He was a son of High Court Judge Sir Cecil Havers and brother of Dame Anne Elizabeth Oldfield Butler-Sloss (born 1933) who in 1988 became the first woman named to the Court of Appeal and later President of the Family Division.
Michael Havers was named a Queen's Counsel in 1964 and became a member of the Privy Council in 1977. He was elected to the House of Commons representing Wimbledon in 1970 and served until 1987. He served as Solicitor-General in the Heath government from 1972 to 1974, and as Attorney-General from 1979 to 1987 under Margaret Thatcher. In June 1987 he became a peer and Lord High Chancellor but was forced to resign that October due to ill health.
His son is the actor, Nigel Havers.