Dr. Michelle Sharpe

Dr Michelle Sharpe is a barrister, and a member of the Victorian Bar and New South Wales Bar, practicing primarily in the area of general commercial and regulatory law specialising in contract and consumer protection law. She has appeared both for and against regulators and businesses both large and small. She regularly appears in all jurisdictions in Victoria and in the Federal Court and New South Wales Supreme Court.

In November 2018 Michelle was named 'Barrister of the Year' in the Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Awards.  In 2021 Michelle was elected as the Convenor of the Women Barristers Association, and was ranked by Best Lawyers in the area of commercial law.

Michelle is the author of Unconscionable Conduct in Australian Commercial and Consumer Contracts published by LexisNexis in August 2018.  She has also published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters in the areas of consumer protection and legal ethics. Michelle also writes a column, in the Law Institute Journal and the Law Society of New South Wales Journal, reporting on recent cases in the High Court of Australia. She holds a first class honours degree from the University of Adelaide and a PhD from the University of Melbourne.

In 2006 Michelle was a founding member of the Victorian Bar's Health and Wellbeing Committee and was involved in establishing a wellbeing program which included a 24/7 counselling service for barristers. This program was a finalist for the Australian Psychological Society Health and Wellbeing Award for 2015. Michelle has also given papers and written publications on the subject of mental ill health in the legal profession.