The Brief:
Hall & Wilcox has hired corporate partners James Hill, Alasdair McLean and Hugh Scales, all from Piper Alderman.
The trio join Melbourne on 1 July 2026, deepening the firm’s M&A, capital raising and corporate advisory capability.
Hall & Wilcox has bolstered its Melbourne office, appointing corporate partners James Hill, Alasdair McLean and Hugh Scales, all from Piper Alderman. It’s the latest step of a growth strategy positioning the firm as a real competitor to Australia’s top-tier firms.
The trio lead a well-established corporate practice.
Hill acts for private and ASX-listed clients across agriculture, carbon trading, financial services, funds management, venture capital, energy and resources, civil infrastructure and health sciences.
McLean advises clients across financial services, funds management, energy and resources, infrastructure, industrials and manufacturing, agriculture and IT.
Scales works across mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring, capital raisings, managed investment schemes and financial services.
Chief Executive Partner Graydon Dowd said the appointments show the firm’s commitment to building capability through both organic growth and strategic lateral recruitment.
“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.”
Hall & Wilcox now counts more than 155 partners across eight offices.
The move follows Gadens’ own partnership drive, adding eight new partners across four offices to push its national bench to 117 in April, as it pivots hard towards tier one corporate work.
Mid-tier firms muscling in on top-tier territory shows no signs of slowing down.
Source: Hall & Wilcox