He sought to build a firm that “could work across the full breadth of the entertainment industry”
When Australasian Lawyer first interviewed Marcus Walkom in 2022, we learned that he once dreamed of headlining Rod Laver Arena as a rock star. That year, he did become a headliner of sorts when he was announced as the head of Media Arts Lawyers’ Brisbane office.
With the closure of Media Arts Lawyers this year, Walkom went on to launch his own entertainment law-focused firm, Walkom Entertainment Lawyers (WEL), as peers Rob Glass and Julian Hewitt did with their firm Hewitt Glass.
“I learned a lot during my time at Media Arts Lawyers and was fortunate enough to have been involved in the exponential growth of Media Arts Lawyers driven by the globalisation of the industry and strong leadership at the firm”, Walkom told Australasian Lawyer. “WEL’s launch follows my incredible 14-year journey with Media Arts Lawyers – a firm that, through the support and guidance of exceptional mentors, peers and colleagues, helped shape the lawyer I am today”.
He described WEL as “a new home where I can continue doing the work I've always loved”.
“I wanted to build a firm that could work across the full breadth of the entertainment industry - from developing talent taking their first significant steps through to globally successful artists and established creative businesses”, Walkom shared. “Regardless of where someone is in their career, they deserve high-quality, commercially focused advice and a lawyer who understands not only their immediate needs and ambitions, but more broadly the industry they operate in”.
He explained that WEL’s main focus is to guide creative talent in Australia through their crossovers to global markets.
“For us, it’s not just standard legal advice. It’s knowing the nuances of international deals and how to get them done, future-proofing our artists with insight into where the market is going, and setting them up for genuine global success”, Walkom told Australasian Lawyer.
He explained he was deeply motivated by the opportunity to build a practice “where every client at any level is serviced in the best possible way, and for us to be involved more broadly as a trusted advisor”. Brisbane, he said, came up as “the natural headquarters”.
“It has an incredibly strong creative community, it is home for me, and in an ever more globalised world, you can build a genuinely international professional-services business from here”, Walkom told Australasian Lawyer. “Whilst a lot of the industry is centred around Melbourne and Sydney, Queensland, together with the Northern Rivers region, continues to produce outstanding artists, entertainment businesses and executive talent. It’s certainly a growth-city and region and will continue to grow as we head towards the Olympics in 2032. Plus the weather is better!”
