Lawdragon Names 10 Macrae Recruiters to 2023 “Global 100”
Macrae, a premier transatlantic legal search firm that places partners and groups at the world’s leading law firms, is pleased to announce that Lawdragon has named a record 10 Macrae recruiters to its 2023 guide to the “Global 100 Leaders in Legal Strategy & Consulting.” The recruiters honored are Justine Donahue, Lauren Drake, Nick Goseland, Adil Lalani, Joe Macrae, Sarah Morris, Jane Sullivan Roberts, Andy Russell, Jon Truster, and Melinda Wallman. Goseland, Lalani and Morris appear on the list for the first time, while the others are repeat honorees.
“These leaders represent the remarkable array of advisors who have helped the legal industry grow into a global business generating hundreds of billions in revenues,” Lawdragon stated in announcing the professionals honored this year. “To select them, we received a record number of fabulous submissions for what has become an industry standard guide. We combine those with our essential journalistic research into individuals and organizations, an ongoing river that flows through Lawdragon every day of the year. Finally, we vet candidates with a board of their peers, looking for those whose work represents sustained excellence and respect from competitors.”
The majority of Macrae recruiters firmwide are recognized in this year’s guide. Macrae is the search firm most represented.
“It’s a great day for our whole company when we make up 10% of the entire Global 100. This confirms to all of us that the innovative approach we have taken to attracting the best in the business to Macrae is really working and being recognized by the law firms and partners with whom we work,” said Joe Macrae, Founder and Chairman. “We continue to believe that what sets Macrae apart is not only our focus on hiring and retaining the most talented people in each of our four markets, but on the unique system of collective intelligence that drives both our culture and our business model. Team members’ enthusiasm for capturing and sharing market intelligence with colleagues firmwide enables us to set the standard on ensuring that when our recruiters meet with firms, or partners looking to move, they are the most informed and up to date on key market information in the business.”
Justine Donahue (Managing Director in Washington, D.C.): Donahue, named to the Global 100 for the second consecutive year (and profiled by the publication here), works across practice areas. She has a special interest in antitrust that draws on her 13 years of experience as an antitrust lawyer, including in private practice as well as at the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division. In 2017 she co-founded the Women’s Antitrust Forum, an organization that brings together senior-level antitrust practitioners for substantive programs and networking events. She is also active in the ABA Antitrust Law Section’s Women. Connected Committee. Justine earned her JD from American University, Washington College of Law.
Lauren Drake (Partner in Washington, D.C.): Drake, named to the Global 100 for the fourth consecutive year (and profiled by the publication here), joined the firm in 2019. She works across practice areas with both senior government and private sector attorneys. Prior to becoming a recruiter, she held a 16-year tenure at McKinsey & Company. Drake founded and leads the Female Law Firm Leaders Roundtable in D.C. and the Women Practice Group Leaders Roundtable in New York, and is D.C. Co-Chair of WILEF (Women in Law Empowerment Forum). She also enjoys writing for publications including The American Lawyer and Bloomberg Law. She holds a J.D. from William & Mary Law School.
Nick Goseland (Managing Director in Palo Alto): Goseland places high-performing partners and partner-groups into the Bay Area offices of top-tier U.S. and international law firms. He joined Macrae in 2022 after operating Edgewater Search Group, a Silicon Valley boutique he founded, for several years. He previously spent eight years at global recruiting firm Lateral Link, where he was a Principal and a member of the executive team. Before becoming a recruiter, Goseland was a securities litigator at a Chambers-ranked litigation boutique. He earned his JD from University of San Diego School of Law.
Adil Lalani (Managing Director in London): Lalani focuses on placing high-performing law firm partners with leading U.S., U.K. and international firms. He has over 20 years of experience successfully executing a range of exclusive partner searches and representing individual partners and teams across practice areas. Lalani joined Macrae in January 2023 from Felsham Partners, a boutique legal search firm he founded that specialized in partner-level search assignments in London. He previously worked for a number of international London-based search firms, where his work included spending considerable time in New York.
