Michael is a specialist construction lawyer with over 25 years' experience. He advises on contracts and procurement but his principal focus of work involves helping clients during the course of a project when claims arise and in dealing with formal disputes.

He has advised in relation to a wide range of UK and international projects, including oil & gas, civil engineering, transport, renewable energy, offshore, office development and land remediation. In relation to such projects, he has acted for the full range of participants involved in the construction industry, including developers, energy companies, government organisations, contractors and consultants. His work has involved matters in all parts of the world, including Europe, the Middle East, the Americas, Africa and South-East Asia.

Michael has experience of acting in relation to a wide variety of claims, including delay, disruption, variations, defects and termination disputes; and in relation to the full range of forums for dispute resolution including mediation, adjudication, DABs, arbitration and litigation. He has acted for clients in relation to very complex and high value claims, including a number of disputes in excess of US$1 billion.

He worked previously in the highly ranked specialist construction practice at Winward Fearon/Maxwell Winward, at which he was a partner from 2001. The construction team from that firm moved to HFW in April 2013.

Michael is the author of Construction Contract Variations, the only specialist book on the legal issues relating to changes to the scope of work on construction projects which has been described in reviews as "a master guide" (Doug Jones, International Construction law Review) and "an indispensable classic" (Simon Rainey KC, Law Society Gazette). He is involved in a number of industry and academic bodies. He teaches on the Stuttgart University Construction Law Masters course; is a member of the Consultation Board for the Thomson Reuters legal resources website Practical Law, and was on the panel of friendly reviewers for the FIDIC second edition suite. He also regularly speaks at industry conferences.

Michael is one of only a small number of "Leading Individuals" ranked as the top construction lawyers in the UK by the independent directory Legal 500. See also the following client quotes from the legal directories: "outstanding, personable and well-informed" (Legal 500, 2015), "a great communicator" (Legal 500, 2016), "good at understanding complex issues and finding pragmatic solutions" (Legal 500, 2017), "technically skilled, extremely thorough and hard-working" (Chambers & Partners 2017), “a clear thinker who gives his honest assessment of the problem and the likely outcome" (Chambers & Partners, 2019). "Michael Sergeant is an outstanding litigator, a brilliant manager of very large multinational and multi-disciplinary teams,and has superb commercial awareness. He is a very good lawyer, and astute to the commercial objectives of clients; and he has enormous experience of, and expertise in, disputes in the Middle East." (Legal 500, 2020), “impressive practitioner who is incredibly practical, skilled and experienced" (Chambers & Partners, 2021), “Michael Sergeant is well-versed in international arbitration" (Legal 500, 2023), "Michael is masterful in his strategy - he provides clarity in murky waters." (Chambers & Partners 2024), "He always manages to get to the point in a very short time, and provide the support that is actually required and needed." (Legal 500, 2024), "Michael Sergeant and team are a pleasure to work with. They are continuously available and manage to create a comfortable and positive work environment even when dealing with complicated matters." (Legal 500, 2024)