Practice Areas · Private Client & Estate Planning · Special Needs Planning
Special Needs Planning Recruiters
We map 100+ special needs planning lawyers — a coverage depth that lets us match on genuine specialism, not proximity to the title.
Inside the Special Needs Planning market.
Our proprietary Titan Crawler AI maps the relevant field first; experienced consultants qualify it by hand. The figures describe the talent market we cover.
- 100+
- lawyers with special needs planning experience
Special needs planning sits at the most technically demanding intersection of estate planning and disability law — where practitioners must reconcile trust drafting, public-benefits preservation and long-term care strategy into a single, legally defensible plan. The lawyers who do this well combine deep familiarity with supplemental needs trust mechanics, ABLE accounts and guardianship alternatives with the discretion and empathy the practice demands.
Demand for this specialism has outpaced supply for years. Law practices that advise families, non-profit care providers and institutional trustees on disability planning consistently struggle to find attorneys who have built a genuine book of work in the area rather than encountered it incidentally within a broader private client practice.
Sartori & Partners maps 100+ lawyers with focused special needs planning experience — ranging from associates who have made it a deliberate specialism to senior practitioners whose reputations are built on it. That depth of market coverage means we can move quickly and match on substance, not just seniority.
Part of our private client & estate planning practice.
Special Needs Planning sits within Private Client & Estate Planning. Explore the related specialisms we recruit across.
The searches we run in Special Needs Planning.
Law-firm and corporate mandates alike — from a confidential lateral partner move to a first general counsel — each run on the same evidence-led method.
Lateral Partner & Practice-Group Moves
Confidential lateral partners and practice-group lift-outs, assessed on portable business, conflicts and platform fit.
Explore this search 02In-House & General Counsel
GC, deputy GC and senior counsel for companies operating across multiple jurisdictions.
Explore this search 03Associate & Counsel Recruiting
Mid-level and senior associates and counsel, matched on practice depth and trajectory, not keywords.
Explore this search 04Compliance & Regulatory Leadership
Chief compliance officers and regulatory leaders for the most heavily supervised practices.
Explore this searchBoth sides of the search.
For law firms
Lateral partners, practice groups and associates — a shortlist drawn from the full field of a practice, not a rented database.
Learn moreFor companies
General counsel, compliance and legal-operations leaders for businesses building or scaling a legal function.
Learn moreFor candidates
Considering a move? We approach senior lawyers privately and confidentially — nothing moves without your say-so.
Learn moreSpecial Needs Planning recruitment — common questions
How do you identify lawyers who are genuine special needs planning specialists rather than generalist estate planners?
We track practice composition, not just practice group labels. Specialists in this area typically show a concentration of supplemental needs trust work, public-benefits counselling and disability-related guardianship matters. We look for that pattern in their disclosed experience and confirm it through direct conversation before making any introduction.
We need someone who understands both the legal and the human side of planning for families with disabled beneficiaries — is that realistic to find?
It is, and it is precisely what separates the best practitioners from capable generalists. The lawyers we work with in this specialism tend to come from practices where that dual competency is an expectation, not a differentiator. Our mapping covers 100+ lawyers with hands-on experience in this area, so we are not assembling a shortlist from a thin pool.
Can a lateral hire in special needs planning actually build a client base at a new firm?
Portability in this specialism depends heavily on the nature of the practice — lawyers who advise institutions, non-profits and care organisations typically have more portable relationships than those whose work is driven by referrals from a single estate-planning partner. We assess portability as part of our evaluation process and will give you a frank view before a search begins.
Special Needs Planning
The right special needs planning hire begins with a quiet conversation.
Tell us the mandate — we will tell you candidly whether we are the right firm to run it. No obligation, complete discretion.