The legal framework regulating the practice of foreign lawyers in the Sultanate of Oman was fundamentally reshaped by the new Advocacy and Legal Consultancy Law, issued by Royal Decree 41/2024, and the Executive Regulation of the Advocacy and Legal Consultancy Law issued by the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs Decision 66/2025. Some of the most significant changes by this new legal framework are the rules governing the practice of foreign lawyers in Oman. This blog post will highlight the key implication that this new law would have for foreign lawyers wishing to work in private practice in Oman.
To start with, it is worth noting that the Advocacy and Legal Consultancy Law governs the work of law firms, and has no implications for legal professionals working as legal advisors in companies and other organisations, such as banks, telecom companies, or any other corporation. This means that restrictions imposed on foreign lawyers who wish to work as advocates or as legal consultants in a law firm do not apply to foreign lawyers wishing to work as in-house counsel.
The Old System
Under the previous legal framework, Oman prohibited foreign lawyers from appearing before its courts. However, this did not stop law firms from hiring foreigners in roles such as “legal advisors” and “legal experts,” without registering them with the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs, to provide legal advice without appearing before any court. This practice was tolerated by the government, even though it would be considered in the grey zone at best.
Advocacy Offices and Legal Consultancy Offices
The new Advocacy and Legal Consultancy Law made substantial changes to the way law firms operate in Oman by introducing two distinct types of legal entities: advocacy offices and legal consultancy offices. Advocacy offices can offer all forms of legal services, including litigation services and can only hire Omani advocates. Legal consultancy offices can offer legal services and arbitration services, but not litigation before Omani courts, and can hire both Omani and foreign legal consultants.
The Executive Regulation of the Advocacy and Legal Consultancy Law also added additional requirements for recruiting foreign lawyers in legal consultancy offices, the most important being that a foreign lawyer must have at least five years of experience to be registered as a legal consultant.
Even though the law now allows foreigners to be formally registered with the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs, the law allows Omanis only to be the owners of a legal consultancy office. In addition to the ability of foreigners to register as legal consultants in Oman, the law now has a formal framework for establishing partnerships between Omani and foreign law firms and for establishing branches for foreign law firms. Under Article 64 of the law, foreign participation in legal consultancy is permitted through the establishment of a new office in partnership with an Omani legal consultancy firm, but not with an Omani advocacy firm. This means that a foreign law firm cannot form a formal partnership with an Omani law firm that provides litigation services.
Branches of Foreign Law Firms
Furthermore, the law now also allows foreign law firms to establish branches in Oman without any local partners. However, this is only permitted for law firms that have branches in three other countries and have been established for at least fifteen years. However, it is worth noting that the lawyers working in the Omani branch must fulfil the requirements for the registration of legal consultants. This means that the branch would only be able to hire foreign lawyers who have at least five years of experience.
In addition to these tightly controlled entry mechanism for foreign law firms and the practice of foreign lawyers, the law contains a narrow exception under article 17 that permits foreign advocates—whether from Arab or non-Arab countries—to appear before Omani courts in a specific lawsuit as long as the foreign lawyer is working in partnership with an Omani advocate and as long as there is a reciprocity arrangement exists between Oman and the home country. The approval of the Chairman of the Advocates and Legal Consultants Affairs Committee is also required. This unique provision appears to be reserved for unique cross-border cases and is unlikely to apply to foreign lawyers residing or practising in Oman on a permanent basis.
Conclusion
The new Advocacy and Legal Consultancy Law and its executive regulation provide new opportunities for foreign lawyers to practice in Oman and will transform the legal industry. You can read the law and its executive regulation in English in full on the links below:
