Philip Hall

Spear’s Review

Philip Hall moved to Britain from New Zealand in 2007. Since then his career has revolved around strategic communications – previously for Finsbury and now as a senior partner at Portland, where he leads the firm’s disputes team and its private client offering.

As a specialist in litigation communications and crisis management, Hall says his HNW clients often arrive ‘when something has gone terribly wrong’. He must be doing something right, as an increasing flow of referrals from law firms has helped grow Portland’s disputes team to 12 people.

‘Lawyers now know that strategic comms – not just reputation work – is an essential part of managing the issues that private clients face.’

Adviser Profile

Philip is a qualified barrister and solicitor. He founded and leads Portland's specialist Litigation & Disputes practice, which advises family offices and HNW clients on complex legal actions, conflicts and crises across multiple countries, sectors and jurisdictions. With a flow of referrals from top-tier law firms, Philip’s team is a go-to agency for lawyers with clients engaged in complex disputes.

‘Lawyers now know that strategic comms – not just reputation work – is an essential part of managing the issues that private clients face,’ says Philip, who also oversees Portland’s Philanthropy, and Sustainability, Purpose and ESG, offers. He advises HNW clients and their foundations on many of the most pressing global issues.