1 July 2026 marks a major milestone for Williams + Hughes: it is 40 years since the firm’s founding in 1986 as a commercial law firm concentrating on corporate, business, resources and property law.

What began as a small, boutique practice has grown into one of Western Australia’s leading commercial and litigation law firms. In particular, the firm now has one of Perth’s leading commercial litigation practices, broadening its capability well beyond its original commercial law roots.

The firm’s growth has always been deliberate rather than opportunistic. In 2007, Williams + Hughes opened a branch office in the regional mid-west city of Geraldton, and in 2013 further expanded that practice by acquiring another Geraldton firm, Altorfer & Stow. Ruby & Associates joined Williams + Hughes in 2025, a move that’s kept the firm connected to WA’s regional business community, not just its Perth CBD base.

That momentum has continued right up to this anniversary year: as of 1 November 2025, MDS Legal merged with Williams + Hughes, bringing together two long-standing WA firms and deepening the combined practice’s strength across commercial law, litigation, property, and succession planning.

What makes this 40th anniversary especially meaningful is that founding partner David Williams is still practising at the firm he established back in 1986. Based in the West Perth office as Commercial Counsel, David continues to advise on corporate, business and resources matters, drawing on four decades of experience across major acquisitions, sales and complex commercial transactions. But more than that, David is someone whom we all turn to for guidance and wisdom.

Today, Williams + Hughes is recognised as one of Western Australia’s leading firms of commercial lawyers, operating out of Perth and Geraldton. The firm’s client base spans high net worth individuals, small to large businesses, private companies, ASX-listed companies, and multi-national groups, with core expertise in litigation and dispute resolution, commercial law and contracts, probate and estates, and property and leasing.

Our firm’s reach extends internationally too, as Williams + Hughes is the exclusive Western Australian member firm of Meritas, giving clients access to more than 9,000 lawyers across 175 firms in nearly 250 markets worldwide.

Forty years on, the central theme is consistent: pragmatic, commercially astute advice, delivered by a firm that has grown its footprint from a small Perth practice to a mid-sized firm with genuine metropolitan and regional reach and a global network, without losing the client-first focus it started with.