Changes in the regulatory landscape in Saudi Arabia, coupled with enormous opportunities for highly profitable work, have led law firms to establish and grow a presence in Riyadh over the past few years. Whilst many have a ‘launch team’ in place, the conundrum firms are now navigating is how best to scale a small presence into something larger and more full-service.
Riyadh is a uniquely complex and competitive market for law firms, and it is not possible to use the same growth strategies in this jurisdiction that might have been successful in other major markets. This article aims to outline some of the key learnings and observations we have gleaned on how to successfully build and sustain an office in Riyadh.
The traditional engines for legal work in Riyadh remain strong: Corporate/M&A, Capital Markets, Project Development, and Project Finance continue to drive high volumes and premium mandates. For most firms, these are the practice areas that formed the initial ‘launch team’, but we’ve observed that many have been looking to a second phase in terms of office development, turning attention to practice areas such as TMT and Data Protection, Employment and Labour, Real Estate, International Arbitration and Disputes, and Regulatory. For clients, it is no longer enough for a firm to have a Riyadh office which only serves one or two practice areas, it is increasingly important to be able to give a full-service offering on the ground.
Most of the work in these ‘phase 2’ practice areas has historically been serviced from overseas. The advantage of looking to service this work on the ground is that firms gain the first mover’s advantage that can come with operating in an area that is – currently, at least – not as well represented in Riyadh by rival firms. The local market lacks certain skillsets in any great volume so for a firm that is able to recruit intelligently, there is a golden opportunity to take market share ahead of the competition.
Partner hiring in Riyadh is especially challenging due to the market’s structural constraints: when it comes to Saudi nationals, the partner talent pool is small, in high demand, and relatively young if you set aside some of the traditional rainmakers. Competition for these candidates is therefore intense, and firms need to have a clear USP, a commitment to investing in Saudi Arabia, as well as long-term growth potential to draw this talent in.
In terms of expat partners, firms face the hurdle of Saudization quotas, and non-Arabic speakers can sometimes struggle to build deep relationships with government entities and ministries, which are core clients in this market. But we are still seeing a huge demand for expat partners in Riyadh – clearly those already on the ground have a distinct advantage, but overseas candidates are also seeing traction in areas where firms have a surplus of existing work coming through the door.
With the above in mind, successful recruitment requires both strategic patience and a deep understanding of who can actually operate effectively within the Kingdom’s regulatory and cultural frameworks.
In Riyadh, we have observed that a well-timed press release matters more than in many other markets. With less day-to-day connectivity to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other hubs, lawyers and clients rely more heavily on online media and LinkedIn for market intelligence. Eye-catching announcements about new hires or office launches are essential, not just for client awareness, but also to attract prospective candidates and assert your market presence against competitors.
Riyadh is not simply “another GCC office.” It functions differently, and firms that apply the same blueprint to it as for their wider regional strategy often struggle.
Demand for legal services has exploded over the last three years. But the supply of qualified, KSA-based legal talent has not kept pace. This mismatch is somewhat unique to the Riyadh market and makes recruitment difficult, and mistakes costly.
It is also a market that appears to be challenging traditional partner hiring models used in other jurisdictions. A huge book of portable business, for example, whilst clearly attractive, is not the be-all and end-all in this market. What matters just as much is whether a partner has:
It would be wrong to completely dismiss the importance of portable clients – this is a basic metric that will always be measured when hiring partners – but true longevity in Riyadh relies on consideration of a broader set of factors.
In other markets, revenue alone can make a partner attractive. In Riyadh, who your clients are can be just as important – if not more so. Access to the “blue chip” institutions driving Vision 2030 (think PIF, NEOM, ACWA Power, STC, Ministry of Investment, etc) can make a huge difference in the success of your office.
Partners with some connectivity to such clients (even if not fully entrenched) can be seen as excellent prospects to build those client relationships for the future and therefore feed other partners and teams in the office.
Many firms entering or expanding in Riyadh make the same costly errors. In this market, the consequences of a misstep are magnified.
Through our work with firms and candidates in the region, we’ve observed several recurring missteps:
A failed partner hire in Riyadh doesn’t just impact one person – it can cause significant reputational and operational damage to the office as a whole:
Scaling your office in Riyadh is not a checkbox exercise. To build a sustainable, successful local team, firms must think differently – about how they hire, how they support, and what success looks like.
The firms that get it right will be those that invest in the right people, market them effectively, and integrate them meaningfully into their global platform, while respecting the unique pace and cultural nuances of the Saudi market.
SSQ has been supporting law firms with their launches and growth in Saudi Arabia for over a decade, so with the rush of activity in the past two years we have been well placed to see which firms have got it right, and which have had flaws in their strategy. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to scaling an office, so each firm has to consider their own capabilities and goals, whilst bearing in mind some of the key trends discussed in this article.
If you’re a Managing Partner and would like to discuss some of our observations and experiences in this market, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’d be delighted to assist.
