From CEOs of large US multinational tech companies to Middle Eastern private family offices, Lily Malekyazdi’s clients share one thing in common; when the UK is part of their future, they trust her to deliver a white-glove service, that guides their UK transition with discretion, strategy, and uncompromising attention to detail.
For some, immigration is far more than the completion of forms and the meeting of legal requirements. It can be a life-altering transition, shaped by pressing timelines, significant personal stakes, and the need for complete discretion. It may involve uprooting a family, protecting a reputation, and aligning with wider business or personal goals, all while ensuring that every detail is handled with precision and care. In such circumstances, the process becomes as much about trust and understanding as it is about compliance with the law.
Lily Malekyazdi, Partner at Nexa Law and founder of LMY Global, has built a reputation for treating immigration as both a legal discipline and a highly personal service. Through LMY Global, she has created a boutique brand known for meticulous attention to detail, discretion, and an intuitive ability to anticipate the needs of high-net-worth individuals, luxury brands, and global businesses before they are even voiced.
A Vision for a Bespoke and Discreet Practice
Lily founded LMY Global after recognising a significant gap in the immigration market, between high-volume, process-driven firms and the select few capable of delivering a truly premium, relationship-led service. Today, her clients include high-net-worth families and global businesses for whom immigration is far more than a legal process; it is a deeply personal, time-sensitive transition that must be managed with absolute discretion.
Her inspiration came from years of observing immigration services become increasingly mechanised, with lawyers and advisors handling overwhelming caseloads that inevitably led to rushed and reactive service. Lily wanted to build the complete opposite, a practice where every client feels genuinely cared for, where the nuances of their lives and businesses are understood, and where their needs are anticipated before they arise.
For her, the goal extends beyond securing visas. It is about safeguarding reputations, protecting privacy, and crafting an experience where clients feel valued and supported at the highest level from beginning to end.
Navigating the High-Stakes World of Elite Immigration
Lily’s work with high-net-worth individuals, luxury brands, and global businesses involves far more than satisfying immigration requirements. For these clients, the process often blends intricate legal demands with commercial and emotional considerations.
In recent years, she has seen a sharp rise in US nationals seeking to relocate to the UK – whether for career opportunities, business expansion, or lifestyle changes. This influx has positioned her as a leading name in this specialist area, creating tailored pathways from initial UK visa through to permanent residency and British citizenship. Her reputation for navigating complex timelines and multi-jurisdictional considerations has made her the trusted adviser for Americans making the move.
From a legal perspective, the stakes are exceptionally high. Timelines are often tight, compliance obligations are stringent, and errors can have lasting consequences, potentially disrupting business expansion plans or affecting family stability. Many of her clients operate across multiple jurisdictions, meaning their UK immigration strategies must align seamlessly with tax planning, corporate structures, and cross-border obligations.
On the emotional side, the challenges are equally complex. Families may face uprooting children, adjusting to new cultural environments, and maintaining privacy under intense public scrutiny. Businesses must ensure that key personnel feel supported and that operations face minimal disruption. Lily’s approach ensures that the human element receives as much attention as the legal framework, allowing clients to focus on what matters to them without feeling burdened by the process.
Crafting a Fully Tailored Immigration Strategy
For Lily, no two clients share identical circumstances, priorities, or risk profiles. This is why every immigration strategy she develops is completely bespoke. The process begins with a thorough exploration of the client’s objectives, timelines, and wider personal or commercial considerations. This involves looking beyond the immediate visa need to understand the client’s long-term ambitions and how immigration fits into their broader plans for the next five or ten years.
Operating in the white-glove space, Lily has cultivated a network of trusted professionals covering every aspect of relocation, from private client tax advisors and property search specialists to education consultants, security experts, and lifestyle managers. She only connects clients with experts who will extend the same level of care she provides, ensuring a seamless experience.
An example of this approach might involve a family relocating from several jurisdictions whose UK move must align with tax residency rules, school enrolments, and business expansion timelines. Lily’s team maps out each element, from legal requirements to practical logistics, identifying risks in advance to prevent issues from arising. Once the strategy is agreed, clients can step back with full confidence.
For Lily, immigration is never solely about securing permission to enter or remain in the UK. It is about ensuring the process supports the client’s lifestyle, safeguards their reputation, and integrates seamlessly with the broader professional advice they receive.
Balancing Technology with the Human Touch
In an era of increasing automation and standardisation, Lily believes that technology should serve as a tool to enhance immigration services, not replace the human connection. She recognises that while systems can improve efficiency, streamline document management, and track compliance, they should never strip away the personal engagement her clients expect.
For Lily, clients are never mere case numbers. They are individuals with complex lives, reputations to protect, and expectations for a level of service that extends far beyond a standardised process. She remains personally involved in every matter, taking time to understand the nuances of each client’s situation and anticipating their needs before they arise. This includes making direct calls rather than relying solely on automated updates, ensuring clients always know the status of their matters without having to follow up.
Behind the scenes, she employs carefully chosen systems to ensure precision, meet deadlines, and avoid compliance risks. The technology supports the process, but the client experience remains personal, attentive, and reassuring from start to finish.
Adapting Immigration Planning to Industry Context
Lily’s experience spans diverse industries, from global technology companies to luxury concierge services. She understands that industry context shapes every aspect of immigration planning, from timelines and visa categories to the type of supporting evidence and the presentation of the application itself.
