Instead of the more typical story of UK recruiters entering Australian shores, Integrity Legal has expanded internationally after initially opening its doors in Sydney and Melbourne in 2006.

"We got to the stage where we thought, 'if you've only got Australian offices you really can't get anywhere, because most companies are global these days'. So to be able to service them across the globe is fantastic," said Australian Integrity Legal director, Joseph Germano.

Not long after opening, Integrity Legal merged with Singapore's JLegal, a consultancy with which Australian director Germano already had a long relationship. Germano and JLegal director Julia Lee initially practised together as lawyers before they teamed up in the recruitment world.

As joint directors of Integrity Legal - to be known as JLegal from January 2011 - together Germano and Lee brought in two additional directors to head up the overseas offices, including director Jeremy Small in London and director Tim Smith in Hong Kong.

Germano said they are looking for more people to grow their London and Hong Kong offices, currently with two in each office, and there are plans to open up elsewhere including the Middle East, offshore jurisdictions such as the Bahamas and Cayman Islands plus New Zealand and Japan.