Legal Executive Search · Cross-Border & Transatlantic

International & cross-border legal recruitment.

An international legal search firm that works both ways across the Atlantic — placing foreign-qualified counsel into US firms, and helping US clients hire across London, Dubai, Hong Kong and beyond.

Hire across borders Explore a move to the US

›International legal recruitment: 224 city markets, June 2026

International & cross-border legal recruitment. Sartori & Partners maps 1,480,000+ lawyers, with 224 city markets on the June 2026 locations atlas, and opened its Brussels network in 2019. Since 2017 Sartori & Partners has completed 400+ placements (230+ in-house), including 52 general counsel and chief legal officer searches, with a 24-day shortlist and an 11-week median to an accepted offer. A NASDAQ-listed medtech in Boston hired its general counsel in week 11.

01 The remit

One market, read from both sides of the move.

We provide specialist legal executive search and recruitment — and nothing else — for law firms and companies across the United States and internationally. A cross-border hire is where that focus matters most.

An international search is never a single-market search with a longer flight. The question is whether a practice is genuinely portable across two legal systems, whether the client relationships travel, what conflicts the receiving firm inherits, and whether the lawyer can lawfully work where the role sits. A generalist desk sees a résumé; we read the practice against the realities of both jurisdictions — and the shortlist is shorter, and right.

See how our data-led methodology maps a market →

Companies and firms hiring in Kuala Lumpur, under the Peninsular bar and Part IVA, start at legal recruiters in Kuala Lumpur.

02 Two directions

Talent moves both ways across the Atlantic.

Most of our international mandates fall into one of two shapes — and we run both with the same evidence-led rigor.

For US firms & companies hiring across borders

You need a partner with a portable international practice, a foreign-desk lift-out, or a regional general counsel to anchor a new office. We map the relevant market overseas — not a rented database — verify the portability of the book against the realities of the receiving jurisdiction, and run conflict, mobility and immigration diligence before a shortlist ever reaches you.

Foreign-qualified partners with practices that travel to a US platform
Regional GC and in-house leaders for overseas legal departments
Practice-group lift-outs and new-office build-outs abroad
Conflict, portability and work-authorisation diligence built in

For international partners & counsel moving into the US

You are a foreign-qualified partner, senior associate or in-house counsel weighing a move to a US firm or company. We open conversations that are not on any job board, advise candidly on what makes a practice portable across the Atlantic, and manage the introduction — including LLM, bar-admission and relocation considerations — with complete discretion.

Confidential approaches to US firms and corporate legal departments
Honest read on what is portable across jurisdictions, and what is not
Guidance on LLM, US bar admission and qualification routes
Relocation, visa and family-mobility realities addressed up front

03 Markets we run

Four corridors, each connected to the US.

Our core international markets — explored as specialist hubs, not name-only doorways. Each links to the city it covers.

London & the United Kingdom

The transatlantic pivot. Magic Circle and US-firm London offices, private capital, international disputes and arbitration, and UK-qualified counsel moving across the Atlantic — in both directions.

Legal recruitment in London II

Dubai & the Middle East

DIFC and ADGM private practice, regional in-house and general counsel, project finance, funds, regulatory and contentious work across the Gulf — including lawyers relocating into and out of the region.

Legal recruitment in Dubai III

Hong Kong & Asia

Greater China and the wider APAC market — financial services, funds, capital markets, disputes and investigations, and US/UK-firm team build-outs across the region.

Legal recruitment in Hong Kong IV

Italy & Continental Europe

Milan-led searches across Italy's financial and legal capital — corporate, finance, in-house and cross-border mandates connecting European practices to US and UK clients.

Legal recruitment in Italy

Anchored in the United States, with searches run into other markets on a mandate-by-mandate basis. Start with our United States legal recruitment hub, or browse every location we cover. Companies hiring a general counsel or in-house counsel across DIFC, ADGM and onshore UAE start at in-house legal recruitment in Dubai. Companies hiring a general counsel or in-house counsel in Milan start at in-house legal recruiters in Milan. Companies hiring a general counsel or in-house counsel in Rome start at in-house legal recruiters in Rome. Companies hiring counsel in Tel Aviv start at in-house legal recruiters in Tel Aviv. Firms hiring a lateral partner in Tel Aviv start at lateral partner recruiting in Tel Aviv. Companies hiring a general counsel or in-house counsel in Geneva start at in-house legal recruitment in Geneva. Firms hiring a lateral partner in Geneva start at lateral partner recruiting in Geneva. Companies hiring a general counsel or in-house counsel for a JSE issuer, a Sandton energy group, or a Johannesburg bank start at in-house legal recruiters in Johannesburg. Companies hiring in Copenhagen start at in-house legal recruiters in Copenhagen. Companies hiring a general counsel or in-house counsel in Mumbai start at in-house legal recruiters in Mumbai. Companies hiring a general counsel or in-house counsel in Brussels, a hub since 2019, start at in-house legal recruiters in Brussels. Companies hiring in Doha, across the Labour Law, the Qatar Financial Centre and petroleum-sector terms, start at in-house legal recruitment in Doha. Firms hiring a partner in Doha start at lateral partner recruiting in Doha. Companies hiring a general counsel or in-house counsel in Istanbul, across the two bar rolls and Labor Act notice, start at in-house legal recruiters in Istanbul. The country hub, both bars included, is legal recruiters in Turkey. Companies hiring a general counsel or in-house counsel in Lisbon, under the Portuguese bar statute and Labour Code notice, start at in-house legal recruiters in Lisbon. Companies hiring a general counsel or in-house counsel in Helsinki start at in-house legal recruiters in Helsinki. Firms hiring a lateral partner in Hong Kong start at lateral partner recruiting in Hong Kong. Firms hiring a lateral partner in Dubai, across DIFC consultancies and onshore firms, start at lateral partner recruiting in Dubai.