For a global tech company relocating senior talent, her strategies often focus on supporting large-scale operations, minimising disruption to key projects, and ensuring a seamless transition for essential personnel. In contrast, a luxury concierge firm may prioritise individuals with specialised, client-facing expertise, where cultural understanding, service excellence, and brand reputation are as critical as meeting immigration requirements.
Lily always looks beyond the immigration rules in isolation. She considers each organisation’s positioning, client expectations, commercial objectives, and potential reputational sensitivities. Her goal is to ensure immigration planning not only meets compliance obligations but also actively advances the organisation’s broader ambitions, while providing complete support to the individuals involved from the outset.
A Case that Tested Every Skill
One of the most complex matters Lily has handled involved securing UK permanent residency for three minor siblings who had never lived in the UK before. While her commitment to discretion prevents her from sharing specifics, she explains that the case challenged a different aspect of the immigration rules at almost every stage. Each child’s circumstances were unique, requiring tailored solutions within strict timelines.
The task was to develop and coordinate a strategy that addressed legal, practical, and personal priorities simultaneously, all while safeguarding the family’s need for absolute privacy. It demanded careful judgment, the support of trusted professional relationships, and the agility to adapt quickly as new considerations emerged. Ultimately, all three applications were approved, reaffirming Lily’s belief that combining deep legal expertise with a truly personalised approach allows clients to feel entirely confident that their affairs are in safe hands.
Building Trust from the First Conversation
For Lily, providing peace of mind is just as important as delivering the desired legal outcome. She and her team avoid legal jargon and overly formal communication, choosing instead to speak clearly, honestly, and in a manner that feels approachable from the very first conversation. Many clients contact her directly through WhatsApp, knowing they will receive a prompt and personal response. This immediacy helps build trust early, reassuring clients that they are both heard and supported.
LMY Global accepts only a limited number of new matters each month, a deliberate decision to ensure every client receives the time, attention, and availability they expect. Lily is personally involved in every detail of each case, a level of access and care that would not be possible in a high-volume practice. It is this combination of responsiveness, transparency, and focus that allows trust to form naturally and quickly.
Translating Policy Changes into Strategic Advantage
UK immigration policy has always been fast-moving, yet the post-Brexit environment, coupled with Prime Minister Starmer’s increasingly restrictive stance on legal immigration, has made staying ahead of change more crucial than ever. Lily monitors developments daily, drawing on government announcements, industry briefings, and her own network of senior lawyers and advisors, many of whom are partners at leading firms, to analyse and debate policy shifts. She also attends specialist conferences and exclusive roundtable discussions, using these forums to both gather intelligence and test potential strategies in real time.
Her role is not simply to absorb information but to translate it into actionable, sector-specific guidance. She often delivers private training sessions for leadership teams and key stakeholders, distilling complex updates into clear, relevant advice free from legal jargon. This approach ensures clients are informed, prepared, and confident in their decision-making, with immigration strategies that anticipate change rather than react to it.
Clarity as the First Priority in Urgent Relocations
When a high-net-worth client approaches Lily with an urgent relocation request, her first priority is clarity. She focuses on understanding the client’s objectives, timelines, and the underlying context of the move. Urgency often comes hand in hand with complexity, so she quickly identifies any legal, logistical, or reputational factors that could influence the strategy.
Once she has this understanding, Lily creates a clear and immediate pathway, where legally possible and an appropriate route is available, enabling the client to move forward without unnecessary delays. Because she accepts only a limited number of matters each month, she can be fully accessible from the outset. This might mean jumping on a call outside of normal hours, reviewing critical documents the same day, or mobilising her trusted network to address property, tax, or education needs in parallel.
Her approach keeps the client’s role simple, provide the necessary information, then step back with confidence that everything will be handled. Lily’s role is to eliminate uncertainty, manage every moving part, and ensure the process feels controlled, discreet, and impeccably managed from day one.
Dispelling Misconceptions About Elite-Level Immigration
In Lily’s experience, one of the most common misconceptions at the elite level is the belief that money or influence can secure a successful immigration outcome. While resources can help in accessing expert advice and expediting preparation, the UK’s immigration framework remains strict, with the process demanding accuracy and precision.
Another misconception is the assumption that immigration is purely a legal formality. For Lily’s clients, it often overlaps with tax residency considerations, corporate structuring, reputation management, and personal family matters. Looking only at the visa application without considering the wider context can lead to costly and time-consuming complications in the future.
A further misunderstanding is that once the application is filed, the hardest work is complete. Lily knows that elite-level immigration requires ongoing strategic oversight, anticipating potential challenges before they arise, and ensuring that every detail, from the paperwork to the presentation, meets the highest standard. Her focus is on creating an experience where clients feel completely looked after, with no unwelcome surprises.
Defining Success Beyond Legal Outcomes
Lily’s influence extends well beyond her client work. Recognised as one of the Top 10 Legal Influencers on LinkedIn and nominated for the Signature Awards’ London 2025 Business Woman of the Year, she has become a prominent voice for women in law and business.
Through her platforms, Lily speaks directly to younger women in the profession; sharing her journey, the lessons she’s learned, and the realities of carving out a path outside the traditional corporate route. She is passionate about mentoring the next generation, helping them build confidence, resilience, and the freedom to define success on their own terms.
For Lily, leadership is not confined to the boardroom. Her vision is to use her platform and experience to champion women’s voices, elevate female leadership, and inspire others to thrive at the highest levels of business and law.