Joe Macrae (Partner in the San Francisco Bay Area/New York/London): Macrae, the firm’s Founder and Chairman, established the firm in Palo Alto in 2001. This year marks his fifth consecutive appearance on the Global 100; he was profiled by the publication here. Macrae splits his time between the West Coast, East Coast and the U.K., serving as a career advisor to partners and teams and working closely with an array of Am Law 50 and UK 20 firms to develop and implement strategic expansion plans. Macrae transitioned from law into legal recruitment in 1988, and co-founded ZMB (now Hays Legal) several years later. He holds a law degree from Manchester University.
Sarah Morris (Managing Director in San Francisco): Morris places partners and groups into leading law firms in the Bay Area. She has represented partners across practice areas, including Private Equity M&A, Public Company M&A, Capital Markets, Tax, Restructuring and Bankruptcy, Litigation, Investigations, Real Estate, and Employment. Prior to joining Macrae, she spent a decade at global recruiting firm Lateral Link. As a Principal there she focused on attorney placements and client services at law firms in California and managed and developed Lateral Link’s in-house division. Morris began her legal industry career practicing M&A at Skadden and holds a JD from Berkeley Law School.
Jane Sullivan Roberts (Partner in Washington, D.C.): Roberts, named to the Global 100 every year since the guide was introduced in 2016 (and profiled by the publication here), opened Macrae’s D.C. office in 2019. She advises high-profile partners and government attorneys seeking to transition to the private sector. Prior to becoming a recruiter in 2007, she enjoyed a 20-year career at Pillsbury, where she was a partner in the Global Technology Group as well as Executive Partner for Talent Development. Roberts is a Founding Member and former Co-Chair of WILEF’s D.C. chapter. She holds a J.D. from Georgetown Law.
Andy Russell (Partner in London): Russell, named to the Global 100 for the third consecutive year, has more than 25 years of experience in placing law firm partners and teams across practice areas into the leading law firms in London and Europe. He also specializes in new office openings. Russell joined Macrae in 2017 to open the firm’s London Office, having previously served as Managing Director of Fox Rodney Search, which acquired his own firm Abrahams Russell in 2003. He holds a law degree from Sheffield University.
Jon Truster (Partner in New York): In the course of his 25-year career as a recruiter in the New York market, Truster, named to the Global 100 for the second consecutive year, has helped hundreds of lawyers advance their careers by making strategic lateral moves and dozens of law firms strengthen their New York presence. He works across practice areas with an emphasis on corporate law, and many firms consider him their go-to advisor when embarking on the most challenging “needle in a haystack” searches. He joined Macrae in 2022 after nearly a decade at New York boutique Greene-Levin-Snyder, where he was co-head of Lateral Partner Placement.
Melinda Wallman (Partner in London): Wallman, named to the Global 100 for the fourth consecutive year (and profiled by the publication here), focuses on the recruitment of partners into AmLaw 100 and top 20 UK law firms. She joined Macrae in 2018 from Major, Lindsey & Africa, where she founded the firm’s Hong Kong and London offices and led its EMEA Partner Practice Group. Wallman serves as Deputy Global Chair, International for WILEF and on the board of Black Women in Asset Management. In 2018 she founded Reignite Academy, a unique collaboration between London law firms that provides opportunities for women lawyers to return to practice after a career hiatus. She holds a law degree from the University of New South Wales.
About Macrae
Macrae is a transatlantic legal search firm with offices in London, New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Palo Alto. Macrae works with the most successful and innovative law firms in the United States and United Kingdom to bring on top lateral partners and partner groups and open new offices. The firm’s expertise also includes representing high-performing partners seeking to make strategic moves and senior government attorneys transitioning to private practice. Its commitment to furthering inclusion and diversity in the legal industry is reflected in the candidates it represents as well as within the firm. Macrae is a majority women-owned business, and 80% of team members identify as belonging to demographic groups that are underrepresented within the legal industry. To learn more about Macrae, please visit Macrae.com.