Firms in the Bay Area, grappling with unprecedented demand for transactional work, are expanding their search for talent beyond U.S. borders.

“Bay Area firms have been booming. So, they have the budget for expensive international hires, and they have a huge appetite for talent that can’t be satiated with just local associates,” said Kate Reder Sheikh, a San Francisco-based managing director in the associate practice group at Major, Lindsey & Africa, who has helped several associates move from Toronto to the U.S.