Appointed one of Her Majesty's Counsel in 1996, Galbally has made the move to private practice after working on a number of Australia's key corporate and criminal cases, and providing advice to some of Australia's largest sporting clubs and governing bodies, as well as entertainment corporations.

Galbally told Lawyers Weekly today that he made the shift to Madgwicks because the firm provides him with "a very large commercial team with a lot of experience and expertise in litigation and dispute resolution", as well as significant superannuation expertise.

"Corporate governance, risk management and breaches of directors' duties are a major part of my practice and they (Madgwicks) have got a great 'add-on' to what I do," he said.

Galbally's expertise in commercial litigation and dispute resolution is well-known, and he is regularly called upon to provide comment on various issues including corporate governance, human rights, privacy and superannuation regulation - proving a valuable asset for Madgwicks.

For young lawyers at Madgwicks, such broad experience will provide an opportunity to gain some valuable mentoring. "I have a lot more younger lawyers that I can mentor," said Galbally. "Younger lawyers are not just interested in being mentored from the pure legal, but also advocacy and speaking opportunities, which I do a lot of.

"I can assist young lawyers here in preparing themselves and teaching them how to go about presenting to large and different groups."

Madgwicks managing partner Peter Kennedy said in a statement: "Not only is it a tremendous addition to our practice, it represents a good opportunity for our younger lawyers to work alongside someone of David's calibre".

Galbally also takes part in sporting, company and charity administration, chairs an industry superannuation fund and sits on the board of a publicly listed clean energy company, Alzheimers Australia and the Royal Children's Hospital's Centre for Hormone Research.

- Briana Everett