IFLR 1000
The Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms

"Law firms in the gulf region think highly of Jordanian lawyers, who are mostly bi-lingual," says one foreign peer. The top firms are adept at working on an international level and, as one peer notes: "The quality is very high....

"Law firms in the gulf region think highly of Jordanian lawyers, who are mostly bi-lingual," says one foreign peer. The top firms are adept at working on an international level and, as one peer notes: "The quality is very high."

Clients consistently praise technical expertise and professionalism, and one says that "there are many amendments to company and investment laws and they are continuously affecting investments, so a lawyer here must be very up to date in all those various fields." Responsiveness is also key as many active regional players are in the market.

Experience is a huge advantage in the market according to another client. "[In] complex legal banking transactions you need someone with history, as most complex banking transactions are either related to privatisations or infrastructure, so there is a political dimension to them, and you need a good firm which is respected by all sides."

The number of partner movements in the market is attributed partially to a lack of strong structure within law firms and an individualism which can scupper collective team work. "Juniors are always suffering [and] they do most of the work," says one partner.

One client says that capacity is also an issue: "The problem sometimes with bigger firms is that you sign up with them and the top lawyers don't always deal with you – they have too many clients." Another trend is recruitment of internationally trained lawyers.

The country has avoided the worst of the financial crisis due to its small size. In fact, firms have been kept busy on large infrastructure projects including the Queen Alia Airport, the Red/Dead Sea development project, the Aqaba Port project and the Disi-Amman water project.