Sir Michael Burton, whose father was a QC, went to school at Eton College, then to university at Balliol College, Oxford. He was called to the Bar by Gray's Inn in 1970. He practiced commercial and employment law at Littleton Chambers, and was Head of Chambers there from 1991 to 1998. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1984, and was a Recorder from 1989 to 1998, when he was made a Judge of the Queen's Bench Division. He was nominated to sit as a Commercial Judge, and was also appointed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal, of which he was President from 2002 to 2005. He served on the Investigatory Powers Tribunal from 2000 to 2013, for the last five years as President. After retiring from the Bench in 2016, he continued to sit frequently in the Commercial Court as an additional Judge. He is also a Judge of the Commercial Court of Abu Dhabi, and practices as an arbitrator. In 2019, he was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire for services to the rule of law.

Sir Michael is the senior editor of 'Civil Appeals', and is an accomplished amateur dramatist. He also enjoys singing.