Director – JHB.
MICHAEL POWER.
Michael is a Director and Co-founder of ALT Advisory and a public interest lawyer and strategist.
ABOUT MICHAEL.
Michael is an Attorney of the High Court of South Africa and a Director and Co-founder of ALT Advisory.
He holds B.A., LL.B. (with Distinction), and LL.M. in Public International Law (with Distinction) degrees from the University of Witwatersrand, and a Certificate in International Trade Regulation from the World Trade Institute, University of Bern. Michael is also an Executive M.B.A. candidate at the Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town.
Michael focuses on rights-based advisory, research, communications, and strategic and test case litigation in the areas international law and development, public law and policy, information rights and media sustainability, climate justice, and emergent technology.
He has a particular interest in advising on the development and implementation of human rights-related laws and policies at the domestic, regional, and international levels, and on rights-based tools and strategies to achieve public interest outcomes. He also supports social enterprises and civil society organisations with strategic development, sustainability, and organisational structuring.
Michael has advised activists, journalists, social enterprises and civil society organisations, and international and multilateral institutions, which include various agencies of the United Nations and organs of the African Union. He has published multiple academic articles and research reports on human rights-related matters and he has provided commentary and analysis to the New York Times, the Washington Post, and CNBC Africa, among others.
Michael is also a Director and Co-founder of Power & Associates (2018-), a public interest law firm which works in association with ALT Advisory, and currently acts as an adviser to the International Network of Civil Liberties Organisations (INCLO) in its Civic Space thematic area.
33%
Percentage of annual profits allocated to pro bono and public interest projects.
200+27
Number of successfully completed advisory projects in 27 jurisdictions since 2017.
MICHAEL’S RECENT WORK.
- Supporting the South African National Editors’ Forum and community media organisations with a series of written and oral submissions to the Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry initiated by South Africa’s Competition Commission.
- Developing a diaspora engagement framework for the Economic, Social & Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) of the African Union.
- Providing ongoing strategic guidance and project management support to the International Network of Civil Liberties Organisations (INCLO).
- Co-authoring a report for the International Network of Civil Liberties Organisations titled “Lethal in Disguise 2: How Crowd-Control Weapons Impact Health and Human Rights“.
- Crafting an advocacy campaign for the ratification of the Malabo Convention.
- Conducting research on how to make democracy appropriate for a time of social media, global connectivity, digital communication, artificial intelligence, and data-driven surveillance.
