Saudi lawyers are being paid massive six-figure salaries just to join practices due to soaring demand for legal services and a severe skills shortage that has sparked a bidding war between International law firms.
“There are some surprisingly big names who are going out and just paying obscene amounts of money to people,” said Mohammed Al Sheikh, senior partner of the Law office of Muhammed Al-Sheikh and legal partner of international law firm White & Case.
“A six year associate [could] get paid a cheque for half a million dollars… just to join.”
Saudi Arabia has no bar association. Instead, international law firms who want to operate in the kingdom are required to partner with a Saudi lawyer to ensure they have adequate knowledge of the country’s laws.
However, the dearth of qualified Saudi nationals has led to calls for the system to be reformed to allow greater competition in the market.
“I know it sounds a bit bizarre, it’s in my interest that it doesn’t change. But given what we’re seeing in the market I actually hope so,” Al Sheikh said.
“I honestly do today welcome competition because the market is just too understaffed and underserviced.”
The market for legal services in Saudi Arabia has grown rapidly in recent years due to the kingdom’s booming economy, fuelled by record oil prices.
Energy, infrastructure and capital markets have been the biggest growth areas. The 2003 capital markets law, which requires all companies to seek legal counsel before offering shares to the public, has been a major factor behind the rise in demand, according to lawyers.
“Five or six years ago there weren’t a lot of firms who were even considering coming into the kingdom and looking for local partners. Today, everybody’s scrambling,” Al Sheikh said.
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