93, 2, p. 97 3 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate
The Proposed Hague Judgments Convention in Australian Law
Douglas, M., Keyes, M., McKibbin, S. & Mortensen, R., 2019, (Accepted/In press) In : Federal Law Review.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
A global injunction against Google
Douglas, M., Apr 2018, In : The Law Quarterly Review. 134, Apr, p. 181-187Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
Prizes
UWA Fogarty Foundation Regional Scholarship
Michael Douglas (Recipient), 2005
Prize/award: Other distinction
Activities 2018 2018
Communications and Media Law Association (External organisation)
Michael Douglas (Member)Activity: Membership types › Membership of professional association
Media and Arts Law Review (Journal)
Michael Douglas (Editor)Activity: Editorial work or peer review of publications › Editorial activity
Law Society of Western Australia (External organisation)
Michael Douglas (Member)Activity: Membership types › Membership of professional association
National Association of Australian University Colleges (External organisation)
Michael Douglas (Member)Activity: Membership types › Membership of professional association
Society of Legal Scholars (External organisation)
Michael Douglas (Member)Activity: Membership types › Membership of professional association
Press / Media
‘The futility of media suppression in the digital era’, Gazette of Law & Journalism (online)
14/01/19
1 media contribution
Press/Media: Press / Media
Interviewed for The World Today, ABC, regarding the Queensland Premier’s calls for COAG to consider right to be forgotten legislation
13/12/18
1 media contribution
Press/Media: Press / Media
Interviewed on ABC Radio Perth – Breakfast regarding chief harness racing steward Barbara Scott’s defamation victory and defamation by social media
6/12/18
1 media contribution
Press/Media: Press / Media
Interviewed on ABC Drive WA regarding Gayle damages award against Fairfax and defamation law reform
3/12/18
1 media contribution
Press/Media: Press / Media
Quoted in the Financial Review: ‘Frustration over Federal Court judgment delays’ and ‘Justice delayed: Federal Court judgments can take years to write’ (print and online)
26/10/18
1 item of media coverage
Press/Media: Press / Media