Mlegal Consulting, Inc

Joe Macrae, the firm's chairman and CEO, founded Mlegal in 2001. Macrae has been active in the legal recruiting field since 1998 and has extensive experience working with US law firms and corporations on many levels. Throughout his career he has worked with law firms of all sizes. He has been involved in a number of high profile partner level searches and has lectured on a number of topics including law firm mergers and partner retention. Macrae was also a co-founder of the recruiting firm ZMB, which is now known as HaysLegal.

Mlegal serves partners by providing confidential advice and information on career possibilities. Through its connections in China and Europe, Mlegal also offers counseling on career options abroad.


When conducting a partner search for a client, the firm takes on a maximum of five retained partner search assignments at a time, thus ensuring that few firms are “off limits.” Mlegal has successfully recruited both partners and teams by taking cultural, professional, and personal factors into consideration throughout the placement process.

The firm's in-house division, which was established in 2004, has earned retained search assignments over global executive search firms time and time again. Mlegal's in-house clients run the gamut from start-up companies searching for their first in-house lawyer to established national corporations in the process of expanding. The in-house business covers a range of appointments, from a general counsel seeking the next step in their careers to junior lawyers. Within Mlegal's team of recruiters are individuals with personal general counsel experience, who can provide practical advice to job candidates. The firm works with those who are actively seeking a career move and also with those who are not actively looking, but are open to a career change.

Mlegal typically initiates its candidate search by gaining a thorough understanding of the client's firm or organization. Recruiters then create a list of qualities and experience that the ideal candidate should possess. The next step involves the actual search for qualified candidates. Once candidates have been identified, Mlegal screens them and updates the client. Any candidate concerns are also relayed to the potential employer for consideration. Mlegal can also handle the interview process and the negotiations involved in closing the deal.