Ziad Reslan is a Blakes articling student currently spending some time at the firm’s office in Bahrain. He’ll blog periodically about what it means for an articling student to live and practise law in the Gulf.

“Articling in the Gulf has now taken me to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital. Blakes landed a significant mandate with a governmental entity back in October and, as a result, I have been spending up to three days a week in Riyadh at the offices of the client.

With a population of seven million, Riyadh is the Kingdom’s largest city and a major centre for commerce. As soon as you reach Riyadh’s city limits, the desert landscape changes to greenery, towers and development all around. As in other parts of the Kingdom, businesses in Riyadh close five times a day during prayer times. Practically, this means that before going out to grab a coffee or a bite, I have to always make sure it’s not prayer time (or wait 15 minutes if it is!).

As to working at a governmental entity, I have been simply amazed at the boundless opportunities that exist in Riyadh and the Kingdom which are a result of the many development policies that Saudi Arabia has adopted. Flush with cash, the desert Kingdom is looking to develop its industrial, educational and health sectors, among others, at a rapid pace. To do this, Saudi Arabia hires the very best consultants from around the world. Simply put, Saudis love their consultants, which means that expatriates from around the world have flocked to Riyadh to advise the Kingdom on a plethora of issues (in fact, my visa to Saudi is called a “consultant’s visa”). The knowledge and experience that these consultants provide, coupled with the corresponding training of its own citizens, has allowed the Kingdom to leapfrog through decades of development in a matter of years.

Blakes own work in Riyadh is advising a newly formed Saudi governmental entity on its legal and regulatory framework. This has meant that the majority of the work I have done in Riyadh revolves around reviewing legislation from around the world to advise the client on the best practices to adopt in structuring its own framework. This is work I never expected to be exposed to at a large corporate law firm, but it has been truly interesting and gratifying.

As to social life in this conservative city, Riyadh surprisingly has a lot to offer. First-class shopping malls, with the added perk of absolutely no sales tax, are hard to resist, while the diversity of international cuisine available in the city provides boundless choices for eating out. Plus, the presence of visiting foreigners from literally everywhere makes Riyadh one of the most diverse cities I have ever visited. Getting to know these expatriates can result in invitations to countless embassy events in Riyadh’s famed “diplomatic quarter,” where all foreign embassies are located side by side. Invitations to American Embassy parties remain the most coveted, but Canadian parties are a close second; the Halloween party at the Canadian Embassy sold out in three days! I have been fortunate to attend quite a few events at the Embassy during my stay in Riyadh — including the weekly hockey game.

In the next dispatch, expect to hear more about the city I’m based out of while in the Gulf: Manama, the capital of the Kingdom of Bahrain.”