Do you know the path of becoming a lawyer in Malaysia? Let me share with you briefly, so that you can share with someone who is interested to be a lawyer.
The 1st step is to obtain a law degree i.e. LLB (Hons) from the recognised universities. You may obtain the list of the relevant universities from Legal Profession Qualifying Board Malaysia or from the Malaysian Bar website.
Thereafter, you may choose to take up a Bar Vocational Course in England and be called to English Bar or choose to come back to Malaysia to seat for a qualifying exam in order to obtain a Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP). However, for those who have obtained a law degree from UM or NUS (or such person who has possessed the relevant qualification stipulated by the laws), they are not required to seat for neither of the abovementioned exams.
(contributed by www.photonpaint.com)
As soon as you has passed all the requisite exam, you are expected to undergo a 9 months training commonly known as chambering. This is the period where one is exposed to the “real law” world. I bet all the lawyers will not forget this plight period in their practising journey. As a chambie, you are expected to work as hard as a qualified lawyer (or most of the times even harder) with NO salary.
Hah…is it true? yes, you are not entitled to any salary during this period, however, the law firm will pay you a remunaration in form of allowance, the sum of which is as low as a street cleaner’s salary (of course, now a day, may be chambie is getting more than that). The market rate for the allowance in my time ranging from RM300 to RM500 per month. But for those who is lucky enough to get into big firm will get about RM700 to RM1,000 per month.
While serving the 9 months “cheap labour”, you will still need to seat through some exams conducted by Malaysian Bar and partake in Malaysian Bar legal aid programme before you can be called to the Malaysian Bar and become a qualified lawyer.
So, are you still interested to be a lawyer now? of course, on another hand, there are also many sweet memories which still linger in my mind while I was serving my pupilage in chamber.
169 responses so far ↓
1 pablopabla // Dec 7, 2007 at 5:08 pm
Take a lawyer’s advice here :
Forget about wanting to become a lawyer if you think it is glamourous, respectable or high-paying. If you have just finished your A-levels or STPM or equivalent and thinking of studying law, get attached to a law firm for 2 or 3 months and work (general clerk) whilst asking for the opportunity to follow the lawyers to court. See the real working life of a lawyer. Many new lawyers are disillusioned when they found out that it is unlike L.A. Law and coupled with the fact that the judiciary system is now the butt of jokes, it can be depressing.
But if you love law so much, go ahead
2 Kitkat // Dec 8, 2007 at 1:56 am
I was disillusioned by Bill Gates, I tot I could be as rich as him by dropping out of school!
3 June // Dec 8, 2007 at 6:44 am
For those who choose to study law, becoming a corporate counsel is not a bad alternative to pactice. Money’s good (often better), can be ‘glamorous’ (depending on the type of company you’re working for), and the work is interesting. If you get to work for a boss with loads of practice experience like I did, you’ll learn helluvalot about the law.
He’ll probably torture you though like he would a chambering student…heh heh. But at least your pay would help ease your pain.
I know many lawyers who left practice for the corporate scene because they’d become disillusioned after experiencing the real thing. Now they swear making the move was the best thing they ever did for their careers.
So, for those who aren’t sure about taking the professional exam, working 9 months on a street cleaner’s pay and eventually joining an extremely competitive and not-as-glamorous line of work, I’m telling you there’s another way to go.
4 Edward // Dec 8, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Not a subject for a lazy bump like me to study
5 yogi // Dec 8, 2007 at 5:19 pm
It seems many lawyers in Malaysia make very little money. Seems like a lot of hard work for very little pay off. I would recommend when starting uni or doing chambering to do some blogging and learn from Internet gurus like John Reese and Joel Comm. Then at least you have a backup if you get tired of doing law.
6 menj // Dec 10, 2007 at 4:50 pm
I almost took up law myself but what I am earning now is certainly more than a lawyer’s pay!
7 Eddie Law // Dec 11, 2007 at 5:33 pm
Pablo Pabla- thanks for your honest advice. I think all the students so practise that.
Kikat – I am sure one day you will be another “Bill Kat”.
June- your valued opinion is appreciated.
Edward – I think you are a hardworking blogger.
Yogi – so sad, blog wasn’t created when I was doing chambering.
menj – hahahah….of course, you are a great blogger now!
8 How to choose a legal firm for chambering? // Feb 13, 2008 at 1:58 pm
[...] mentioned in my previous post, chambering is a period where you must undergo before becoming a qualified [...]
9 Lee Shih // Feb 20, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Chambering pay in the larger KL firms have now increased significantly I feel. My time, about 3 years back, the norm was about RM1000.
Now, the market rate has crept past the Rm1500 mark, and some firms are already paying anywhere from Rm2000-2500 per month for pupillage allowance.
10 Eddie Law // Feb 21, 2008 at 12:12 am
Yes, you are right as recently I have heard the same thing too from some UM law students.
11 Stanley // Mar 17, 2008 at 2:44 am
can anyone tell me the salary structure from a legal assistant to partner?thank you
12 Eddie Law // Mar 17, 2008 at 9:46 am
Stanley – the salary of a LA will vary from town to town. In KL, I think most firms are paying around RM2,500/month for the 1st year lawyer. However, I heard some firms are even paying close to RM3,000/month.
As for partner position, it is totally depend on the negotiation bewteen the firm and the partner.
13 Wee // Mar 24, 2008 at 2:20 am
i heard that partners in large firm in Malaysia can have a profit sharing of million ringgit annually eventhough some of them are junior partners.How true is this?
14 sleepig // Apr 17, 2008 at 11:26 am
Is it possible for those who don’t have degree in law and yet have been working in legal firms for quite some time, to become lawyers? What are the requirements?
15 Eddie Law // Apr 17, 2008 at 11:57 am
sleepig-I don’t think so as the law does not set any examption for those who work in law firm.
16 Eddie Law // Apr 17, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Wee- you are asking a wrong person as I have not been a partner in a law firm before. But every thing is possible, who knows!
17 sleepig // Apr 18, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Thanks Eddie for the reply.
18 Ying // May 3, 2008 at 8:26 pm
RM2500 per month for a first year LA is just not great…! I think Malaysian lawyers are being exploited. The rules against foreign firms setting up in Malaysia protect a wealthy few – they know that allowing entry to international firms would see them have to really compete and salaries would soar in Malaysia. For the past several years, corporate and finance lawyers have been in demand all over the world – just not in insular Malaysia! Yes, the party is just about over in some markets like London but global firms in Hong Kong and China are still looking for lawyers and many Malaysian lawyers are talented, well-educated and have the right skill set. As a Malaysian-born lawyer now practising overseas I feel I am getting great experience and am very happy with pay, so my humble advice to young lawyers is to strike out to other parts of Asia as early as you can. We are lucky to practise a profession that gives us mobile exportable skills – in a globalised workforce, it should give you a leg up. So please don’t slog away in a jurisdiction that prevents you from taking advantage of this!
19 Eddie Law // May 4, 2008 at 12:33 am
Ying – yes, I agree with you. The pay in overseas is really great. I heard a lawyer in his 4th year is getting HK$80,000 per month (=RM40K). Don’t know if this is true?
20 Ying // May 4, 2008 at 4:32 am
Hi Eddie – yes, HK80,000 per month is possible for a 4th year with the right experience , especially if they speak Mandarin and/or Cantonese. You should note that firms will adjust the experience of any non-US or UK lawyer, depending on the work they have done, their language skills and the firm they were with previously (international firms clearly preferred) – so they may take some years off a Malaysian lawyer’s experience. In my experience though, the pay can still be worth it. This is one of the reasons why I suggested that Malaysian lawyers should go overseas as early as possible. It will be more painful to be penalised for “Malaysian” experience when you are 5 or 6 years qualified than 1 or 2 years.
By the way – good blog! Hope you keep it up. I have not found any other blogs like this about Malaysian law firms.
21 Eddie Law // May 4, 2008 at 11:00 am
Ying- thanks for your credit. Just curious, which country are you in now? Should one intends to go to work at overseas law firm, will they be practising as foreign lawyer or paralegal?
22 Ying // May 4, 2008 at 9:51 pm
I’m working in Shanghai. Overseas lawyers in my firm all practise as foreign lawyers (we have Singaporeans and Malaysians – interesting that none of the Malaysians hold law degrees from Malaysian universities whilst the Singaporeans are mainly NUS grads). If one is very junior (e.g. 1st or 2nd year), one may be offered a trainee position which will lead to becoming a foreign lawyer.
23 Deepak // May 24, 2008 at 6:49 pm
I want to ask a question…
I have completed my Law in May’2007 from a Law College in Bangalore, India. I am also a registered member of the State Bar Council. Can I come to Malaysia and practice Law. What are the rules that I have to comply with and what is the procedure to come there to work? Can you please guide me?
Thanking you in anticipation…
24 Anonymous // May 27, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Hi,
Good site!
On going in-house – the pay might be better in the short run but there is often a glass ceiling (even if you are in-house counsel for a MNC). Lawyers that remain in legal practice and make partner in a well established law firm will often draw more in the long run. As in-house counsel, you are company man and will be expected to toe the line – so much for being independent and insisting on doing what is right.
On practice overseas – yes, if you are a swinging bachelor or do not have many family obligations – go ahead. The exposure is good but pls bear in mind that after practising abroad for many years, the viability of returning to Malaysia to practice diminishes with each passing year.
The medium size and large firms in Malaysia have got good work. It’s just a matter of getting a place in the right firm under the right boss.
FYI, I’m a corporate lawyer in one of the larger medium size firms in KL. I do cross-border transactions with M&A deals in Australia, Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia in this year alone. I have advised and drafted legislation for the Government of Malaysia and is engaged in lobbying work. I made partner in my 6th year and dare say that I am now comfortable .
Reason as to why I am disclosing the above – it’s not to gloat but to let on that legal practice in Malaysia is not all that bad. There is good work out there. There are good firms out there. There are good bosses out there. You just need to be tenacious, have a good head on your shoulders and be prepared to slog. Nothing comes free in life.
25 Eddie Law // May 28, 2008 at 12:16 am
Deepak – Unfortunately I don’t think our law regconised lawyers who are called by Indian Bar and no foreign lawyer is allowed to practise in Malaysia at the moment. If you really want to practise law in Malaysia, the best palce to check with is the Malaysian Bar Council.
However, it is much more easier for your to work as an in-house lawyer in Malaysia.
Anonymous Partner – I salute you, I know it is not easy for a young guy with 6th years experience to be made a partner espacially in a medium size firm.
(I can image how comfortable you are now….hahah!)
I guess, Malaysian lawyers working at overseas is a global tendency now, I got a personal friend who has just secured an in-house position in HK and she is going there tomorrow..hahaha.
