RIYADH — The total number of licensed Saudi female lawyers rose to 785 by the middle of the year 2020, well-informed sources at the Ministry of Justice told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. As many as 186 licenses for legal practice have been issued for women during the current year. According to the sources, the total number of female lawyers who have completed their training reached 2,371, of whom 626 were trained during the first half of this year. Completion of training in the legal profession is one of the most important terms and conditions that must be fulfilled in order to obtain a license to practice as a lawyer. The Ministry of Justice, through its law offices that are licensed to practice the profession in various regions of the Kingdom, will supervise directly the training programs for qualified law graduates. The ministry sources pointed out that the applicant must fulfill the terms and conditions for registration in the list of practicing lawyers for their training in law firms, except the requirement of experience. They have to undergo training with a lawyer who has had at least five years of experience in the legal practice, and that the trainee shall work as a full-timer in the law firm throughout the training period. It is noteworthy that the Minister of Justice and Chairman of the Supreme Judiciary Council Dr. Walid Al-Samaani has called for more efforts to empower Saudi women in the legal practice field, especially to facilitate them obtain the license that gives them the authority to carry out some of the duties of notaries. Al-Samaani had issued directives recently to appoint 100 legally qualified women as notaries public. These notaries formally started their work from Nov. 1, following a three-month specialized training program. The program is being organized in cooperation with the Justice Training Center. They will also be provided with practical training at the ministry's Agency for Documentation and Notaries. The ministry said that the training program for the female notary public includes many theoretical and practical sessions, including the acquisition of skills in the tasks, specializations, and procedures of documentation in accordance with the judicial system. The training would also cover modern technologies related to documentation work. The ministry's initiatives come as part of efforts for further empowerment of women in the justice sector by facilitating judicial services for women with an enhanced role in the documentation area. The ministry recently appointed many qualified women in the fields of law, Shariah, sociology, administration, and technology in the ministry for the first time. The ministry has been focusing on female employment within the legal sector as part of its plans to support and empower women, widen their career options, and help them play a bigger role in this sector.
