Women Criminal Defense Attorneys: First Female Law Firm Opens in Saudi Arabia

The first female law firm has opened in Saudi Arabia. Bayan Mahmoud Al-Zahran, the first woman issued a law license in the Kingdom, and the first woman lawyer ever to appear in Court defending a client, has taken another huge first step and opened up a law firm. In a nation known for its oppressive treatment of women, this is no small accomplishment. Al-Zahran has stated that the “objective of her law firm is to fight for the rights of Saudi women and bring their problems before the court, since male lawyers in many cases couldn’t understand the problems and situations of a female plaintiff.” The count of female lawyers in Saudi Arabia is now up to four and Al-Zahran is hopeful that the numbers will increase dramatically now that this positive step has been taken.

It is almost a foreign thought, to us in the United States, that a woman would be celebrating the opening of her nation’s first female law firm in the year 2014.  We take that right for granted - and we assume that we are light years ahead of a culture like Saudi Arabia.  But is it possible that this sense of accomplishment has kept us from pushing for full equality in law and in business?

With great privilege comes great responsibility and I believe that we have a responsibility to Al-Zahran, to the women that will follow her in Saudi Arabia, and to women all around the world to continue to work towards full equality in law. Here is to a world full of female law firms!