Companies hiring a general counsel or in-house counsel in New Delhi start at in-house legal recruiters in New Delhi. The city hub, covering the bar roll and the 13 May 2025 foreign-lawyer rules, is legal recruiters in New Delhi.

Companies and firms hiring in Kuala Lumpur start at legal recruiters in Kuala Lumpur. Firms hiring a lateral partner in Edinburgh start at lateral partner recruiting in Edinburgh.

04 Mandates

The disciplines we recruit across borders.

From a confidential lateral partner move between jurisdictions to a region's first general counsel, each international search runs on the same method.

01 Lateral partners with portable, cross-border practices
02 Practice-group lift-outs and new-office build-outs abroad
03 Regional general counsel and in-house leadership
04 Compliance, regulatory and risk leaders across jurisdictions
05 Foreign-qualified counsel relocating into the US market

Cross-link to the right service

An international mandate usually maps to one of our core disciplines. Explore lateral partner & team-move recruiting, in-house & general counsel search, or compliance & regulatory recruitment — each run with cross-border diligence built in. A Helsinki general counsel or in-house counsel search is briefed at in-house legal recruiters in Helsinki. A Hong Kong lateral partner search is briefed at lateral partner recruiting in Hong Kong. A Geneva lateral partner search is briefed at lateral partner recruiting in Geneva. A Doha lateral partner search is briefed at lateral partner recruiting in Doha. A Turkey search, both bars included, is briefed at legal recruiters in Turkey. A New Delhi search, the bar roll and the 13 May 2025 foreign-lawyer rules, is briefed at legal recruiters in New Delhi. A Kuala Lumpur search is briefed at legal recruiters in Kuala Lumpur. An Edinburgh lateral partner search is briefed at lateral partner recruiting in Edinburgh.

Discuss a cross-border mandate

05 For international lawyers

Thinking about a move to the United States?

If you are a foreign-qualified partner, senior associate or in-house counsel, we open doors into US firms and companies — discreetly, and with candid advice on what travels and what does not.

A move into the US market is rarely just a job change. It involves an honest read on the portability of your practice, the realities of LLM and bar admission, work authorisation, and relocating a life — not only a career. We have those conversations before any introduction is made, and we keep them confidential.

Guidance for international lawyers Submit your CV

International recruitment — common questions

What is cross-border legal recruitment?

Cross-border legal recruitment is the search for lawyers whose mandate, practice or hire spans more than one jurisdiction — a foreign-qualified partner moving to a US platform, a US firm opening or staffing an overseas office, or a multinational building a regional in-house team. It differs from a single-market hire because portability, conflicts, qualification routes and work authorisation all have to be assessed against two legal systems at once. We run these searches as a legal-sector specialist, not a generalist executive-search desk.

Do you place foreign-qualified lawyers into US law firms and companies?

Yes. A large share of our international work is helping foreign-qualified partners, senior associates and in-house counsel move into US firms and corporate legal departments. We advise candidly on what makes a practice portable across the Atlantic, and we work through the practicalities — LLM and US bar admission, work authorisation, and relocation — with discretion. See our dedicated guidance for international lawyers relocating to the US.

Can you help a US firm open or staff an international office?

Yes. We support US firms building abroad — from a single foreign-desk hire to a full practice-group lift-out or a new-office team. Because we map the relevant overseas market directly rather than working a stale list, the shortlist reflects who is genuinely available and genuinely portable. Read more about how we run lateral partner and team-move searches.

Which international markets do you cover?

Our core international corridors are London and the UK, Dubai and the Middle East, Hong Kong and Asia, and Italy and Continental Europe — each connected back to the United States. We also run searches into other markets on a mandate-by-mandate basis. A company hiring a general counsel in Lisbon starts at in-house legal recruiters in Lisbon. A firm hiring a lateral partner in Tel Aviv starts at lateral partner recruiting in Tel Aviv. Our US coverage is set out on the United States legal recruitment hub. Turkey is covered on its own hub: legal recruiters in Turkey. Kuala Lumpur is covered on its own hub: legal recruiters in Kuala Lumpur.

How do you keep an international search confidential?

Discretion is the default, not an upgrade. Candidate approaches are made privately, mandates are never advertised against a firm's name without consent, and we run NDA and conflict checks before introductions. Our data-led methodology lets us start from a complete market map and approach passive candidates quietly, so a sensitive move never becomes public until both sides decide it should.

Start a conversation

The right cross-border hire begins quietly.

Whether you are hiring across borders or weighing a move into the US, we listen first — with complete discretion and no obligation.

Hire across borders Explore a move to the US

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