West Australian full-service firm HHG Legal Group has restructured its leadership team as part of a major overhaul, introducing employee ownership and new pathways to leadership.
After more than a century in operation, HHG Legal Group has unveiled sweeping reforms to its leadership and ownership model – changes the firm describes as its most significant transformation since being founded in 1919.
HHG has introduced a dual model of new partnerships and an employee share scheme, designed to accelerate growth across its five offices in Western Australia.
The introduction of an employee profit-sharing model, internally named the “HHG Peak Performance Rewards Trust”, will allow staff across the organisation to share in the firm’s financial results.
Developed over nearly two years of intensive work by senior management, the Western Australia-based firm shared that the initiative is designed to align the interests of individuals with those of the organisation.
Another component of the overhaul is the launch of the Preparing Internal Leaders of Tomorrow program, developed in partnership with the Australian Institute of Management.
The full-service firm stated that the initiative aims to provide leadership training for “new and emerging leaders”, addressing what it describes as a “common weakness” in traditional law firm business planning.
As part of the transformation, the Western Australia-based firm has appointed Merrill MacNish as its new chief executive officer, following her two-year tenure as chief operating officer.
In a statement, the full-service firm said MacNish has been “instrumental” in preparing HHG Legal Group for its next phase of growth and development.
The firm has also elevated four senior lawyers – Dr Steven Cohen, Ben Majoe, Matthew Lilly and Riaan Piek – to the partnership, a move it said reflects both their “considerable contributions” and its “commitment to recognising excellence”.
HHG explained that these changes are necessary for mid-tier firms in Western Australia to keep pace with pivotal shifts, including “navigating fast-changing client expectations, significant increases in overheads, technological disruption, and ever-evolving workplace dynamics”.
Murray Thornhill, managing director of HHG, described the firm’s recent changes and initiatives as a “fundamental shift” in its approach to leadership and ownership.
“This evolution represents more than structural change – it’s a fundamental shift in how we approach leadership and ownership in a modern legal practice,” Thornhill said.
“By broadening our management structure and introducing employee ownership, we’re creating pathways for talent to flourish whilst ensuring our team shares directly in the success they help create.”
