Michael Pearce SC is an Australian barrister and senior counsel whose practice encompasses commercial, administrative, constitutional and employment law. He has also served as editor of the Victorian Reports, president of Liberty Victoria and Honorary Consul-General of Germany in Melbourne.
Background
Michael Pearce attended Melbourne Grammar School and took part in an Australian-German student exchange in Meppen, Germany, in 1972–1973. He later travelled and worked in the United Kingdom, where he taught French and English at a primary school, and returned to Germany. His early interest in journalism changed direction after he followed Australia's 1975 constitutional crisis while abroad, leading him to pursue a legal career. His longstanding engagement with German culture and Australian-German educational exchange later informed his public and community roles.
Education
Pearce attended Melbourne Grammar School before undertaking tertiary study at the University of Melbourne. He completed a Bachelor of Arts and then a Bachelor of Laws, graduating in 1981. He subsequently undertook postgraduate research in international law through the Australian National University and worked as a research assistant at the University of Hamburg in Germany. His academic and professional development also included legal work in the United States and continued engagement with Germany.
Career
Pearce began his legal career through an articled clerkship at a Melbourne law firm and was seconded to the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department in Canberra in 1984. Before coming to the Bar, he worked for several years as a banking and finance solicitor, including with Blake Dawson Waldron, where the existing biography records him as a partner. He later worked in commercial law with a firm in Washington, D.C., and New York, and served as a research assistant at the University of Hamburg. He was admitted to practice in 1982 and joined the Victorian Bar in 1991, becoming Senior Counsel in 2005. As a barrister, he has practised broadly in commercial law, especially contract, property, trade practices, equity, corporations and company law, and has appeared in civil appeals and civil penalty proceedings, including matters concerning directors' duties. His practice has also included administrative, constitutional, human-rights, employment, private international, taxation and professional-negligence matters. He edited the Victorian Reports from 1995 to 2003 and remained their consulting editor until 2016. From 2013 to 2015 he served as a sessional ombudsman with the Financial Ombudsman Service. He became Honorary Consul-General of Germany in Melbourne on 1 September 2012 and has served as an independent technical director of Community Enterprise Housing Limited since March 2023.
Achievements
Admitted to legal practice in 1982 and appointed Senior Counsel in 2005 after developing a broad practice at the Victorian Bar.
Edited the Victorian Reports from 1995 to 2003 and continued as consulting editor until 2016.
Served as president of Liberty Victoria from 2008 to 2010.
Appointed Honorary Consul-General of Germany in Melbourne on 1 September 2012.
Listed as a reputable lawyer by Martindale-Hubbell.
Supported scholarships and long-term access to legal education through gifts and a bequest commitment benefiting Melbourne Law School.
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2013
Views
Pearce has expressed the view that professional development should be supported by curiosity, flexibility and a broad education, rather than by technical training alone. He has also articulated a commitment to widening access to legal education and to civil liberties.
Quotations:
"I am a great believer in misspending some of your youth."
Membership
Pearce has been involved in the Victorian Bar and in organisations concerned with civil liberties, legal reporting, education and Australian-German relations. He was president of Liberty Victoria from 2008 to 2010. He has served as vice-president of Scholarships for Australian-German Student Exchange (Victoria), as a director and responsible person of The Deloitte Foundation, and as a member of the Victorian Council of Law Reporting. He has also supported access to legal education through regular gifts and a bequest commitment benefiting scholarships at Melbourne Law School.
Practising barrister and Senior Counsel.
Victorian Bar
,
Australia
1991 - present
President.
Liberty Victoria
,
Australia
2008 - 2010
Vice-president and committee member.
Scholarships for Australian-German Student Exchange (Victoria)
,
Australia
2009 - present
Director and responsible person.
The Deloitte Foundation
,
Australia
2011 - present
Member.
Victorian Council of Law Reporting
,
Australia
2006 - present
Personality
Pearce has described curiosity, independence and broad education as important influences on his life and career. He has expressed a sustained interest in German culture and in widening access to legal education.
Quotes from others about the person
Professor Michelle Foster, Dean of Melbourne Law School, has described Pearce's philanthropic support as contributing to the accessibility of legal education for talented students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Interests
German culture, Australian-German student exchange, international affairs and legal education.
Connections
Pearce has maintained a longstanding professional and personal connection with Germany beginning with his student exchange in 1972–1973 and continuing through postgraduate study, professional work and cultural engagement. That connection contributed to his appointment as Honorary Consul-General of Germany in Melbourne in 2012. He has also supported Australian-German educational exchange through his involvement with Scholarships for Australian-German Student Exchange (Victoria).
References
University of Melbourne: A Life of Curiosity and a Legacy in Law
Documents Pearce's education, early travel and teaching, legal career, postgraduate research, support for Melbourne Law School scholarships and planned retirement from the Bar and honorary consulship.
2026
Michael Pearce SC - Barrister
Documents Pearce's admission, Victorian Bar practice, Senior Counsel appointment, areas of legal practice, editorship of the Victorian Reports, Liberty Victoria presidency, honorary consulship and professional memberships.
Where Are They Now? - Issue 3
Documents Pearce's Melbourne Grammar School education, 1972–1973 German exchange, Arts/Law studies, legal career, German interests and role as Honorary Consul-General.