Undeniable the salary or income derive from practising here is very much lower than overseas due to living standard.
In term of exposure, it is not depend on the country that one works but the law firm that one joins. Do you agree?
26 Anonymous // May 28, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Eddie,
The legal profession in Malaysia has long been underpaid especially if you are working in the smaller firms. Salaries are however increasing to keep up with global trends as well as the cost of living in Malaysia which has gone up substantially over the past few years. The starting pay for an associate in my firm is RM3k. You get more if you have a masters. Bonuses for performing associates are good.
Salaries in the medium to larger firms have gone up over the course of the past 6 months. My advice to chaps that are about to hit practice is this – go for the bigger firms. You get better pay and better exposure. Be astute enough to enquire whether you will be pigeon-holed into just one type of work. The last thing that a lawyer needs to be is to be in his 5th year and know nothing except due diligence or how to credit card matters. That affects your marketability.
Competition is rife to get into the better firms. We take what we think are the best candidates. On what is “best” – this is quite subjective and will vary from firm to firm. I am actually in charge of recruitment matters in my firm and I look for candidates that I think are fighters and team players. Credentials and good grades matter but is not the only thing that I look at. I have turned top students from overseas blue chip universities away because I think that they do not possess the right attitude. I have taken in average joes who have turned out into extraordinary lawyers (my associate is a case on point). I train vigorously and my expectations are high.
I guess at the end of the day how far and fast one gets ahead in practice is pretty much dependent on that person. You reap what you sow.
Exposure – you’re right Eddie, this depends on the firm you join not the country that you practice in.
CHOOSE THE FIRM THAT YOU WILL CHAMBER OR PRACTICE IN CAREFULLY! Sometimes, it’s not just all about pay. What matters is the type of work you get and whether you are able to find the right mentor in your workplace. The money will come.
I chambered and moved up the ranks in the same firm progressing from pupil to associate to senior associate and now partner. What has kept me honest and rooted where I am is this – I had and still have a good mentor. Trust me, headhunters from the UK, Singapore, the UAE and China have come looking for me over the past few years, but I stayed on where I am because I saw a career path ahead of me and I had a good mentor that helped me chart that career path.
It has been tough getting where I am. A lot of tears and hard work have gone into it.
Point is this – the expectations are no different whether in Malaysia or overseas. To get ahead you’ve got to slog. No 2 ways about it. My working hours are on par with lawyers in magic circle firms in the States or UK (I deal regularly with them). They are long! I am paid well but never enough considering the sacrifices and hours I put in. It never is whether in Malaysia or overseas.
Wake up and smell the roses folks. Its now a global village and the legal profession is about to open up, Malaysian lawyers must learn how to compete and trade blow for blow with overseas lawyers.
EXCITING TIMES ARE AHEAD … ARE WE READY?
Cheerio,
Anonymous
27 Eddie Law // May 30, 2008 at 12:29 am
wow…I see the passion, honesty, positive and “different” lawyer today.
when everyone is rushing to overseas, our Mr AP (or is a Ms?) is still unmoved and stay firm with his (or her?) belief and vision.
It is always enlightening to hear advice from someone who is few years ahead of us.
I am really looking forward to the opening of Malaysian legal industry…
Just curious, do I know you in person Mr/Ms AP?
28 Anonymous // May 30, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Eddie,
I’m afraid you don’t know me in person …
It’s a Mr and I’m in my early thirties (Did I hear someone say that the 30’s are now the new 20’s ?).
Seriously (and this is not the ramblings of an old stick in the mud), I believe that young people joining the legal industry might have to learn take a more long term view of things.
Instant gratification as in instantly high pay is good but what is more important is your ability to command and guarantee the sustainability of that income stream in the long run.
It’s pointless starting off with a bang but not ending the race ahead of the rest. When I started legal practice 7 years ago, my pay was quite honestly crap compared with what some of my other friends were drawing back then (these people joined MNCs, chose to practice abroad, etc). I kept at it however and I dare say that my earning power now is on par if not more than those chaps (and my drawings are still going up whereas some of those chaps’ have stagnated).
Again, I’m saying all this, not to gloat but hopefully to give fresh graduates a different spin or take on things. Legal practice is tough wherever you go. To last, you need to be passionate about what you do and you constantly need to upgrade your knowledge and soft skills. The more versatile you become as a lawyer, the higher your worth is to your employer. That’s how you make your way up the corporate ladder. That’s how you guarantee the sustainability of your income stream in the long run. That’s how you get your promotions. Hard work is of course a given.
My advice for the fresh grads is to get out there and look for a good firm to chamber in. Look for a firm that is dynamic. Ask if that firm has a proper chambering programme or if pupils are left to swim or drown by themselves. Some firms pay good allowance but give very little training to its pupils. Look for a firm that trains and which invest in its people (and these may not necessarily be the firms which offer the highest chambering allowances because they know exactly what it is that they bring to the table). Some firms pay high allowances because they deploy their chambering students as “lawyers” (not “lawyers in training”) with little or no supervision. Check with people in industry about the firm that you are intending to join and if you have seniors from law school in that firm, ask them for a no holds barred account of what it is like to read in chambers there.
Cheerio,
Anonymous
29 leesh // May 31, 2008 at 11:42 am
Anonymous raised the important issue that one has to be passionate about what one is doing. In terms of upgrading of skills, you have to ensure that you are kept abreast of the developments in the law: read MLJ/CLJ/AMR every week and try to ensure exposure to different areas of the law even within your specialisation (e.g. insolvency litigation, minority oppression, schemes of arrangement, breach of directors’ duties). Regardless of your area of practice, keep up to date on commercial issues: read the Edge, read the business section of the newspapers every day, log on to the Bursa website to read the announcements.
Exposure will depend on a large extent to the firm you join and I think to an even larger extent, it depends on the boss you are working for. Larger firms may be able to offer, on paper, international links and wide practice areas. You may however still be stuck doing a very narrow scope of work which you might not enjoy. Something along the lines of neverending due ds or routine debt collection files. On the flip side, you may be fortunate to have a partner who takes interest in your professional development and ensures enough guidance and tutelage.
Touching on lawyers leaving for practice overseas, I see two common factors. The first is the issue of higher pay. I am envious when I see my peers from school, who started practice in Singapore, now earning more than double what I do, and that is before conversion. After conversion, that becomes more than 4 times what I earn. Of course there is the issue of the higher cost of living in Singapore. But I have written about this before, and aside from having a car (use public transportation) and housing (which is very high), it is not that expensive to live there. The spending power really is quite high. Long term however, when you can’t own your own flat or house, when you want to raise a family overseas, your high pay may not be able to sustain you.
The second issue is that of exposure. The deals, the large-scale litigation, the cross-border elements, the presence of foreign firms, all add to the perception that you will get a lot more exposure in a foreign jurisdiction. With the advantage of immediate employment, without a need for qualification, Singapore is very attractive for younger lawyers to make the jump over.
Let me throw in a 3rd point. Another common phrase I hear is that “I am already working till 11pm or midnight every day. I might as well go to a different jurisdiction, work the some hours, and get a much better pay.”
Having said that, the long term prospects e.g. making equity partnership in a foreign jurisdiction would be slim. There may very well be a stagnation point, where your increments drip to a stand-still.
30 serena // Jun 12, 2008 at 4:58 am
What if I have a law degree from a local public university? Will I be at a slight disadvantage compared to graduates with foreign degree (England etc.)?
31 Eddie Law // Jun 17, 2008 at 3:15 pm
serena – if you work in Malaysia, I will say NO (in fact, some law firms even prefer local graduates). if you work at overseas, I guess it depends, say if you apply to work at overseas without gaining any experience in Malaysia, I think you may be at the disadvantage but if you have gained some working experience then which University you are from may not be so crucial.
32 Sheeba Tanah Melayu // Jul 8, 2008 at 9:43 am
Hi,
I wld like to ask for someone who has an ICSA qualification from the old ITM. He was quite familiar with business law, and recently on corporate services things (e.g. labour law, environment compliance, etc.). Wld anyone advise how a senior citizen like him can read law and be a qualified lawyer in Malaysia (if possible without to go through chambering?!!)? Thanks.
33 Eddie Law // Jul 8, 2008 at 9:59 am
Sheeba Tanah Melayu -I am not sure if your ICSA will get you exampted from any subjects in pursuing your LLB. After obtaining LLB you will need to sit for the qualifying exam and then undergo 9 months of chambering. You may only be exampted from chambering if you has served in certain judicial department for a certain period of time.
34 Adila // Jul 17, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Eddie,
I am a law student from UITM graduating in BLS in November. My next step is to either get the 1 year LL.B or the CLP and afterwards the chambering.
I want to work overseas, can I work in the EU or am I confined to work in Malaysia with this local degree, or perhaps in Hong Kong or Taipei? I don’t speak Mandarin, but I speak excellent Spanish and Arabic, so I am wondering if I might be able to transport my legal degree abroad.
To Ying, I am very interested in working overseas. If you are reading this, would you mind contacting me?
35 LYN // Jul 17, 2008 at 6:30 pm
can a qualified m’sia lawyer(with uk degree) go to work in any country ?
36 LYN // Jul 17, 2008 at 6:36 pm
i want to work n live in oversea.but my friend told me that UK will not hire a foreign lawyer.im the 1st year law student.
1)what should i do to make myself become as a qualified lawyer in UK?
2)what bout the other country?wil they hire a M’sia lawyer?what are the requirements?
37 Eddie Law // Jul 19, 2008 at 10:47 am
Adila – I am not sure if EU or overseas do recognise our M’sian local degree. Should you really wish to work at overseas, I think there are 2 options that may increase your chance being hired by overseas firm 1. to pursue a postgraduate degree in an international university e.g. from UK or Australia…2. to work with a M’sia firm which has affiliation with international firm (e.g. Wong & Partners) or the largest law firms for few years. I got a friend who work with a famous law firm in KL and now has been hired by a Hong Kong developer.
LYN – as fas as i know, you may work as a foreign lawyer in some countries, not too sure about UK. The requirement is that you must be qualified in Malaysia and graduated from the universities recognised by the qualifying board in the respective country. I know there are many S’pore law firm looking for Malaysian lawyers now a day and hired them as foreign lawyers. A S’pore law firm has just advertise in eLawyer.com.my to look for M’sian candidate.
38 Jude // Aug 8, 2008 at 8:55 am
Hi Eddie,
Thank you for your blog.
I am a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and I also hold a masters of e-commerce. I spent my earlier years in a large accounting firm in Australia and Malaysia and recently I have semi-retired to look after my 2 year old baby.
