Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Saudi Women to Practice Law

From the Saudi Gazette:
Saudi women lawyers qualified to practice law in the Kingdom will be allowed to establish their own law firms, according to legal experts.

“Like their male counterparts, Saudi women lawyers can set up their own law offices and hire legal assistants,” said Dr. Ahmed A. Audhali, a leading lawyer in the Eastern Province. He said women lawyers can also join existing law firms managed by male legal advocates.

Mohammad Al-Issa, Justice Minister, recently announced that the ministry intends to issue a new draft law that will license women lawyers to practice their profession and represent other women in personal status cases pertaining to divorce, alimony and child custody. The new law will also allow women to perform basic procedures with notaries, such as registering and mortgaging property and authorizing corporate sponsorships and gifts.

“We in the legal profession are waiting for the minister of justice to issue the guidelines licensing women lawyers to practice. Until such time, women lawyers will continue working in jobs inside the women’s section of law and government offices,” Audhali said.

As part of ongoing judicial reforms, family courts will be established in which women lawyers will be allowed to practice.

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