Michael Astley was born in 1928 and was educated at St Peter’s College in Adelaide. He was the son of John Felix Astley, an Adelaide solicitor and barrister who was also associated with the legal firm that later became Finlaysons. Michael Astley belonged to an Adelaide legal family and developed his own career in South Australian commercial law.
Astley attended St Peter’s College in Adelaide before studying law at the University of Adelaide. He graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1951, establishing the academic foundation for his subsequent legal practice and partnership at Finlaysons.
Astley built his professional career in Adelaide as a lawyer with Finlaysons, becoming a partner and later serving as chairman of the firm’s partners. The firm operated under successive names including Finlayson, Phillips, Astley & Hayward before becoming Finlaysons. After his principal legal practice, Astley worked as a consultant to the South Australian firm and extended his professional activities into corporate governance. He served as a director of AIDC Ltd and Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd, where he was a non-executive director from 1990 until 2001. He also chaired the Pooled Development Funds Registration Board, a Commonwealth body established under the Pooled Development Funds Act 1992. Astley was named as an appellant in Astley v Austrust Limited, a solicitor-and-client negligence case decided by the High Court of Australia in 1999.
Astley participated in professional and public-sector activities associated with South Australian legal practice, corporate governance, and Commonwealth investment policy. His public appointments included chairing the Pooled Development Funds Registration Board.
Michael Astley was the son of John Felix Astley, an Adelaide lawyer who became a partner in the firm that developed into Finlaysons. His family connection to the Adelaide legal profession preceded and paralleled his own career as a partner and chairman of partners at the firm.
