- Middle East
- Offices
Al Tamimi & Company will operate in Oman as Al Tamimi & Company Law Firm under Oman's new legal framework for advocacy and legal consultancy, The Oath reported. Chairman Essam Al Tamimi called Oman "an integral pillar of the Firm's strategy for over a decade" and said the firm would sponsor the Arab Lawyers Forum in Muscat on 6 December 2026.
The rebrand follows Royal Decree No. 41/2024 and its Implementing Regulation, Ministerial Decision No. 66/2025. The change is formal rather than a retreat. The firm described it as a new chapter and said it was pursuing opportunities that fit its long-term plans for the office.
Al Tamimi in Muscat since 2013, built out through the BK Law merger
Al Tamimi has operated in Muscat since 2013. In November 2023, it expanded the office by hiring Basma Al Kiyumi and her team from local firm BK Law. Al Kiyumi became head of dispute resolution in Oman, Global Arbitration Review reported.
The merger brought in Al Kiyumi and nine staff members. It also expanded the firm's Oman coverage in tourism and hospitality, logistics, energy and mining, and TMT. Managing partner Samer Qudah described the move as a further commitment to Oman, Zawya reported.
The Oman expansion is part of wider growth. Al Tamimi appointed Rob Ashing as COO in January 2025 to support expansion and strengthen regional leadership, Law.com reported. That month, it also promoted seven partners, Legalcommunity MENA reported. After opening in Casablanca in 2022, the firm had 17 offices across ten countries, Khaleej Times reported.
Royal Decree No. 41/2024 lets foreign firms open in Oman without a local partner
For the first time, the decree allows international firms to establish legal consultancy offices without a local partner. It reversed earlier rules that required a partnership with an Omani firm. The decree took effect six months after issuance and allowed one year for compliance, CMS Law reported.
The conditions are narrow. A foreign firm may open a branch without a local partner only if it has operated for at least fifteen years and has branches in three other countries. Its lawyers need five years' experience to register. Ownership of consultancy offices is reserved for Omani nationals, Decree.om reported. Advocacy, meaning litigation, is reserved for Omani nationals. The market is now divided between advocacy offices and legal consultancy offices, Muscat Daily reported.
Enforcement has begun. In April 2026, the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs warned that only licensed firms may provide legal services and that unauthorised practice could lead to legal action, Times of Oman reported. The reforms form part of broader liberalisation under Vision 2040. That includes the Foreign Capital Investment Law, which allows up to 100 percent foreign ownership, Trowers & Hamlins noted. To compete for that work, firms now need a re-papered, licensed entity.
CMS, White & Case, Kennedys and Trowers already hold Muscat ground
Muscat already has a strong international field. CMS, which established itself in Oman in 2014, was named Middle East Law Firm of the Year for Oman at the 2026 Middle East Legal Awards, CMS reported. White & Case established a Muscat presence in 2021 in association with Mohammed Al Bahr Advocates, White & Case states. Kennedys opened in 2020, Kennedys states.
Trowers & Hamlins has been in Oman since 1980. In 2026, it added Leopold Zentner from DWF to lead its Oman team, Legal 500 records. The requirement that consultancy offices be Omani-owned, along with the reservation of litigation for Omani nationals, increases the need for locally qualified lawyers across the market, Decree.om reported.
Disputes, energy and FDI work anchor Oman's international practices
Al Tamimi's Oman practice is built around dispute resolution, with the Al Kiyumi and BK Law team at its centre, Global Arbitration Review reported. International firms in Oman focus on energy, infrastructure, corporate, finance and disputes. These are also the practices for which CMS was recognised, and they support Vision 2040's diversification plans, CMS reported.
Al Tamimi is also active in employment work. In November 2025, it co-hosted a session on Oman employment-law updates with AmCham Oman, Muscat Daily reported. FDI, M&A and joint-venture structuring are another area of work, reflected in a series of 2026 guides on those topics, Trowers & Hamlins published.
The facts point to a regulated opening, not a rush. A firm with a long-standing Muscat presence has adjusted its legal structure to the new categories. Litigation remains with Omani-qualified lawyers. The practices attracting investment, energy, corporate, disputes and FDI, are the same ones that brought CMS, White & Case, Kennedys and Trowers to the market. The framework determines who may hold a licence and in what form. Competition now takes place within those limits.
