There are only 1,267 licensed lawyers in Saudi Arabia but the number of legal practitioners across the Kingdom have exceeded 1 million, a Justice Ministry source told Alsharq local daily recently.
Riyadh Province has the most licensed lawyers, 635, while Jeddah follows with 340.
There are, however, just over 1 million people practicing the legal profession in the Kingdom, the source said.
Several lawyers have complained that some retired judges are practicing as lawyers.
Omar Fullata, lawyer and legal consultant, said these retired judges are breaking the law. He said: “Some of them misuse their reputation and fame as judge to attract clients who rely on them to present their cases strongly as well as to get a quick and favorable verdict.”
The lawyers called for enacting a law to protect their rights in light of the growing number of illegal lawyers and offices across the Kingdom.
Despite continuous demand to set up a commission and committees to protect the interests of lawyers, nothing has been done, they said.
The lawyers said there are several non-professional legal practitioners who try to convince clients that they can present their cases in courts and represent them at government agencies in various legal disputes.
They manage to attract clients by offering legal services at much cheaper rates, the lawyers told the newspaper.