International Employment

Our approach + outlook

For premier global advice grounded in practical local insight, few firms offer the convenience and comprehensiveness of Jackson Lewis. Our International Employment team has both cross-disciplinary experience and nuanced know-how in and across 100+ countries around the world for effectively and efficiently confronting the cross-border labor and employment challenges that can emerge in diverse business contexts. Whether managing globally mobile workforces or increasingly rigorous employee protections, clients rely on our integrated approach and responsive awareness to minimize the impact of the international multijurisdictional patchwork of regulations on their business maximization efforts.

Clients + industries

From established multinational conglomerates to emerging enterprises with cross-border workforces and workflows, our team helps businesses at all market capitalizations and in all industries address their international employment and labor needs.

U.S. companies establishing or managing operations and related employment structures abroad, including sending employees abroad for various durations and hiring/managing local talent
Foreign companies with U.S. subsidiaries seeking to manage a globally distributed workforce, including omnidirectional mobility.
General counsel and other in-house legal professionals, HR leaders and C-suite policy formulators
All major international sectors, including agriculture, entertainment/professional sports, financial services, healthcare, higher ed, hospitality, life sciences, manufacturing, tech, transportation and more

Our reach

Access to 1,750+ professionals across six continents for local, pan-regional and international employment and labor matters.

Learn more about L&E Global

As a founding member of L&E Global, the global alliance network of premier employer counsel comprised of specialized employment + labor law boutiques and law departments from leading firms worldwide, Jackson Lewis offers clients the responsiveness and integration that come from having deep and trusted relationships. Serving as a single, seamless source of contact, we directly support and assist clients in their most complex cross-border employment + labor matters.

Key capabilities

Our attorneys, many of whom are former in-house counsel, have a wide range of experience helping clients manage their inbound and outbound international employment needs and opportunities.

Global Mobility

We assist clients in all types of outbound and inbound cross-border assignments. Outbound: Sending employees to foreign countries for business visits, work assignments, or hiring local talent, including work visas for long-term assignments, digital nomad visas and local talent hiring. Inbound: Supporting foreign companies with U.S. subsidiaries in bringing employees to the U.S. and managing related immigration matters.

Cross-Border Advice and Counsel

Our experience in international talent recruitment and retention extends to restrictive covenants; employment structures in foreign jurisdictions and engagement options for foreign personnel — including contractor analysis, using employers of record and setting up entities; high-level international executive employment matters; remote workers, as defined by their jurisdiction; and military and civilian component spouses working abroad.

M+A

We advise on international mergers and acquisitions, including due diligence projects and advice and counsel regarding associated global M+A employment and labor issues.

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Rightsizing

Our international team helps clients scale their workforce compliantly in response to global restructurings, plant closings, collective redundancies and other economic and competitive scenarios.

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Litigation + Investigations

While our priority is litigation avoidance, where prevention is not enough, our attorneys vigorously defend clients in cross-border litigation and arbitrations. We also conduct or manage internal compliance investigations and represent clients in external ones.

Compliance

Across all local and foreign localities, we negotiate, draft, edit and review employee agreements and provide support on various workplace law compliance matters including accommodations; data retention; cybersecurity; cultural difference mandates, business conduct, including the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting and Due Diligence Directives; pay equity + related issues, including the EU’s Pay Transparency Directive; global labor relations + works council matters; individual employee performance plans and terminations; and more.