JEDDAH: Ahmad Al-Sgaih, spokesman for the Saudi Bar Association, said that the association's board of directors is currently working to complete the initial steps for its launch at the first meeting of the Bar General Assembly in the middle of this year.

Al-Sgaih stressed that Justice Minister Walid Al-Samaani, who is also chairman of the association, is seeking wide participation by Saudi lawyers in order to achieve the objectives of the association by launching a series of dialogue workshops in various cities, such as Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.

The workshops are designed to develop a strategic plan and translate the association’s goals and aspirations into initiatives. Al-Sgaih said that the rollout for the first dialogue workshops in Riyadh, sponsored by the justice minister, would be on Monday, April 4.

The spokesman said that the board had chosen Baker Abdullatif Al-Haboob as secretary-general of the bar. The selection was made according to criteria that met the bar’s objectives and the board wishes him all success in his duties.

Al-Haboob is a legal counsel who has practiced law and has wide experience in governance and leadership. In addition, he has held managerial positions and served on various boards in both the public and the private sector.

Al-Sgaih announced that the board has also agreed on the location of the bar’s headquarters — on the Northern Ring Road in Riyadh.

The Saudi Bar Association was established by a royal decree on April 27, 2015. It is managed by a board composed of nine members chaired by the justice minister plus five lawyers and representatives from the Justice Ministry, the Grievance Board, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Interior and two members from the law faculties.

The bar’s secretariat is an executive arm, which has an important role in operating the bar as it initiates and proposes the agenda for the board’s deliberation and facilitating its decision-making.