Gadens partners Natalie Bannister and John O'Kane have made the move to Hall & Wilcox. Bannister specialises in environmental and planning law with a focus on resources, while O'Kane's  primary area of expertise is front and back end construction with a particular focus on health-related developments such as hospitals.

Hall & Wilcox managing partner Tony Macvean told ALB that he was optimistic about workflows in his firm's real estate practice and said that the potential for work covered the full spectrum of activity from front end to back end and from residential to commercial. "We have perceived a fair bit of activity in the market and there are opportunities out there," he said.

While there has been talk of a new era of aggressive mid-tier firms poaching talent from larger rivals, Macvean says that this is not necessarily a new trend. "That said, we are talking to [potential senior recruits] all the time - there is an opportunity for high quality firms to pick up good people - but not necessarily more or less so than before," he said.