I want a change and boost in my career and therefore am thinking of pursuing law.
Do you have a recommendation on which University I should go to?
As I am 34 years old, I am looking for an educational institution which will give me a highly recognised degree which will also enable me to practise law in the fastest manner.
What would your recommended career path be for me?
Cheers,
Jude
39 Eddie Law // Aug 8, 2008 at 11:06 am
Hi Jude – it is very much depend on where you want to practise at the end? If you only want to practise in Malaysia then you can join the London External Programme and sit for CLP (the qualifying test). If you think of practise overseas it would be good for you to study in a Uk University and get admitted to the English Bar. Please bear in mind of the changes that going to take place when the Common Bar Exam is implemented.
40 Jude // Aug 8, 2008 at 12:54 pm
I intend to only practice in Malaysia.
What about University Malaya?
What are the changes that will take place when the Common Bar Exam is implemented?
41 Eddie Law // Aug 9, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Jude- I am not sure if UM taking in matured student. Of course, UM gradusates are very welcome in Malaysian legal market especially by some of the largest law firms.
The Common Bar Exam will make everyone to sit for it in order to be qualified to practise law in M’sia, as such, I am not sure if they still recognise English Bar Exam in view of such implementation in the future.
Read this http://www.laweddie.com/wordpress/2008/05/15/clp-exam-to-be-abolished-soon/
42 Jenx // Aug 18, 2008 at 9:53 am
I am an in-house counsel for a MNC. Monies are good and exposure is great. I am wondering whether law firms in Malaysia are interested hiring in-house counsels without a cut in our pay? What is the salary now for a 7 year experienced LA?
43 Jenx // Aug 18, 2008 at 9:56 am
Jude – UM used to offer Bachelor of Jurisprudence (External Law Programme) for matured students. You can contact UM to see whether the course is till being offered. All subjects are thse samae except you dun do it in UM. Colleges / Universities like HELP or ATC offer lectures and tutorials for this program.
44 Jenx // Aug 18, 2008 at 9:59 am
Also, Eddie, I would like to know what is the site address for Malaysian In House Cousel. Thanks.
45 Eddie Law // Aug 18, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Jenx – Law firm in Malaysia will hire 2 types of person – 1st is consultant (always being some retired judges or well known lawyers), 2nd is lawyer who is qualified to practise in Malaysia.
Paralegal position is possible but not many firms offer these positions.
I believe someone with 7 years PQE may demand a monthly salary of RM7 -10k in Malaysia (depend of the size of the firm). Lawyer with 7 years PQE is deemed as senior lawyer based on the Bar Council. Senior lawyer is very much likely to be made as partner in a law firm (of course, depend on his performance).
what do you mean by url for Malaysian In House Councel? there is no such body governing in-house lawyer but if you refer to job opportunities, you may visit http://www.elawyer.com.my
Just curious, are you now working in M’sia or overseas?
46 Jude // Aug 19, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Thanks Jenx and Eddie.
I found this:
http://www.brickfieldscorp.com/bjuris/fact.htm
47 Eddie Law // Aug 21, 2008 at 11:02 am
Jude – Brickfield college is one of the long history of law colleges in Malaysia. Do check out some of the other law schools too so that you may have a better comparison of their performance.
48 rookie // Jan 8, 2009 at 2:36 pm
hello..i jus finishing my high school last year..n im confuse whether i want to pursue my study in design or law…bcause my family running a business in interior design so they hoping me to take design courses..i never think bout takin law but my school counsellor n teachers told me that i hv the talent to be a lawyer because i always take part in debates or public speaking comp. until i manage to represents my school in the state level n for sure i dun think im good in drawing if i want to take design–__–…i think im interested in law so i wanna kno what is the requirements to be a lawyer in malaysia..is it lawyer still hv a high demand in malaysia? n if im takin law is it will be useful to help me running my family business?
49 Goh // Jan 8, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Hi, rookie,
I think you still have time to consider and think about what you really want in your life. You should ask yourself what your interest is. That is the idealistic view. The practical view is, you should see what your ability is and what the market wants. It depends on what kind of person you are, whether idealistic or practical. To decide on a course to study is a crucial matter. The advises from other people are just considerations for you, you need not take them blindly. Thus, what your teacher/parent/friends said should not be followed blindly.
Secondly, being active in debates doesn’t mean you can be a good lawyer. Many good debaters are not law students. They are students from philosophy school, mass communication school, linguistic school and even engineering school! Xiao Hui Min, the Astro AEC presenter, was not a law student but she was chosen as best debater in debate competitions. Being lawyer is not just about debating. Sometimes you may even be required not to talk too much in order to get the things you want. Obviously, your teachers/friends have got confused concept about being a lawyer. You should not listen too much to them.
Thirdly, being a lawyer is not as interesting as how you think is. There are so much of liability, pressure, traps and challenges involved. Only the members in the profession can tell you. Sometimes you may think that you should have joint another profession.
Next, there are already so many lawyers out there. Majority of the lawyers do the common legal matters. Minority of the lawyers do the specialisation. There are fierce competitions in the practice of common legal matters.
So, you probably should consider inheriting your family business. Afterall, you need not be very great in drawing, you just need to hire designers for you. Further, you can use IT for design nowadays. However, the decision is yours. Like what I said, you should do the evaluation on your own. It’s just that we should break the misconception about many professions.
50 rookie // Jan 9, 2009 at 4:07 pm
thanks for ur advice goh =)
51 Eddie Law // Jan 11, 2009 at 10:25 am
Hi rookie – it is good that you try to gain more information/advice about the legal profession (academic aspect and practice aspect) in this early stage.
To a certain extend I agree with Goh, that many people seems to have misconception about law practising, however, I believe every profession (be it lawyer or desiger) has 2 sides to it.
In deciding what suite you most, I would encourage you to find out where your passion lies and what are your strengths, more often than not these 2 are inter-related.
As such, it is rather important to have a serious career counseling before you really decide what subject you want to pursue to in your university.
God has made everyone uniquely and everyone has his/her strenghts or talent. Only when you are able to find out what is your talent and what is required by the particular profession then you are able to make the so called “most aptly” desicion.
I am not sure about designer, but for legal practise, I believe the foundamental characteristic required are rationale thinking mind set or strong analytical skill, strong language skill and of course passion in law.
We only live our life once, hence, don’t be too influence of what other want you to do.
I want to emphasise here, you SHALL now seriously find out what are your strenghths and the requirements of the respective profession, before you make up your mind. This will save you a lot of time in life…
I hope this will help. Let me know should you need further assistance.
52 Eddie Law // Jan 11, 2009 at 10:28 am
rookie – sorry forgot to answer 2 questions posted by you.
1. yes, lawyer is always in demand in our current market.
2. taking law will not help you in managing your desinging business.
53 Eddie Law // Jan 11, 2009 at 10:32 am
rookie – last thing, if you are in KL on 17 Jan 2009, I will encourage you to drop by the Legal Career Fair 2009 at Legend Hotel from 10am – 3pm, there are more than 15 reputable law firms participated in this year event. Talk to the lawyers and I believe you will get many valuable and “insider” info.
I will be there too.
54 adryenne // Jan 13, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Hi eddie law,
I’ve actually sent you an email but i’m not sure if you received it, so i’ll just post my question i sent you via email here. Here goes.
I came across your blog on the internet and i was hoping you could share some of your experiences as a lawyer and also shed some light unto the uncertainties that i have regarding this profession. I have just finished A levels and i have been contemplating if i should pursue a law degree and choose a career in the law field. So i thought it might be helpful if i ask someone who has already gone through the whole process of LL.B, CLP, chambering before becoming a lawyer and have been practicing it for a couple of years.
I have heard many times of people saying that there are a lot of jobless lawyers and that it is very difficult to find a job in Malaysia. Does this statement prove to be true? What was it like when you took LL.B? I intend to pursue a LL.B program at KDU, twinning with University of Tasmania, where i will study 3 years in Malaysia and 1 year in Tasmania, Australia. I know many would advise me to take external program with University of London instead as it is more reputable and a degree from UK is often regarded as being of a better quality. The reason i choose the twinning course is because i want to experience a life in a different country and i believe the exposure i have overseas will mould me into a better person, with values instilled in me that are often seek after by employers. However, it is not a UK degree nor is it a first tier university, will it be a disadvantage to me? What are your 2 cents on this matter? Is it advisable to pursue an Australian degree that takes longer to complete?
In your experience as a lawyer, does where you study LL.B hold much importance to an employer from a big law firm? Haha i’m sorry for bombarding you with so many questions, but these are questions that need to be answered before i come to a decision. I read from your blog that CLP is to be abolished, but until the board comes up with a new set of exam, does it mean that CLP is still in effect? Given CLP’s notorious reputation for lacking transparency and with a ridiculously low passing rate, is it feasible to invest so much time and money into this career path when you only have about 20% chances of obtaining a certificate that allows you to practice law?
What are the career prospects of being a lawyer? Salary wise, do medium to large law firms pay well? I know that monetary rewards shouldn’t be my primary concern, but i will have to take up study loans to finance my education and this makes it important for me to ensure that i have the neccessary means of paying off the debts that i owe. I’m sure competition to enter top firms such as Wong & Partners would be fierce, so do such firms exclusively accept law graduates from Ivy Leagues only? If i don’t practise law, what can i do with a law degree?
I guess that’s it. Thank you for your time. Do share some of your ideas and advice on this matter. I appreciate it very much. Anyone who sees this, i would appreciate if you do that too. Thanks.
55 rob // Jan 28, 2009 at 1:32 am
Hi Eddie
Just to pick up on being a lawyer in Malaysia, I am an English qualified solicitor and current practice Real Estate law in London. What would I need to do t practice as a lawyer in Malaysia?
Many thanks
Rob
56 J // Feb 17, 2009 at 3:39 pm
I’m a pre-U student soon to be attending University, and may take up an offer by the University of Kent to study Law. However I found out that the LLB degree from Kent is not listed in the list of Univesities recognized by the Malaysian Bar. Also, the webpage I found from this blog (referring to the Malaysian Bar) only refers to the Inns of Court in England. Is there still a way for me to return and practise here in Malaysia? Or will I be able to be a member of the English Bar? Please advise. Thanks.
57 Rob // Feb 17, 2009 at 6:48 pm
Hi J
You can complete your degree, then complete the Legal Practice Course (LPC) for solicitors or the Bar Vocational Course (BVC) for Barristers and then do a 2 year training contract to qualify as a lawyer in England & Wales. You can then work in Malaysia if you are qualified in the UK, are a Malaysian National and pass their “Transfer Test” which you can read more about from the Malaysian Bar website. You would then be a dual qualified lawyer.
