Inside LA’s Legal Boom, with Macrae’s Naomi Kaplan

Lawdragon’s latest Legal Consultant Limelights feature spotlights Naomi Kaplan, a Managing Director based out of Macrae’s Los Angeles office, on what’s fueling LA’s rapid legal expansion and how Macrae is meeting the moment on the West Coast. The profile notes that LA led all US markets in attorney hiring in early 2025 and traces how Macrae solidified its LA presence this spring with Naomi leading local efforts.

Naomi’s path - Peace Corps service in Benin, a legal career, then more than two decades in recruiting including an in-house leadership role at The Walt Disney Company - shapes her relationship-driven approach to partner search. At Macrae, she focuses exclusively on elite partner placements and leverages Macrae+, our proprietary, data-rich platform, to deliver sharper market intelligence to clients and candidates. (“It’s perfect timing,” she says of the LA role.)

As Naomi shares in the interview, the LA market’s momentum spans private equity and private credit, alongside enduring demand in commercial litigation, entertainment, real estate, and strategic M&A. That growth - and the entrepreneurial energy of newer offices - continues to attract high-impact individual and group moves, with cultural and strategic fit top of mind for firms building in LA.

Read the full profile on Lawdragon here: Inside LA’s Legal Boom, with Macrae’s Naomi Kaplan.

For more market insights, connect with Naomi Kaplan directly, or reach out to our team at Macrae.