Working with foreign law firms, insurers and advisers

What does a Saudi co-counsel do for a foreign law firm?

A Saudi co-counsel handles the Saudi side of your client’s matter, while you stay the client’s lawyer at home. A co-counsel is a lawyer in another country who works alongside the client’s own lawyer. We advise on Saudi law, and you advise on yours.

On the Saudi side, we can:

• advise you and your client on Saudi law and on the options in Saudi Arabia;
• prepare and file documents in Arabic, the language of Saudi courts;
• represent your client before Saudi courts, including the Enforcement Court (the court that carries out judgments and other enforceable documents), and before notaries and other authorities;
• take enforcement steps once there is a judgment or another document that can be enforced;
• report to you in English, at the points we agree with you.

Your client’s matter is handled by a licensed Saudi lawyer. Saudi Arabia regulates who may practise law there. A foreign law firm needs a licence from the Ministry of Justice to practise in Saudi Arabia. The rules are in the Law of Legal Practice, which the Ministry of Justice publishes on its legal portal. Before you instruct us, you can check our company details.

Which client matters do foreign firms and insurers bring to a Saudi firm?

They are usually matters where your client’s money, contract, company or people are in Saudi Arabia. We can act on the Saudi side of each matter below. Each link explains how that kind of matter works.

• We can file your client’s foreign judgment with the Enforcement Court and follow the court’s review.

  Enforcing a foreign court judgment in Saudi Arabia

• We can act for a client that a Saudi company has not paid, even where there is a purchase order but no signed contract.

  Recovering an unpaid invoice from a Saudi company

• We can explain to you and your client what the new Enforcement Law changes for a debt in Saudi Arabia.

  The new Enforcement Law: what changes for creditors

• We can act in a dispute between your client and a Saudi distributor, agent, contractor or supplier.

  Disputes with Saudi distributors, agents, contractors and suppliers

• We can act for a subcontractor or supplier that has not been paid for work on a Saudi project.

  Unpaid on a Saudi project: subcontractor and supplier claims

• We can act as Saudi counsel when your client sets up a company in Saudi Arabia.

  Setting up a company in Saudi Arabia as a foreign business

• We can advise your client on registering, structuring, protecting and exiting an investment in Saudi Arabia.

  Investing in Saudi Arabia as a foreign company or investor

• We can draft the power of attorney that your client signs abroad, so that we can act in Saudi Arabia.

  Power of attorney for Saudi Arabia, signed abroad

• We can act when your client, or one of their staff, faces a case, an arrest or a travel ban. A travel ban stops someone leaving Saudi Arabia.

  Facing a case, an arrest or a travel ban in Saudi Arabia

• We can act to enforce an arbitration award against a party with assets in Saudi Arabia.

  Enforcing an arbitration award in Saudi ArabiaComing soon

How do instructions work when a foreign firm acts for a client in Saudi Arabia?

Instructions start with a short outline, and the work starts only once an engagement letter is signed. An engagement letter is our written agreement on the scope of the work and the fee. There are 6 usual steps. You send an outline, and we confirm whether we are free to act. We send a written proposal, and the engagement letter is signed. Your client signs a power of attorney where needed. We then do the work and report to you in English.

1. Send us a short outline. Say who the client is, who the other party is, what is needed in Saudi Arabia and any deadline the client faces. Don’t send documents yet.

2. Let us confirm whether we can act. We check that we are free to act against the other party, and that the matter is one we handle.

3. Review our written proposal. It sets out the scope of the work, the fee and how we will report to you. Fees are agreed in writing and paid directly to the firm. Nothing is ever paid on this website.

4. Sign the engagement letter. The work starts only after it is signed. See who the client is, and who can pay the fees below.

5. Arrange the power of attorney and the documents. If we are to act in your client’s name, your client signs a power of attorney in their own country. Documents from abroad usually need certifying for use in Saudi Arabia, by apostille or legalisation (certification through a Saudi embassy or consulate). See apostille or legalisation? Documents for Saudi Arabia by country. Where a lawyer helps: we draft the power of attorney, and we check what the Saudi court or office receiving it accepts before your client pays for any stamps.

6. Let us do the work and report to you as agreed. We report to you in English, at the points set in the engagement letter. We tell you early if anything needs your client’s decision.

Who is the client when a foreign firm instructs a Saudi lawyer, and who can pay the fees?

We act for the client named in the engagement letter. If your firm, an insurer or anyone else pays our fees, Saudi professional rules require the client’s written consent first.

So we ask the client to agree in writing before we accept payment from anyone else. The engagement is settled in writing before any work starts.

A few points help us set this up correctly:

• If you are an insurer or a collection agency, say in your outline whether you act in your own name or for the creditor. We then tell you whom we would act for, and what the client needs to sign.
• You stay responsible for advice on your own country’s law, and for your own relationship with the client.
• We agree with you, in writing, who receives our reports and who gives us instructions.

How is confidential information shared between our firms?

Your client’s information is shared between us on the terms your client agrees in writing. We keep it confidential, as Saudi professional rules require. Until we agree to act, send only a short outline.

• Name the other party in your first message, so that we can confirm early that we are free to act.
• Don’t send documents, evidence or copies of anyone’s ID until we agree to act.
• Tell us who at your firm, and who at the client, should receive our reports.

Once the work starts, we agree with you how documents are exchanged. For how we work with clients and their advisers abroad in general, see how we work with clients outside Saudi Arabia.

Which languages does the firm work in, and how are foreign documents handled?

The firm works in Arabic and English. Saudi courts work in Arabic, so our filings are in Arabic. We report to you and your client in English.

Documents in another language usually need a certified translation before a Saudi court or authority accepts them. This means a translation made by an approved translation office. Ask us where it should be made before your client pays for one.

Public documents from abroad, such as a judgment or a company certificate, also need certifying. This is done either by apostille or through a Saudi embassy or consulate, depending on the country and the Saudi body receiving them. An apostille is a certificate that confirms the signature and stamp on a public document. The Hague Conference (HCCH) keeps the official list of countries that are party to the Apostille Convention. To see which route your client’s country uses, read apostille or legalisation? Documents for Saudi Arabia by country.

Frequently asked questions

Related

• Enforcing a foreign court judgment in Saudi Arabia
• Recovering an unpaid invoice from a Saudi company
• Disputes with Saudi distributors, agents, contractors and suppliers
• Power of attorney for Saudi Arabia, signed abroad
• Apostille or legalisation? Documents for Saudi Arabia by country
• How we work with clients outside Saudi Arabia
• Company details and official contacts