58 J // Feb 18, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Thanks Rob for the advice. Another open question, does that mean I can’t come back to Malaysia after I finish my LLB in Kent and take the CLP?
59 gurl // Feb 25, 2009 at 1:48 pm
hi.. im a very unfortunate graduate of uni of london external who got a 3rd class.. i was wondering if any1 could could make suggestion to me how could i practice in msia now? or shall i consider the end being a lawyer..
besides clp and bvc is there aany other option? shall i re-do my llb in a local uni? that doesnt sound good.. thamk you for the assistance..
60 Rob // Feb 28, 2009 at 2:02 am
Hi Gurl
As it happens i too have a third class degree from an english university. I was very disappointed and formed very similar views. However with persevereance I managed to get onto the LPC at college of law and from there i managed to get a training contract at a 5 partner firm. I tried to do as much commercial work as i could get my hands on an (upon qualification) I managed to move to a top 50 law firm in the north west of England. I am now working at a well resected firm in London. It was very very difficult to get a training contract and i was turned down many many times before even being given the opportunity to interview. I sometimes chose to omit my degree result from my CV and just put LLB hons in Law in the hope that some would give me the benefit of the doubt on the application process. Bear in mind that Fiona Shackleton got a third and if she is good enough for Paul McCartney and Prince Charles then it is good enough for me.
61 vijaya raj // Mar 19, 2009 at 2:30 pm
dear sir/madem
i have compleate my law degree in madurai law college in 2005 and now i have finished my 3 year parctice in law field at various court. now i would like to work at malaysiyan law firm any. kindly send any great idea to me sir. and also i expect valuable reply to u thanking u .
with regards
vijay raj .
62 vijaya raj // Mar 19, 2009 at 2:32 pm
dear sir/madem
name :vijaya raj
63 vijaya raj // Mar 19, 2009 at 2:34 pm
am thamilnadu from india. i studied in govt.law college madurai .dr.ambedkar law university chennai.
64 shaft // Mar 20, 2009 at 1:23 am
hey eddy,
i am currently in my second year of BLS in Uitm. i want to ask for your opinion. firstly, would it be better for me to continue my LLB in Malaysia or should i take it in UK? i would really love to finish it in UK however the CLP exam is my main concern. are they going to implement the CBE anytime soon. thank you eddy!
65 Jack Johnson // Mar 25, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Dear Eddie,
I’m a 2nd year LLB student of MMU Melaka, and i’m a JPA scholar. With that, i am bonded with the government for 6 years. My question is rather off topic from all the great and informative replies above though. I’d say i’ve learnt alot from all the replies here, however, it is really not often we can find information on how it is to work with the government in this very legal field.
It would be a great help for me if anyone could tell me more about the working life with the government .
Thanks in advance.
Regards
66 Eddie Law // Jun 2, 2009 at 11:27 am
Sorry for the late reply guys.
Hi adryenne – i don’t think it is difficult for a lawyer to secure job in Malaysia. Many career choises are available to lawyer, e.g. practise, in-house legal officers, lecturing…etc.
Obtaining a law degree from UK and Australia to me doesn’t make a lot of different when one practises in Malaysia, the main thing is you should obtain your degree from the reputable university as indeed, many law firms do look at what university the candidate graduated when deciding if to call someone for an interview, this is espacially so for the young lawyer.
Law firm in medium size firm and large firm always pay better then the smaller firm, however, this is not always the case as many of my clients thought there are small firms but they pay as high as large firm.
Rod & Vijaya Raj – please refer to this article in relation to foreign lawyer practising in Malaysia:
http://www.laweddie.com/wordpress/a-consideration-for-foreign-practitioners-entering-the-legal-profession-in-malaysia/
gurl – you still can move on to be great success in legal field apart from being in practise.
shaft – look at the pace things moving, I am not sure if CBE will be implemented in a near future.
Jack Johnson – i have not been working in government department before hence can’t really give my 2 cents thought on this, however, i will try to invite one of my friend who works in government department now to share some of his experience, if he willing to.
67 Eddie Law // Jun 2, 2009 at 11:30 am
Hi J – it would be advisable if you could pick an university which is recognised by the Legal Profession Qualifying Board, which will save you many trouble.
68 Jack Johnson // Jun 3, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Thank you very much Eddie Sir, Please let me know once your friend is willing to share
69 nina // Jun 7, 2009 at 2:54 am
hello mr eddie,
i am a law student from uitm.i would like to know te best path that i should choose for my career.i really want to do something that is related to my interest but i also want to have good pay.
i would like to know what are the differences,pros and cons of being a lawyer in private firms, deputy public prosecutor,magistrate and lecturer.
i want to know the salary range of these professions and the differences between all of these.
i also would like to know the current salary paid to the chambering students in malaysia.
tq so much.
70 Eddie Law // Jun 8, 2009 at 11:06 pm
nina – whatever path that you take should be the one that match your talent/gift. so that you will have better opportunity to be excelled in that career. so you must know yourself before you decide the next step. Taking some test may help you to understand yourself.
As for the different requirement and salary aspect of the 4 careers that you mentioned:
1. private practise – this will “seem” to be the most lucrutive career as it perceived amongst the 3 others. but the stress and challenge is equally high.
2. DPP & Magistrate – these 2 are government service, don’t do it for the sake of money in short term. The salary increment is not as high as someone work in private sector. however, this will lay a good track record in your profile.
3. lecturer – you may have a decent income with comfortable working environment, however, if your passion is not on academic then I may afraid you won’t do it for long.
I still believe and I must stress that:
1. you must understand your strenght
2. try to be a bit flexible when you are young as whatever job that you take will help in your life, unless you are very sure of what you want in your life.
Best of luck and do let me know what you choose in due course.
The KL current normal market allowance rate for chambering position is RM1,000 – RM1,500, of course, i also heard that a firm even pay up to RM2,500…
71 nina // Jun 12, 2009 at 5:23 am
helli mr eddie..
tq for you advise,i really appreciate it.
i think i should try to work with private company first.
if i want to do chambering next time, i would like to seek advice from you in future.
tq so much!
72 veena // Jun 28, 2009 at 2:15 pm
hello there.. i would like to know if canadian llm is recognised in malaysia? i have completed my llb as an external student of uni of london.. therefore now i would like to proceed with my llm.. your reply is very much appreciated..thank u
73 Kennis // Jun 30, 2009 at 11:52 am
Dear Sir,
Good Morning, i would like to enquiry something about my courier.
Im’ working in the legal line almost 10 years, im very interesting working in the legal firm.
How can i become a lawyer?
Best regards,
Kennis
74 elle. g // Jul 8, 2009 at 10:49 pm
Dear Eddie,
First off, I’m so glad to have found this site! Thank you for helping give a few pointers to those of us who need the experience of those who are ahead of us.
I graduated a few months ago and am now looking for a firm to chamber in. I deliberately delayed my chambering because I didn’t feel ready for the experience, and wanted to do some social work before jumping into the next 9 months of my life. I’m ready now.
As Anonymous said above, it’s important to find the right firm to chamber with, along with the right boss. I don’t mind hard work as long as I receive proper guidance and exposure. Do you happen to know of any established middle-sized firms where students have received good chambering experiences? I’m completely lost and would appreciate any suggestions.
Thank you in advance!
75 Eddie Law // Jul 9, 2009 at 9:41 am
Nina – you are most welcome and hope you can update us on your legal career path.
Veena – as far as legal professional qualifying board concerns, they only take into account of your LLB degree not your LLM.
Kennis – may i know what is the job that you are doing now? in general, everyone who wants to be a practising lawyer in Malaysia must obtained a law degree (from recognised universities) and then either choose to do CLP in Malaysia or admitted to the Bar in England. If you are graduated from local universities then you will be exempted from doing CLP.
However, exception applies to the “articled clerk” as described in section 10 of the Legal Profession Act.
elle.g – it is good that you took a step back and wait till yourself are ready before you embark into something.
In general you should choose a law firm which allows you to work in different departments in the law firm during your 9 months. This is commonly known as “rotation system”. I know most of the large firms do provide this and medium size firm like Cheang & Ariff provide this as well.
If you already know what is the areas of law that you want to practise then you may find the law firm who specialises in the area of practise and join them during your chambering. This is because many law firms prefer to take young lawyer from their pool of pupils and it is easier to get in as a pupil then a legal assistant.
I hope this answered your queries.
76 silver may // Jul 19, 2009 at 3:58 pm
hello eddie,
your site has provided useful information for soon to be lawyers and many others who want to enter the legal profession.
i am looking for firms to chamber in kuala lumpur, preferably medium sized firms with alot of exposure to different areas of practice. it is an eventful or uneventful 9 months and i want to make it an exciting one. no doubt hard work and perseverance comes with it.
it is “shopping” time for me. i want to be trained under a firm not just for the reasonable pay but importantly, a place i would like to work for in the long run. any suggestions?
77 yujii // Jul 22, 2009 at 10:01 pm
hello eddie, i’m curraany ently a third year student doing law.(still so far to go).i need some help looking for private sponsorship. any advise?thanks
78 yujii // Jul 22, 2009 at 10:03 pm
sorry for the spellings,its suppose to be
“currently”
79 yev // Aug 5, 2009 at 2:24 pm
hi Eddie,
Not sure if this is the right platform to ask, but would just like to find out how much is the market rate for the salary of a 4-5 years experience lawyer?
80 bella // Aug 7, 2009 at 2:21 pm
hey i has a question.can i study law with spm result?and how good is my spm result should be?
81 Annabelle // Aug 10, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Hi!
I recently won a mooting competition at Bond Uni, Aus and overall outstanding advocate with a scholarship to study law and am quite keen. However, my question is exactly like Bella’s. I heard from my teachers that Harvard Law School provides 2 scholarships for SPM students with good results ( don’t have to be topnotch ) and extremely active in coccum. More of an all-rounder. Is that true? I’ve been googling but the result is quite unproductive. How bout Yale University? Do I still have to sit for SAT? I do understand that the legal system in US is diff as Msia, but if I intend to come back to practise I just need to take the CLP right?
Your response is definitely very very much appreciated.
I’ll be looking forward to know more from you!
Best regards.
82 Sue Anne // Aug 12, 2009 at 8:38 pm
Hi Eddie, I have just completed my BAR in London and am returning to Malaysia to apply for a chambering position in a medium to large firm. Do you know what is the best paying firm in KL? I heard that Wong & Partners are offering Rm 3k for their pupils and 1st year L.A’s are earning more than RM 4k. Can you advise as to how difficult it is to secure a chambering position in Wong & Partners?
