The new breeds

The speed of transformation among some Middle Eastern countries over the past few years has been staggering. The multitude of glittering skyscrapers that has emerged from the desert symbolises the dramatic shift from developing-world poverty to first-world wealth in the space of a generation. The oil-rich emirates are successfully transforming themselves from dependence on primary industries to multi-faceted economies.

For all the growing sophistication of the Middle Eastern economies, the local legal scene remains dominated by small firms whose reputations are almost entirely reliant on the personal standing of their founding fathers. The wild abandon with which western firms shed the names of their founders in the search for brevity would be inconceivable in the Middle East. In societies where family and tribal ties remain strong, the individual reputations of founding partners remain the paramount selling point of local law firms.

‘Family connections are still the most important thing,’ says Mohammed Al Noor, lawyer at leading Kuwait firm Al-Twaijri & Partners. ‘It’s unfortunate, but the questions that are always asked are: “What’s your background? Who are you married to?” The extent of this varies from country to country, but it’s there across the region.’

In the Middle East, much business still depends on word of mouth. In some jurisdictions, getting the ear of the right people can make the difference between the success and failure of a deal or project.

Nevertheless, the importance of personal reputation in the Middle East goes beyond simply having the right family connections. While they may often have been born into the right families, the individuals who have forged stellar reputations have had to earn them. ‘It comes down to personality,’ says Jochen Hundt, a German lawyer at Al-Soaib Law Firm in Saudi Arabia. ‘They need a lot of energy and they have to be tough and impose themselves on the authorities.’

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