City law firms are under growing pressure from Saudi Arabia to hire more of its citizens at their branches in the Kingdom as they cash in on a boom in business in the Gulf.
The Saudis have formally increased the number of local lawyers that foreign firms are required to employ when working out of the oil-rich country.
It is further squeezing British law firms already competing for Saudi nationals in the hope of capitalising on the country’s economic transformation plan, known as Vision 2030.
James Lavan, executive director at specialist legal recruitment firm Buchanan Law, said: “There’s only a limited number of Saudi nationals that are practising at the required standard to work at a law firm.
“[There’s] a real interest in trying to hoover up the best local talent as soon as possible because that is going to be one of the major stumbling blocks to firms growing and expanding within the region.”