Mohammed Jamil is the group general counsel of Petromin Corporation, Saudi Arabia. Jamil has over 20 years of in-house experience working as an attorney across multiple jurisdictions. In the Middle East, he has worked in the legal teams of Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), Kuwait Finance House, and TRW.
In this interview, Jamil speaks about the growing strategic importance of legal teams in the Middle East, managing a cross-border team, and the challenges international firms face in a rapidly liberalising Saudi Arabian legal market.
ALB: As the general counsel of one of the leading conglomerates in the region, how has the role and significance of an in-house counsel changed in the Middle East over the last decade?
Mohammed Jamil: Increasingly, the region is moving away from its “emerging market” status towards a more mature market recognition, resulting in economic diversification allowing large businesses to enter the market. Greater economic diversification and interaction of the region with international markets are fuelling the recognition of the importance of in-house legal counsel and teams. The outdated culture of "rubber stamping" is gradually giving way to a new paradigm where legal teams are integrated into business leadership. These teams now play a critical role in driving growth and executing business plans.
As economic diversification progresses, the regulatory landscape is ever-changing, presenting businesses with a Herculean task to keep pace. To address this challenge, some businesses have dedicated personnel to understand the regulations, guide and work with business units, and identify compliance gaps. These personnel then take remedial actions to ensure overall compliance.
ALB: What is your approach to managing a cross-border in-house team? What strategies do you use to ensure consistency and efficiency in legal service delivery?
Jamil: Our cross-border strategy is built on creating a cohesive, multi-disciplinary team that delivers proactive, commercially driven, and business-relevant legal services. We prioritise recruiting team members whose skills and values align with our corporate culture and our legal team's work ethic. Beyond recruitment, we focus on creating a culture of mutual trust and respect through regular and focused team meetings. We also form multi-jurisdictional teams to deliver projects, fostering a one-team mentality and encouraging the sharing of diverse practices and ideas.
We've strategically positioned counsel across different time zones, creating a round-the-clock legal team capable of managing multiple critical issues seamlessly. Our approach centres on in-house subject matter experts who develop global strategies with support from relevant jurisdictional counsel. These experts then oversee the implementation of these strategies, ensuring consistent application of corporate policies worldwide.
ALB: What has been your experience with the opening of the legal market in KSA, in terms of cost, efficiency and availability of options for external counsel?
Jamil: While the new entrants are welcome and necessary for increasing economic diversification, unfortunately, many law firms will not be able to sustain themselves or penetrate the market as they had hoped. Law firms offer little innovation, using outdated strategies to attract and retain clients. Many do not reflect on the clients they serve or the markets in which they operate, remaining focused on delivering legal advice rather than business advice.
The widespread entry of many law firms into the market has meant that all have had to try to access a very scarce pool of talent that matches the standards one has come to expect from international firms. This impacts both costs and efficiency of legal services. Newer entrants lack local knowledge and the nuances of achieving results in the KSA market, all of which affect costs and efficiency, and in turn, prevent clients from instructing new law firms.
ALB: As a member of the executive leadership team, how do you ensure that the legal function is closely integrated into the company's strategic decision-making process?
Jamil: Winning a seat in an increasingly busy boardroom is essential for the business; maintaining it is an entirely different challenge. Businesses will only trust their legal advisor when they are confident that the advisor understands the business and is not simply providing legal advice, but proactively offering solutions to business problems.
Our legal department incorporates the wider business plans into its legal strategies. We seek every opportunity to attend and be part of business review meetings, and we participate in commercial negotiations. By the very nature of their profession, lawyers have transferable skills; they should not be scared of or shy away from nontraditional legal work. Taking on business tasks, leading non-legal projects, and heading various committees all add value to both the business and the lawyer. These activities assist in integrating the legal team with the business, providing and adding value, and being part of the decision-making process.
