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Cliff Buddle

THE news that Michael Thomas QC is quitting Hong Kong was greeted with mixed reaction by his colleagues in the legal profession.

   Almost everyone praised him as a 'skilful lawyer' with 'a fine legal mind'.

  But his detractors said he was 'very arrogant and dismissive' and some were not sad to see him go.

 The lawyer is known as an intensely private and intelligent man who does not suffer fools gladly.

 Colleagues believed Mr Thomas, considered one of Britain's two best Admiralty lawyers, may return to his chambers in London. He is recognised as an expert in shipping and arbitration.

 He married Lady Dunn on April 2, 1988.

 Most lawyers were taken by surprise at Mr Thomas' announcement. Gerry McCoy said: 'I hadn't heard he was going. He's an excellent lawyer. He has superb skills in presentation.

 'He is of outstanding intellectual calibre . . . irreplaceable in Hong Kong. He has made so many contributions to our law.'  But another lawyer said: 'He's not just arrogant, he's very arrogant and very dismissive too.

 'He is a very powerful, effective silk and made a success of being attorney-general. But I think he has been highly competent at protecting his own backside.'  Asked what he thought Mr Thomas would do in Britain, he said: 'Count his money.'  Mr Thomas, 62, was attorney-general from 1983 to 1988 and was no stranger to controversy during the last decade. He advocated an end to trial by jury in complex commercial crimes and faced criticism for not offering a full explanation of his decision not to prosecute Australian tycoon Alan Bond in 1987.

  Mr Bond had made apparently conflicting statements about the value of shares in his corporation. He later admitted he might have unintentionally misled the market and said he sincerely regretted the error.

  There were rumours that Mr Bond might have broken the law and that a prosecution would follow. But Mr Thomas announced he had exercised his discretion and decided not to prosecute.

  Mr Thomas started his legal career in 1955 when he was called to the Bar. From 1966 to 1973 he was junior counsel to the minister of defence and to the Treasury in Admiralty matters.



Skilled QC known for his arrogance