Sue Anne
83 Eddie Law // Aug 12, 2009 at 10:35 pm
Silver may – I can’t really give you the specific names of the firms here as they are just too many what I consider good firms out there.
Perhaps, below are some indications that you should look up for:
1. rotation of areas of practice, whereby the firm allows you to expose to different areas of practices during your 9 months, which is mainly corporate, conveyancing and litigation.
2. at least “2 tiers of structure” – which means they are partners and legal assistant (instead of firm with only partner and no legal assistant), so that even sometimes (most of the times) the partners are busy, you still have legal assistant to guide you during your pupilage. [But of course they are execption where the partners are really committed to guide their chambies]
3. Reasonable pay – from the amount of allowance that they pay, you may know that if the firm does consider the welfare of the pupil. [again this is not absolute fact]
4. chances of being retained – some large firm taking in more than 20 pupils at one time and only able to offer very limited vacancies to thier pupils, in this case, you are competiting with so many peers and your chance of being retained is very slim. Do take this into account.
5. reference checking- try to check with those who has chambered in the same firm and take thier opinion as reference.
Yujii – I know there are 2 law firms offer scholarship to law student. email me and i will give you the details.
bella – you will need to take a pre-u programme or a-level equivalent before you can do your 1st years LLB (law degree) programme. Different colleges has different requirement, at my time, 5 credit in spm (including English & Math) will do. Not very sure about the current requirement, the best way is to check with the respective colleges.
Annabelle – I don’t think our qualifying board recognised US law degree. as we are following commonwealth legal system. However, the best way to check is to obtain the list of recognised university from the Legal Professional Qualifying Board.
Sue Anne – so far I heard the best allowance for chambering student in KL is RM2,500. I am not too sure if Wong & Partners pays RM3,000 as allowance to their chambering student. I won’t be surprise if that is the case as they are always the “best pay” firm in KL. I still remeber few years back, when I am earning RM500/month during my chambering time, Wong & Partner was paying RM1,500 to their chambies.
84 Eddie Law // Aug 12, 2009 at 10:42 pm
Sue Anne – i forgot to tell you that as to how difficult to get a pupilage position with Wong & Partnes, I don’t have specific answer. Of course, the competition is obviously fierce. However, below are few tips you can do to impress any law firm when they receive your application:
1. understand the preferred mode of application – i.e. some firms prefer all the application to be sent through email only some still prefer fax …
2. always write an impressive cover letter – cover letter must not be longer that 1 page.
4 main points to be included in the cover letter, 1st citing how do you learn about the vacancy (if applicable), 2nd tell them briefly your current status, 3rd shows that you know the background of the firm & 4th why you think you are suitable for the post.
85 kimberly khoo // Aug 20, 2009 at 5:15 pm
I work at Wong & Partners. They pay pupils good ~2.8k.
I am only 3rd year but earning more than 10k.
86 Eddie Law // Aug 20, 2009 at 5:21 pm
wow…Kimberly, this sounds unbelievable in Malaysia legal market. I am sure their HR manager must be very busy in filtering the applications. Hahaha!
Thanks for the clarification.
87 Nic // Aug 27, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Hi Eddie,
I am lost and I really need your advise.
I had completed my LLB (Business Law) from London Metropolitan University in Jun 2009. And now I am facing a few problems:
1) I intend to practise in Malaysia. In ordert to do so, I will have to sit for the CLP exam. Unfortunately, I just found that the University is not recognised by the Malaysian Bar, though its LLB degree is recognised by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority and the Bar Standards Board (English) as a Qualifying Law Degree allowing progression to the Legal Practice Course (solicitors) or the Bar Course (barristers).
2) I applied the course as a mature student and the Uni requried me to take up its Foundation Programme for Legal and Social Studies (as a legal path way). In fact, I didn’t take A-level nor STPM as pre-u course. After all, people told that foundation programme as legal path way is not recognised in Malaysia, and it will be a problem for me to practise in Malaysia.
These two essential points seem kicking me away from taking the CLP exam and thus, unable to practise in Malaysia.
However, as noted from this website and http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/599183
it seems possible for me to take BVC or LPC in UK (in a recognised Uni) and then practising my chambering in Malaysia.
So, I am wondering if:
1) I take BVC/LPC in UK. After the BVC/LPC exam, return to Malaysia and then complete my chambering here. Can it be done in this way?
If it is workable, would I be able apply for membership to the Malaysian Bar? Would the Board asks for the A-level or STPM/ LLB degree at this stage (after the completion of chambering in Malaysia)?
Or, if it is unworkable, I can only practise my chambering in UK after the Bar Exam and return after I become a barrister/solicitor. Am I right?
Looking forward to hearing from you soon…
88 Anonymous // Aug 27, 2009 at 11:24 pm
Hi Nic,
Considering that your qualification is not recognised by the Qualifying Board pursuant to s.3(c), you will have to consider alternative routes to become a qualified person. The route that you are currently considering falls under s.3(b). You do not have to complete any pupillage in England before being a qualified person in Malaysia. The pre-requisite is for you to have received the Degree of the Utter Bar. Thereafter, you will be able to file your petition papers once you have a pupil master.
However, due to recent changes in the UK for admission into the Bar Professional Training Course (replacing the BVC due to be implemented for the 2010 intake), you will have to sit for an aptitude test before enrolling and the examination standards will be increased accordingly.
89 Anonymous // Aug 27, 2009 at 11:27 pm
In addition, if you intend to take the LPC, you will have to ensure that you have a training contract before coming back because if you are not a solicitor in England, you will not be a qualified person under the Act [PU(B) 633/81].
90 Nic // Aug 28, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Thanks Eddie and Anonymous for giving me such a clear picture of what options I am having now.
I am, however, in a decision hard time as the Migration Advisory Committee’s (“MAC”) recommendations to limit local companies to hire non-EEA nationals has fully accepted by the UK Gov.
Therefore, the chance of securing a job or traning contract in a UK firm doesn’t seem possible now.
That sounds really sad…..
Well, for the new Bar Professional Training Course which implements next yr will further diminish my hope to become a qualified person….. I am in a panic… Help, anyone could guide me through this difficulty??
91 vkey // Sep 13, 2009 at 10:47 pm
eddie can u let me know where can i take BOJ in kl? And what do you think of the course?
92 Eddie Law // Sep 16, 2009 at 9:24 am
Nic- try to have a word with the Legal Professional Qualifying Board see if they can shed some lights on your situation.
vkey – have you try UM? last time they did provide BOJ, not sure now.
93 S.R. // Sep 16, 2009 at 12:37 pm
hi..
i just completed my CLP..applied for chambering position in few places….got cond offer from 1 of the largest firms in msia with high pay n a medium firm with a very good boss…but lower pay…very confused now..the big firm also promised good mentoring and chances of retaining.not sure how to choose?help
94 yellowpotato // Sep 16, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Hey!!! i just completed my A-Levels programme and a few months back, I watched a few movies depicting the legal scene (A few good men, amazing grace) and i was HUGELY inspired to take up this profession as I want to make a positive change in tis world and i feel tat taking up law provides an avenue for me to do this. My current plan is to either go over to Tasmania to do my LLB or do a UK Degree transfer at INTI. Since then I’ve been interviewing people i know who come into contact with lawyers pretty often (and lawyers themselves, also) about the industry and most of them have told me that the movies are NOT in any way relevant to the true life of being a lawyer – but it’s not wrong to dream, right? Dreams also provide passion, and you don’t get anywhere if you dont have a dream to begin with. So far the comments i’ve heard are – Overworked and underpaid, looong working hours (instead of til 5, til 10/11), stress, scarce social and family time..are all these true? To be honest, I am willing to work and give my BEST-in terms of hours, commitment and energy, but at the same time I really really want to get married as well! the people I know have shared that most lawyer women are single and in their 40s or over the hill -_- Are these myths or truths? Is being a lawyer really such a draining job? I hope you can provide me with some insight as you are the one with the expreince (especially the part about the single women) THANKS ALOT!!!!!
95 john88 // Sep 29, 2009 at 4:45 pm
hye eddie,
it has been very informative reading ur blog and all the comments above.im a 2nd year law student in local private university. my question to u is on how do one become a majistrate or a dpp? ive heard that to become a majistrate u can be one by just obtaining llb or straight after u grad..is that true?what is it like being a majistrate or a dpp? can u pls advice me on this. thanking u in anticipation.
hve a good day!
96 Gnanam // Oct 2, 2009 at 1:26 am
hey…..im kinda new to this law stuff,and most probably ill be taking my law course next year by january,but my edu is spm,i have no A-levels….so i been wondering if i have to take my A-levels 1st……if i do,how i can take it and where????
can ya help me with this?
97 vcrpy // Oct 6, 2009 at 5:26 pm
To john88,
Majistrates and DPP are considered government employees. You don’t need to be qualified lawyer in order to become government legal personnel.
98 Aelean // Oct 26, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Hey everyone,
I’m soon to be a STPM graduate this year and my parents are pressuring me to take law in university even though I’m just around 60% interested in it.
All in all I wouldn’t mind doing law but my real question is this:
After graduating obtaining a law degree and having passed all the exams,
Is it possible that I take a time off for 5 years before I start practicing as a lawyer or do anything related to law?
This is because I have other plans and goals I have to achieve for myself that does not include law in those 5 years.
Will my law degree and qualifications still hold water after 5 years of doing nothing related to law?
I really hope someone here of experience will provide me with some response as I do not want to disappoint my parents and at the same time give up on one of my goals in life.
By the way,
Very informative post and comments.
99 yat mun // Oct 27, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Hello Eddie, Good day to
In car accident cases, if the responsibility is the opposite driver, isn’t it all the fees on our lawyer
should be charges together with our claim from the opposite insurance company?
Or does our lawyer fees should to be borne by us? Please give some advise. TQ.
100 stupefy // Oct 27, 2009 at 7:45 pm
hi mr eddie.i would like to ask a question,by passing clp,could i practise in singapore?
101 Eddie Law // Oct 29, 2009 at 11:36 pm
S.R. – no matter what seize of firm that you join, there is alway pros & cons, the main thing is which firms would you want to attachment to after your chambering. This is because many many firms taking in pupil with the intention to retain them as LA. Many large firm prefer to take junior lawyer from their pupils as oppose to lawyers applying form other firm.
yellowpotato – I couldn’t stop lauaghing when reading your comment and perception about the “single woman issue”. I believe this is the most interesting comments that I ever had thus far. Hahaha!
Well, long working hours is partly true and partly untrue as it really depend on what kind of law firm that you join, what is their working culture and what sort of area of practice you are in.
