Michael William White, born 30 November 1939, is a barrister and legal academic with a particular specialism in maritime law. After a career in the Royal Australian Navy, retiring as a Lieutenant-Commander in 1969, he attended the University of Queensland and earned a Bachelor of Commerce (1973) and Bachelor of Laws (1974). He worked as a barrister for 24 years in Brisbane, and was made Queen's Counsel in 1988. He also earned a PhD in Law (1994, Bond University). Since 1999 he has been an academic at the University of Queensland. He has a particular interest in family history, and has collected extensive research material on different branches of the Duckett White family in Australia, culminating in the publication of two books, An early settler : the Duckett White family in Australia (1990) and 19th Century Pioneer : Frank Villeneuve Nicholson Family in Australia (2016). In 2016 he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to maritime law and to naval history.