Macrae Adds Four Recruiters Amid Growing Demand for Sophisticated Partner Search Expertise

Macrae, a premier transatlantic legal search firm that places partners and groups at the world’s leading law firms, is pleased to announce it has recently welcomed four new recruiters. Partner Jon Truster has joined the firm’s New York office along with Managing Directors Rose Corbett and Neda B. Levy, while Managing Director Justine Donahue has come aboard in Washington, D.C.

“The intense competition for top-tier lateral partners shows no signs of slowing and we continue to be exceptionally busy in each of our markets. Our strengthened team is well positioned to meet the growing demand from elite firms for sophisticated partner search expertise.”

Macrae’s expansion follows a standout performance in 2021 in which revenue soared by 90%, marking the second consecutive year it came close to doubling. The firm placed twice as many candidates as in 2020, including through an increased number of group moves and office openings, and average revenue per recruiter rose 60%. Deal size grew as well, with Macrae recruiters securing salaries in excess of $2 million for one in four attorneys placed. The majority of Macrae’s placements were into Am Law 50 firms.

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“I’m delighted that Jon, Rose, Neda, and Justine have chosen to continue building their impressive careers at Macrae. I believe they are each a great cultural fit and share our commitment to close collaboration and the harnessing of collective intelligence, which are among the cornerstones of our business,” said Founder and Chairman Joe Macrae. “The intense competition for top-tier lateral partners shows no signs of slowing and we continue to be exceptionally busy in each of our markets. Our strengthened team is well positioned to meet the growing demand from elite firms for sophisticated partner search expertise.”

Partner Jon Truster is widely regarded as one of the most skilled and knowledgeable legal recruiters in the New York market. Over his 25-year career, he has helped hundreds of senior lawyers and groups across practice areas advance their careers by making strategic lateral moves to the right firm at the right time. Likewise, he has worked with dozens of law firms to enhance their New York presence and build out both emerging and well-established practices. Truster was previously Co-Head of Lateral Partner Placement at Greene-Levin-Snyder. He holds a B.S. in international business from Florida Atlantic University.

Macrae’s three new Managing Partners share a common background as practicing attorneys, bringing experience and insight gleaned from their years at law firms and beyond to their work with candidates and clients.

Rose Corbett joined Macrae from Audrey Golden Associates, where she was a managing director focused on partner and in-house recruiting. Her 20-year legal career prior to becoming a recruiter included roles as a litigator at Willkie Farr & Gallagher and as in-house senior regulatory and litigation counsel at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse. She holds a JD from St. John’s University School of Law, an MBA from Fordham University and a BS from Fairfield University.

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Neda B. Levy came to Macrae from executive search firm Rhodes Associates, where she placed C-suite and senior-level executives including in-house counsel. In the course of her 15-year legal career prior she practiced at Kronish Lieb Weiner & Hellman (now Cooley); served as General Counsel for Tahl Propp Equities, a leading Manhattan-based real estate investment, development and management company; and was Chief Administrative Officer at Douglaston Development, one of the largest and most active residential developers in New York City. Levy earned her JD at Temple University Beasley School of Law and her BA from the University of Rochester.

Justine Donahue has been helping attorneys in the D.C. area navigate their careers since 2014, when she joined her former firm Garrison & Sisson. Her 13-year legal career prior included working as a litigator at Cohen Milstein and Frommer Lawrence & Haug, and at the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, where she led merger investigations and litigated significant multi-district class actions. Donahue is co-founder of the Women’s Antitrust Forum, which brings together senior-level antitrust practitioners for substantive programs and networking events. She received her JD from American University Washington College of Law and her BA from Lehigh University.

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In addition to enlarging its recruiter ranks, Macrae has enhanced its robust recruiter support infrastructure, adding Knowledge Manager Sara Anderson in the San Francisco Bay Area, Knowledge Manager Bozuma Acquaah and Associate Knowledge Manager Trevor Ross in Washington, D.C., and Knowledge Manager Renée Saddler in New York. The 12 members of Macrae’s global knowledge management taskforce provide vital organizational and research support to recruiters in their local markets, collaborate in cross-office projects, and work closely with clients to guide the recruiting process. They also play a central role in managing the firm’s real-time collective intelligence platform, which equips recruiters with up-to-the-minute information about the dynamics, trends and law firm activity driving the world’s key legal markets.

Macrae’s growth from a handful of recruiters and support staff five years ago to a diverse transatlantic team of 35 today has been driven by a business model that is distinct in the legal recruiting space. It calls not only for the sharing of intelligence across markets, but also for an inclusive culture marked by collaboration rather than competition and an unusually high degree of transparency into the firm’s operations. The firm aims to continue deepening its global footprint by bringing on additional talent at all levels in the year ahead.

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