Mike was born in Grahamstown on 22 June 1955. He attended Graeme College in Grahamstown. Having matriculated he completed a BProc degree at Rhodes University whilst simultaneously completing his articles at Green and Truter in Grahamstown
He was admitted as an Attorney of the Eastern Cape Division of the Supreme Court on 22 February 1979. In 1980 he moved to East London and took up a position as a professional assistant with the firm F W Cooper and Rein. In 1983 he joined Marshall & Kaplan as the Conveyancing Partner where he continued to practise in the fields of Conveyancing, Commercial Law and the administration of deceased estates until the amalgamation between Marshall Kaplan Inc, Bax Incorporated and L Mbandazayo Incorporated in March 2004
Mike is married to Lee and has a daughter Philippa who has just commenced studies at Rhodes University in Journalism and Media Studies. Mike is a keen sportsman and has played first league cricket, squash and tennis and has represented Border at Tennis. He is also a keen hunter and a fisherman.
He is a member of the Gately Rotary Club and served a term as President in 1996 and is a Paul Harris fellow. He also served as President of the Border Veteran's Tennis Association for more than a decade.