As for the single woman issue, frankly speaking i don’t know many female lawyer (who is in 30s) who is still single. Most the female lawyers who I met have married. At the end it is really depend on your time management (social and working).
Perhaps the best way to avoid this “being single issue” is to get a boy friend during your university day or anytime before you enter into the legal profession. hahahah! I am kidding.
But seriously speaking, don’t let this single woman issue be a hindrance for you to pursue your dream. I believe the single professional female issue is not that serious in our society as compare to S’pore / HK.
As for the underpaid issue – I don’t really think so as if you compare with many profession (espacially accountant/engineer), lawyer salary and increment is not that bad.
john88 – thanks for your kind comment. You may send application to the AG chamber if you want to apply for DPP/Magistrate post. Yes, fresh graduate is eligible to apply.
Gnanam – you may see a list of law school at http://www.elawyer.com.my/resource_law-school.php
Vcrpy – thanks for your comment in reply to john88.
Aelean – it is better that you “leave” law after you been called to the Bar as oppose to before being called. This is because we don’t know what is the next admission requirement set by the relevant legal qualifying body.
yat mun – I am not an expert in car accident case, so perhaps I am not the right person to give you advice.
stupefy – No. In order to practise in S’pore you will need to sit for their qualifying exam, not our CLP.
102 vcrpy // Oct 30, 2009 at 9:27 am
To yat mun:-
To answer your question you have to first know two kind of charges in litigation i.e.
(a) party-party cost – this is the cost where after taxation before Registrar the tortfeasor will have to pay the Plaintiff legal fees & other disbursements
(b) solicitor-client cost – this is the cost privately agreed between you the counsel and your client.
The rule is that the defendant normally doesn’t have to pay solicitor-client cost but only to party-party cost.
Example: You (the counsel for Plaintiff) demand $30,000 legal fee from your client. To this stage, this is a solicitor-client cost. After the trial, you’ve won the case for your client and you will have to prepare notice of taxation in order to claim service charges from the Defendant.
Notice of taxation is heard before the Registrar (sort of like judges’ assistant) and he will assess whether the fee you charged against the Defendant is reasonable. He may assess that that $20,000 is more reasonable as your legal fee so the party-party cost will be $20,000 instead of $30,000.
Therefore, now your client has to pay you the extra $10,000 from his own pocket ($30,000 – $20,000 = $10,000) because the law requires the Defendant to pay only party-party cost.
103 yat mun // Oct 30, 2009 at 11:29 am
Hello vcrpy,
My case was like that,I have had an accident & it was fully the fault of the opposition driver.I had a lawyer to act on my behalf to do the claim for me to the opposition insurance company only. Not to the negligance driver.
My lawyer first admit that 20% will be charge to the amount I claim & never mension about other legal fees charges. Also it was not hearing from the court. It’s was lawyer with opposite lawyer deal & then to our satisfaction amount payment I agree to.
Until when I was to accept the cheque time, the lawyer charges me 20% & about another 20% legal fees charges. I even not given a copy of agreement too.
I want to know is, wasn’t our lawyer legal fees is to be together to be borne by the opposite insurance company? or it is whichever party right or wrong , we have to pay for the legal fees to the lawyer?
104 stupefy // Oct 30, 2009 at 2:38 pm
thanks mr eddie.i would like to ask one more question.i heard that the degree transfer programme offered by various private institutions such as HELP UC is not recognised by the law society of singapore as a qualification for the qualifying exam.could you give some comments?
105 vcrpy // Oct 30, 2009 at 3:24 pm
To yat mun:-
I get wat you mean now. Your case wasn’t even proceed to the trial stage meaning it was settled out of court.
Normally, your lawyer won’t straight away go and sue the wrongdoer first in motor accident case. Instead, they will try to negotiate with the wrongdoer’s insurance company. If both parties can reach an agreement as to the amount of compensation then the matters won’t need to proceed to court for trial (especially in a clear cut situation where the liability of the wrongdoer is obvious).
Under this situation, the legal fee is between you and your lawyer and not up to the court to decide. The one i’ve mentioned in previous post only applicable to after trial. In your situation how much fee should be charged is completely btwn you and your lawyer.
Since this is more of out of court settlement, then the payment structure is privately agreed btwn you and your lawyer. In fact, there is no “Wrongdoer” in technical sense because the court didn’t even decide who’s right or wrong. What happens here is that the Insurance company simply offer a compensation to you which you accepted and in return not to sue them in court anymore. End of the story of the opposition party. Whether you want to the other party to bear your legal fee that would be something you need to bring up during the negotiation.
Regarding to your legal fee charges, that would be privately and previously agreed btwn you and your lawyer. They should have sent you the invoice and i suggest you look at the invoice and see what they’ve charged against you.
(note: my information is only based on the assumption drawn from your given info)
106 yat mun // Oct 30, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Hi ,vcrpy
Since this matter had happen, I ‘hv ask my lawyer for the sign agreement between me & him & ask for the invoice too, he denied to give me a certified copy of whatever i request for & only would give me a resit thats it, he said. By now the claim cheque is in his hand, only needed is for me to pay him the 20% & the legal fees than only he will release the cheque. In this case can I load a report to the Disciplinary Board Council to sue him back?
107 vcrpy // Oct 30, 2009 at 10:33 pm
To yat mun:-
Hmmm…I’m sorry to hear that this situation happened to you but then i cannot grasp the full picture from you here. Strictly speaking, in west malaysia, the lawyer’s remuneration is regulated by Legal Profession Act. I’m not sure whether the lawyer’s charges were reasonable or permissible under the law but then as i said i cannot grasp the full pic here. Need to examine the situation in more detail and see what you have agreed into with the lawyer.
If the amount is not big, talk to your lawyer rather than immediately going hostile against the lawyer. Ask them to detail the fees and did you also agree to the 20% charges initially? Ask them to be co-operative. Also beware of the time limit of the cheque. How long has the cheque been detained? Cheque can become stale (means that bank won’t accept it) if it’s not banked in within reasonable time.
You can also ask opinion from other lawyers as well. Talking to bar council is not a bad idea. Reporting or complaint to bar council is sort of like if the lawyer being uncooperative persistently and leaves you no choice.
Try to negotiate with the lawyer first. Tell them that we want win win situation. If both parties cannot reach amicable agreement, then the cheque will stay there forever and cannot be banked in!! The lawyer cannot take the money either as it would be breach of trust and misappropriation of client’s money which results to criminal activity. You also have to bear in mind that lawyers are entitled to earn their fees too. It’s hard to have a full grasp of your story without going into the details here. So this would be my general opinion only.
You don’t sue the lawyer at Disciplinary Board but you “complaint” against your lawyer. Any complaint must be done by writing under the law. You sue people in court only. There’s a whole lot complaining and investigating procedures but i think i won’t go into details here as they’re long and complicated.
108 Aelean // Oct 31, 2009 at 1:09 am
Hey Eddie,
Thanks for replying to my question.
Being called to the Bar means having completed all the required legal exams and after chambering right?
How long does it take for one to be ‘called to the Bar’?
More questions from me I’m afraid,
But I do need some advice here.
109 Sydney // Nov 1, 2009 at 10:50 am
Hi, Eddie. Hope you are well. I am applying for Full-time GDL (law conversion) course in London. I have did my resesarch and narrowed down to 3 institutions: BPP Law School, College of Law, and Kaplan Law School.
I am a Malaysian. I have completed SPM in Malaysia, and my A-level at Cambridge Tutors C
ollege, U.K. I am currently attending Emory University in Atlanta, U.S.A. I am completing my Bachelor of Business Administration(BBA), majoring in Finance and my current GPA is 3.876/4.00. I am graduating this December.
I have a few questions regarding GDL course and admission to Malaysian Bar. I intend to practise as a solicitor in Malaysia, specializing in corporate(commercial)/financial law. My ultimate aim is to be a legal consultant in a corporation.
1) Since I will not have LLB, is Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL), without BPTC, being recognized in Malaysia?
2) After GDL, should I continue with Legal Practice Course (for solicitor in UK) OR Bar Professional Training Course (for barrister in UK) to enable me to practise as a solicitor in Malaysia?
3) Should I choose to do either LPC or BPTC in Malaysia, after my GDL in UK? in order to be qualified as a solicitor in Malaysia.
4) Does Malaysia recognize LPC and/or BVTC from UK?
5) What are the additional exams I need to take, assuming after I complete BVTC in London, when I go back to Malaysia to practise as a solicitor?
6) Would you suggest me to do BPTC/LPC and/or pupillage in UK before going back to Malaysia to practise?
7) I undestand that Malaysia will only recognize BVTC, not LPC, if I want to practise as a lawyer in Malaysia (and it does not matter if I want to be a solicitor or barrister). Is this true?
9) Would you say the best way for me to practise as a solicitor in Malaysia is me pursuing 1) GDL in UK , and then 2) BPTC in UK. 3) After that, serve as a pupil in Malaysia?
I am very keen and serious about pursuing the GDL course. I hope you can assist me in the process.
Thank you very much.
Regards,
Shin-Yi
110 vcrpy // Nov 3, 2009 at 10:01 am
To Sydney:-
In malaysia there’s no distinction btwn solicitor or barrister (they call it advocate here) as both professions are fused back here. To make thing easy you might just refer the legal profession as lawyer here.
People actually asked me whether GDL in UK is qualified to call to the bar here before. The following is my opinion (not advice. pls check with bar council malaysia for more accurate details).
People generally has misconception that you need LLB to be called to bar in West Malaysia. In fact, LLB is only a qualification to sit for CLP. Admission to the bar requires that one to be ‘qualified person’ under the Legal Profession Act. If you would look at the Act (the law) as to what constitute ‘qualified person’, one of the requirement is that you need to be a “barrister at law in England”.
Therefore, even if you don’t have LLB but you completed GDL (i heard that City University has offered great GDL course in London) and be admitted as “barrister at law” in UK, you are ‘qualified person’ under the Legal Profession Act in Malaysia. Once you are ‘qualified person’ you no longer need to sit for CLP and you can filed in the paper in High Court and start your chambering period.
So, if you want to practice law in malaysia, forget about doing the solicitor thing in UK as you have to be admitted as barrister before coming back to Malaysa.
111 stupefy // Nov 3, 2009 at 8:11 pm
erm..could anybody tell me how clp can be taken? is clp like a course or…?if it is like a course,how long is the duration?when taking clp,could that person work in legal department?
112 vcrpy // Nov 4, 2009 at 10:28 am
Stupefy:-
Technically speaking, CLP is an exam not a course. You need to take CLP exam before you can do chambering.
