Michael Byrne

After qualifying in 2014, Michael spent over three and half years in private practice before moving in-house in 2018. He spent just under a year at a sub-sea engineering/ defence company, before joining Thermo Fisher Scientific, a multinational life sciences corporation, in 2019. When the Coronavirus pandemic was declared in 2020, Michael played a key role in Thermo Fisher Scientific’s work with governments, healthcare providers (both public and private) and supranational organisations in the fight against COVID-19. In August 2022, he was headhunted to join UserTesting, a US-headquartered SAAS company. Initially hired as the company's sole counsel outside of the US, following some M&A activity that increased the legal team's headcount, he was promoted to lead first the EMEA legal team in 2023 and then the global commercial contracts team in 2024.

Michael is heavily involved with UserTesting's efforts in the field of AI, sitting on UserTesting's AI Governance Group, leading projects on implementation of AI tools, and advising on AI-related contractual issues. In February 2019, he obtained certification as an AI Governance Professional from the IAPP.

Outside of work, Michael sits on the Law Society of Scotland’s In-house Lawyers Committee and the Commercial Actions User Group at the Court of Session.

When not working or volunteering, he spends his time looking after his growing family, reading military history, cycling and hiking.