Matthew joined Macrae in 2026 as a partner in the New York office, bringing more than two decades of experience as a law firm partner and management leader to his recruiting practice. Since 2020 he has run his own boutique legal search practice, focused exclusively on partner-level placements for leading US and international firms.

Matthew brings a unique firm-side understanding of how law firms actually make lateral hiring decisions. Before moving into recruiting, he spent 26 years at Shearman & Sterling, rising to Global Head of Corporate Finance — the firm's largest practice group — and serving as Asia Managing Partner based in Hong Kong. He was elected to the firm's global board of directors and sat on its global executive group, giving him a direct hand in shaping the firm's own lateral hiring and partner strategy. Over his career he led IPOs for PetroChina, China Mobile, and Hutchison entities, including the largest IPO ever out of Thailand, and regularly advised Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Citibank on complex securities offerings. He was consistently cited as "top tier" or "highly recommended" across leading legal directories.

Matthew considers himself a builder of successful partners and practices, with deep experience mentoring young partners establishing themselves and helping established partners reinvent themselves. He holds an AB from Princeton University and a JD from Columbia Law School. He currently serves on the boards of JP Morgan Asset Management (China), Princeton in Asia, and the Geoffrey C. Hughes Foundation, where he is also treasurer.