CLP exam held once every year (exam in July if i’m not mistaken as i’m not CLP-routed). There are courses offered by private acadamic institutions such as Brickfield college and Kemayan ATC. These courses are designed to help you pass the CLP exam. You should consult these colleges abt the time schedule.
What do you mean by legal department? Normally legal department means a section in big corporations (like banks or insurance company). Law firms do not have legal department because the whole firm is one
Anyway, nothing forbid you to work as general employee at legal department (if you have the time while taking CLP courses) but you cannot hold yourself up as lawyer.
113 yili // Nov 6, 2009 at 3:57 am
what about if i were to take lpc and managed to obtain a training contract, will i be recognised as a advocate in malaysia thereafter? are there any additional exams i need to take? tq
114 Eddie Law // Nov 7, 2009 at 6:18 pm
Sydney – Hi Shin-Yi,
1st of all you need to obtain a list of recognised universities from the Legal Qualifying Board in KL to determine which law school or Bar in the Uk that recognised by them.
Once you completed your LLB (Law Degree) from the recognised universities, you have 2 options:
Option 1: do CLP in M’sia and once you pass the CLP exam, you can undergo 9 months of pupilage then be admitted to the M’sia Bar.
Option 2: you can continue to stay in the UK and sit for your Bar exam in one of the “recognised Inn”. Once you pass your Bar exam, you will need to do your chambering in M’sia, in order, for you to be admitted to M’sian Bar.
I hope this can clear some of your doubts.
115 Eu Keat // Nov 11, 2009 at 11:16 pm
hi.. i’m new to the website and think it is great that there is a forum going on in here..
i’m just curious, what do people with law degree actually does in the police force?
after they come out from the police force, do law firms actually treasure such kind of experience or are they in demand at all?
thanks a lot
116 Everett // Nov 12, 2009 at 11:24 am
Dear Eddie and Everyone,
I am currently a pre-u student taking SAM, I just completed the program, I am very confused which private local university to choose to pursue my law degree.
I have a few choices
Taylors University College – Twinning to University of Reading
Help University College – Transfer to 11 university in UK. ( include University of the West of England, Bristol, Cardiff University, University of Exeter, University of Wales Aberystwyth, University of Liverpool, University of Sheffield, University of Manchester, Northumbria University, University of Hertfordshire and University of Leeds.)
Inti University College – Transfer to University of Leeds, University of Sheffield, University of West of England, Bristol, The University of Hull and Cardiff University
KDU college – Twinning to Oxford Brooke University
Brickfield college – Transfer to UWE, Cardiff, Aberystwyth, Hertfordshire and Northumbria
I intend to have second year or third year in UK.
I need your help in this area, which university above you think is the most recommended.
While I was asking, I heard people said ATC is not bad too, providing a degree from University of London. It is a 3 years external program study in Malaysia. I am curious, is University of London very famous? And ATC is it a famous law school?
While I am doing my research, I noticed that 4 universities in Malaysia have this University of London external program. Including ATC, Brickfield, KDU and Stamford.
After graduate, is it advisable to practice in UK first, and become a barrister over there or come back to Malaysia to sit for CLP? Which is one more challenging?
Looking forward to hear from you.
117 Eu Keat // Nov 12, 2009 at 12:12 pm
hey everett, u r doing SAM programme in taylors? lol, i m doing the same programme as well.. on the above universities, i think the best university is university of manchester.. =) just my humble opinion
118 Everett // Nov 12, 2009 at 7:18 pm
To: Eu Keat
How do you know? Hahaha.. Do you want to study law too? Ya, university of manchester is good, the entry requirement is quite high too. Enter Help university doesn’t give you a guarantee to enter University of Manchester, this is my concern. What do you think?
119 stupefy // Nov 12, 2009 at 10:26 pm
To:Everett
erm…well,although the entry requirement for university of manchester isnt that low,still not high right?i mean if you intend to further your study out there through the degree transfer programme that offered by HELP,the requirement for you to transfer to manchester really not that high…
120 Eu Keat // Nov 12, 2009 at 11:02 pm
To: Everett
haha, how many college out there actually offers SAM programme, so i guess must be taylors.. yea, i want to pursue a law degree as well, but in australia, not UK.. as for the requirements, i don’t reli know about it, so i m not so sure..
anyway, u’re in legal class? ur exams are over this week or next? i still got accounts next week.. T_T
121 Everett // Nov 12, 2009 at 11:55 pm
To: stupefy
Thanks for your information~ hahaha.. Which university are you in now?
To: Eu Keat
Hahaha.. There are two college offers SAM, Inti and Taylors.
Ya, I am in legal class, my exam isn’t over yet, I still have accounting next week too. A small world right?
Why you want to study in Australia? Last time I planned to study in Australia too, but it takes 4 years to complete a degree, so I change my mind.
After that, I planned to go to UK immediately to obtain my degree after my pre-u, but they start their university on September, means I have to wait for 9 months. In the end still 4 years.
So I found the fastest way is to study local first, then second year or third year, twinning or transfer to UK. What is your opinion?
Now my concern is, which university is the best, since there are choices.
122 Eu Keat // Nov 13, 2009 at 11:52 am
Everett,
yeap, reli small world i guess.. lolz
not my plan to study in australia actually, JPA want to send me there.. so yea, i just have to accept it..
well, what i think is, why bother so much about the duration, afterall, spending longer time is still better than ending up in a third tier university.. meanwhile, 9 months can be used to do a lot beneficial stuff as well =)
so what i reli think is, better apply to a better uni irregardless of the time, if u can afford it, i mean why not?
still, if u wan to do a twinning programme, i still suggest uni of manchester..
it’s all my humble opinion.. =)
123 vcrpy // Nov 13, 2009 at 9:40 pm
To whoever wants to know:-
Everett had just mentioned a few universities in UK and enquired as to their reputations. I’ll just pick the best 4 (i think) out of those: Bristol, Sheffield, Manchester and Cardiff. Bristol definitely leading (in law) those universities as aforementioned by Everett (according to my opinion).
Again…when you’ve become barrister at law in UK, you don’t need to sit for CLP in Malaysia at the moment (unless the law is changed in future).
University of London is not a uni in strict sense. It is formed by a group of colleges such as King’s college, Queen Mary College etc. All the colleges that formed the uni have different teaching methods (course modules likely the same) but they have one unified exam. External programme is only an exam offered by the uni outside UK. Whether or not it is good depends on which colleges you’ve attended. For example, if you attended King’s College or LSE (LSE already separate itself from university of london this year) than you’re quite prestigious (prima facie).
For those who wish to practice commercial law maybe a reputable uni may help to boost your resume and marketability. For those who wish to practice as litigator…who cares where you came out from so long you win the case! I’ve seen lawyers who allegedly read law at those so called prestigious law schools and got beaten the crap out of by those lawyers who attended those kampung law schools.
124 Christy // Nov 15, 2009 at 6:26 am
Hi,
I am studying law degree on the third year. I m still considering to take BPTC or LPC. If I take LPC, n finish my 2 years contract in uk and come back to malaysia afterthat. Am I qualified as a lawyer in malaysia by taking LPC in uk??? In other words, does the Malaysia Bar council recognized LPC ????
Hearing from you soon.
125 kel9 // Nov 16, 2009 at 3:17 am
Hi Christy,
I am also a third year student. If you are like me, we will both have been going through daily anxiety about what to do once we are done – not long to go either! Not like Year 1 and 2 is it, where we know what’s coming the year ahead.
Anyway, back on topic, I was told that once you have completed your LPC and following that, your training contract, you will become a fully-fledged solicitor in the UK. Once you are a fully-fledged solicitor, then you CAN come back to Malaysia and practise. You cannot however, complete the LPC alone and then return to chamber as a pupil in KL. So to answer your question, the Bar Council recognizes a Solicitor of England and Wales, but not the LPC alone for reason of pupillage.
If you want to do pupillage in Malaysia, you must either complete the BPTC or the CLP.
Both have their pros and cons, but myself, I am looking forward to go home and commence my CLP when I am done, and then fingers crossed I get myself into a large, progressive firm back home and find a great mentor.
The posts above by ‘Anonymous’ during May 08 were very helpful in helping me come to my decision. I believe everyone has their own decisions and life to live. We just have to figure out what it is we really want – and that may be the hardest thing of all.
For me, I lived overseas for many years, and I always miss home. So this is my chance to start my life back home in Malaysia. Of course I only hope for the best and that we all succeed in our third year and after!
Good luck
126 kel9 // Nov 16, 2009 at 3:42 am
Oh and thanks Eddie for providing the avenue for so so many helpful replies and comments for all us budding lawyers
127 stupefy // Nov 17, 2009 at 2:53 pm
hi.i would like to ask a question.what language will be used for law course in University of Malaya and University Kebangsaan Malaysia?malay or english?
128 calvin // Nov 25, 2009 at 12:40 am
do lawyer requierment need A1 for history in spm ? i am very confuse in this ! can anyone help ?
129 stupefy // Nov 25, 2009 at 11:25 am
to calvin:
nono,you wont need an A1 for history in spm.to be a lawyer,there is no prerequisite subject but a good command of language will be needed.
130 calvin // Nov 26, 2009 at 7:55 am
to stupefy:
ooo………thank you very much……! Are u studying law ?
131 calvin // Nov 26, 2009 at 7:57 am
TO STUPEFY:
and one thing….., how can i improve my language , i mean engglish! can u help me in this ?
132 stupefy // Nov 26, 2009 at 11:09 am
To Calvin:
haha,i am not a law student yet but hope to be one of them in the future.i am now a form 5 student only but have done quite a lot of researches on the law course offered by either local or overseas instituition.furthermore,my english isnt good too,i am also trying to brush up my english now.thus,i cant help you much in improving your language skill.let’s work hard together!
133 calvin // Nov 27, 2009 at 11:05 am
to Stupefy
u are not form 5 student ? do u mind i asking this ? then how old are u ? ok….lets improve together, haha! then when u gonna study law ?
134 stupefy // Nov 27, 2009 at 12:55 pm
To Calvin:
did i ever say i am not a form 5 student?on the contrary,i have clarified that i was a form 5 student in the previous post.i am now 17 year old.i will enter form 6 first and then tyr to apply for local university law degree.since it is hard to gt into local public universities law school,i have planned to go for degree transfer programme that offered by local private instituition.
135 calvin // Nov 27, 2009 at 5:54 pm
To Stupefy
oh….sorry….i have misstaken, i thought that u are not form 5 student , then how is ur spm ? ok ? haha….! i am form 5 student too ! u in science or art ?
136 stupefy // Nov 27, 2009 at 11:17 pm
To:Calvin
haha,it doesnt matter.SPM so far so good but just stucked in add maths paper 2…i am a science student,what about you?
