John Buxton (pictured), who was the co-managing partner of Canberra under DibbsBarker, has been named as the principal of corporate and commercial by McInnes Wilson.

Mr Buxton, who is also a qualified mediator, has expertise in commercial law litigation, banking and finance, professional disciplinary law, property, estate planning and franchising.

Ben Gulan has been appointed as the principal of property and financial services.

His background lies in the building and construction industry, and he specialises in property development transactions.

John Hill has been named principal of insolvency, recognising his expertise in recovery and defence of voidable transactions in corporate and personal insolvencies.

Keith Fleming has been appointed principal of litigation. His specialisation has been in strategic insurance litigation in general insurance, public liability, workers compensation and professional negligence.

Finally, Shelley Mulherin has been made principal of commercial litigation.

Ms Mulherin is an expert in contractual disputes, shareholder disputes, insolvency matters and corporate government issues.

McInnes Wilson also opened locations in two other states in May, with their Adelaide office launching on 1 May and Melbourne on 23 May.