Relocating to the Middle East?

If you have ever considered taking your legal career overseas you will know that it is a huge decision requiring an awful lot of research and investigation to be sure that you are fully prepared for a move to a new city, a new country, and often a new culture.

Here at Douglas Scott we understand the decision is life-changing and from experience with our candidates, it is hard to know exactly where to begin. So we’ve put together a suite of City Guides designed to not only give insight into the legal landscape, but to also inform you about the cost of living, cultural differences, and accommodation options to consider.

Over the next few weeks we’ll be focusing specifically on the Middle East; starting with a detailed look at the United Arab Emirates.

With salaries in 2015 forecast to rise at a higher rate than 2013/14 across most of the Middle East, the region is becoming increasingly more attractive for professionals from the UK, Australia and the US. The most obvious attraction other than the low tax rate is that the Middle East are more commonly using the English language and have adopted common law regulations across most of the GCC which makes for an easy transition. Most business transactions are conducted in English law, so lawyers with a UK or Commonwealth background are always very popular and re-qualification is not needed. Practice areas most in demand at present include Corporate / Commercial, Construction (contentious and non-contentious), Real Estate / Property and increasingly Intellectual Property / Patents.

Download our first City Guide for the United Arab Emirates here.

If you have any further questions or would like to speak to one of our specialist International Consultants about current opportunities then don’t hesitate to contact us on T: 0203 755 3441 or E: faye@douglas-scott.co.uk.