He attended Sydney Boys High School from 1912 to 1915, and in 1916 entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon, as a staff cadet.
He was appointed King's Counsel in 1940, and wrote on Australian company law with Percy Spender and later with John Young.
[1] Wallace appeared frequently before the High Court and often represented the New South Wales commissioner of stamp duties before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
He was knighted in 1968 and acting chief justice from 1 October 1968 to 3 February 1969; his swift rise in seniority earned him the ire of some colleagues.
In January 1970, having reached the statuary retirement age, he was instead called upon to preside over the 1970–74 royal commission into oil drilling on the Great Barrier Reef.