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BigLaw firm Hall & Wilcox has made a significant play for corporate talent by taking three partners from national law firm Piper Alderman.
Hall & Wilcox has strengthened its national corporate practice, appointing three corporate partners to its Melbourne office as part of its ongoing growth strategy.
The BigLaw firm’s newest partners are James Hill, Alasdair McLean, and Hugh Scales (all pictured), who joined the firm’s Melbourne office on 1 July 2026.
The trio joins from Piper Alderman, bringing with them more than 20 years of combined experience at the national law firm.
Speaking on the appointments, Hall & Wilcox chief executive partner Graydon Dowd said the trio’s deep corporate expertise and established client relationships would further strengthen the firm’s corporate capabilities and enhance its ability to support clients throughout every stage of their business life cycle.
“James, Alasdair, and Hugh bring deep corporate and commercial expertise, strong client relationships, and a highly regarded practice that complements our existing capabilities,” Dowd said.
“Their appointment grows our Melbourne corporate practice and enhances our ability to support clients nationally across the full life cycle of their business.”
He added: “We continue to see strong demand for commercially focused legal advice from clients operating in increasingly complex and competitive markets. Bringing in a team of this calibre strengthens our position in the market and creates opportunities across a number of practice areas for our clients and our people.”
In a statement, the firm described the three partners as leading a “well-established” corporate practice that advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, capital raisings, corporate advisory, funds management, and regulatory matters.
National head of corporate James Morvell said the trio’s proven ability to build high-performing teams, coupled with their strong client relationships, would ensure a seamless integration into the firm’s growing corporate practice.
“James, Alasdair, and Hugh bring not only valuable new client and referrer relationships to our corporate practice, but also an outstanding track record of building high-performing teams and fostering supportive, high-performance cultures,” Morvell said.
“I am confident that this strong alignment in client service and collegiate values will ensure a seamless and successful integration into our already thriving practice.”
Speaking on behalf of the new partners, McLean said Hall & Wilcox’s collaborative culture and breadth of expertise across complementary practice areas made the move a natural fit, adding that the trio was eager to contribute to the firm’s continued momentum.
“Corporate matters and our clients’ needs rarely exist in isolation, so joining a firm where collaboration is embedded in the culture, and which offers outstanding depth and capability across complementary practice areas, is a natural fit,” McLean said.
“We believe Hall & Wilcox has emerged as one of Australia’s standout independent law firms, and we’re excited to contribute to that momentum.”