137 calvin // Nov 28, 2009 at 9:37 pm
ooo…..i see…i’m a account student…! same too…..stucked in add maths…! haha…..i very poor in add math…! just hope that other sub will get a good result ! Actually….u stay in what state ? I’m from penang…! and also can u give me ur instand live messenger address ? if can not nevermind….! haha!
138 stupefy // Nov 29, 2009 at 10:39 am
To Calvin:
hoho,u stay in penang,i love there!i live in johor.we are really far from each other…haha.of course i can give you my msn,why not?it is nice t meet you!my msn:chinminshuen@hotmail.com
139 calvin // Nov 29, 2009 at 10:47 am
haha…..! i am from johor too…but since form 1 i had live over hear ardy ! i am from segamat, johor . how about u ? from muar ?
140 YL // Dec 4, 2009 at 5:44 am
Dear Eddie,
I am currently doing my BVC in Uk right now and will graduate in June 2010. I’m interested in the area of corporate/banking. My long term goal is to practice in a foregin jurisdiction (prefably Singapore or HK). However, I would like to seek some opinions from you on whether it is feasible for me to apply directly to HK firms or gain some experience first in the big firms in KL or the SC then apply as a foreign lawyer?
Thanks.
141 Eddie Law // Dec 12, 2009 at 1:02 pm
YL – of course, if you are offerred an opportunity to work in HK/S’pore, you should commence your career there.
142 nina // Dec 13, 2009 at 10:47 pm
hello mr eddie,
i am a final year LLB student.i want to ask you few questions about chambering.
1)what is the rate of allowance paid to chambering students?
2)where is the best place to do chambering ?(kl area or klang valley?)
3)how to apply for chambering?
4)is that true that CGPA(pointer) would be a factor for a firm to choose chambering student?
i hope u can help me because i plan to do chambering in may 2010.
143 fahrin // Dec 29, 2009 at 1:07 am
hello Mr Eddi,
i just graduated my BLS programe (UiTM) and at our university, the LLB(hons) is a separate programe that need us to re-apply to continue the programe before we can persue with our chambering.
actually me and my friend has decide to work before we continue our LLB(hons) programe,the thing that i dont realy know what post actualy we can apply at legal firm with our BLS qualification?
tq Mr Eddie i hope you can help me
144 Bridget // Dec 29, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Hi Eddie:
I’m currently 30 and has been working for almost 6 years. I hold a master degree in IT and currently wanted to pursue and take up another degree in law. Problem is i do not know which collage is good and as currently i’m in penang. Any good suggestion for a good palce to take up law degree in PG?
145 Lee Hang // Jan 1, 2010 at 11:24 am
hi, eddie
i am Hang in Sarawak. i just finished my SPM and i am thinking of my future study. i have some questions to ask and i hope can get some advice from u. my English is not very good, is it hard to become a lawyer? which private college or university is good in law degree?how about segi college in Sarawak?As i know , the fees to complete a law degree in segi college is not very expensive.( around RM40000) tq
146 Sam // Jan 2, 2010 at 2:28 pm
Hi, Eddie, your writing is so bad, I doubt you could be an effective lawyer.
But I must say your blog is very informative and helpful.
Thanks & Keep up the good work.
147 S.L.Choy // Jan 3, 2010 at 10:34 am
We are inviting any individuals interested in contribution of legal support for our cause as follows on Facebook group :
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=29595494968
Pls. join our historic movement if you are interested. Any others not from the legal profession who would like to contribute and lend strength or opinion are also welcome.
Many thanks.
148 vcrpy // Jan 3, 2010 at 10:25 pm
To Lee Hang,
If i’m not mistaken Segi College has a twinning programme with QUT in Australia. The programme you’re referring to might be 2+1 twinnng programme. RM40,000 is only leading up to LLB degree but does not include further year of professional legal training programme (i.e. either CLP Malaysia or professional legal training programme in Australia).
The most important question is not whether it is hard to become a lawyer or not. The question is what do you expect from becoming lawyer? Is it of your interests? the potential social status (incl.monetary) gained from it? Or etc. You have to ask yourself why you want to become lawyer. For those who does not have a calling to become a lawyer, my advice is, you won’t get far. Lawyer is a serious profession and if you do not know why it interested you then eventually you will end up nowhere (even you can pass).
Unlike doctor, the average pay for lawyer is not as good as you might expect. Wealth in legal field is only reserved for those who are truly good at what they’re doing.
149 Ajay // Jan 6, 2010 at 8:15 pm
Dear Eddie,
I am planning on working at a law firm in Kuala Lumpur for 12 months – as part of an internship program.
My position, coming from the UK, is that I have completed my Legal Practice Course here in England and have obtained an LLB (Law degree) in the process. The next step here (as you probably know) is to secure a Training Contract at a law firm – where you work for 2 years (fully paid as a trainee) and subsequently qualify as a solicitor. Due to the recession and other factors, I have been unsuccessful in my search for one at a suitable sized firm. I therefore have two questions:
1) Will it be possible for me to use this 12 month internship as part of my Chambering (I b in Malaysia and thus qualify as an Advocate there? If so, who will I/my law firm need to contact – the Malaysian Bar Council?
2) If I do qualify in Malaysia, do you think that this offers me the ability to move back to UK in the future for vacancies for qualified solicitors?
I’d appreciate your help on this matter. Thank you for your time.
Kindest regard,
Ajay
150 Syed // Feb 23, 2010 at 7:30 am
Dear Eddie
Many thanks for your generous and comprehensive guidance on various issues above.
I hold a law degree from India and planning to pursue an Executive LLM in Banking at the UIA, Malaysia. I may like to know whether I’ll be eligible to apply for CLP after obtaining the said LLM?. Also, regarding your advice to Deepak above, could you plz elaborate a li’l more on the aspect of practising as an in-house lawyer in Malaysia, given the fact that I hold a student’s visa?
Regards
151 Elle J. // Feb 26, 2010 at 7:05 am
Hi Eddy,
Really really appreciative of your effort to upkeep this blog. I learnt a lot just by reading the comments and replies. Also, I really REALLY, like what you said about finding your strengths and passions early which is what I havde been trying to do since I was about 13.. haha. But I just can’t seem to put my finger on what exactly are my ’strengths’.. I know what my passion is though, and that I absolutely detest injustice.. I have been fighting for myself, the people I love, everytime I or anyone I care about has been treated unfairly. I believe justice is not an option. Call me an idealist or a dreamer, but it is what I believe in and what I have fought for so far.. I am an STPM leaver, and all these years have been trying to be practical whilst keeping my passion and dreams in front of me. It really was no other career except medicine or law for me. I have wanted to study either one since I started my research for an occupation(which was aroundd 14 yrs of age)
I have done adequate research on the medical field and not as much on law. Came across your amazingly truthful and informative blog and I want to know certain things:
1) Are lawyers better qualified/accepted into Malaysian politics? Or does it not really matter?
2) Is law something like medicine where you have to study like.. excuse the term.. crap.. ? Or is it more of a memorising study? Doesnt really matter but I am just curious, from a science stidents point of view..
Again, thank you for your commitment to providing all this useful and helpful information.. Especially to someone like myself who doesnt really know much about law studies but am really interested.. Just finding out.. research.. BTW, I really like the way lawyers comment, clearly seen in this blog. You guys are so honest and yet you don’t even have to try to be ’smart’. I like it. Very refreshing from reading medicine-related blogs.. haha.. Keep it up!
2
152 Loh // Mar 3, 2010 at 4:26 pm
What do you mean by relevant qualification stipulated by the laws?
If I don’t want to seat for a qualifying exam in order to obtain a Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP), what is the other optional after LLB? I mean in my career.
153 James // Mar 3, 2010 at 10:18 pm
Hi Eddie,
I currently studying law. I’m curious, after I obtain a law degree in UK and BVC for 1 year, and enter the bar in UK. Which is already a barrister in England.
When I come back to Malaysia, if I want to enter Malaysia Bar, will they still see my SPM and A-Level? Or I can enter immediately with the qualification of my law degree, BVC and barrister in UK?
I’m not sure whether it is compulsory for having BM in SPM credit in order to become a lawyer when I have the qualification of barrister in England?
Looking forward for your reply soon.
154 rachael // Mar 4, 2010 at 12:57 am
hi eddie,
i’d like to ask u i’m currently studying commercial law in taiwan catholic university, is considered a law school,have to study 4 years for this degree program. now i m only start the first semester of it and my family suggested me to quit because of the law here all using chinese. and my lecturer advise is the advantage study law in tw is u can develop your career in taiwan and china. what they say 大陸，台灣大陸兩岸關係 and my lecturer.and many taiwan law students wil take the exam and be a lawyer there.and because i m nt taiwan citizens so i dun have the qualification for that.the only way is i have to further my master program in US/UK.. but my family told me that u can also take the same thing in malaysia and go to UK or us also. and it only take 3 years for the degree in MY but tw have to take 4 years. so what advise you’d give me? thanks…
155 vcrpy // Mar 10, 2010 at 2:18 pm
to james: get a law firm and file in papers to High Court if you’re already barrister at law in UK, you can do chambering immediately. BM thing is only for those who intend to apply for CLP.
to rachel: ok. not quite understand the gist of your questions. But here is what i think of your situation. 你在台湾修台湾法，在马来西亚是不能被承认为合格律师条件。 因为马来西亚是commonwealth country 而台湾并不曾经隶属共和联邦国之一。当然， 就算你去英国修法律硕士，也不能回马当律师。 要符合本地律师资格，基本上就必须有本地或其他受承认的共和联邦国家大学基本法律学士学位资格（不是硕士）。
其二，你可以在本地修读伦敦大学校外法律课程（简称 External LLB）。修习课程时间是 3 年。 西马有几间colleges 有offer。 又或者在本地读双联课程也是可行的。
不过，我猜测你因该是独中生。如果你没有STPM 或 A-LEVEL 国语及格，你将来在申请报读CLP （律师资格考试）时会有麻烦。希望以上所述对你有帮助。
156 vcrpy // Mar 10, 2010 at 2:32 pm
to rachael: sorry, it’s not STPM but SPM bahasa Melayu
157 rachael // Mar 10, 2010 at 3:02 pm
hi，vcrpy，
thanks for your reply..!
nope,i am a 國中生，i know its weird for a goverment 2nd school to study in taiwan, i think i might make a wrong decision, it waste time and money. so i have SPM cert bt don’t have STPM, and now my family all push me back to Malaysia and start all over again,but she said i need A-level.. so now even i go back,i hv to start my A-level first,actually is that compulsory? SPM is qualified to sit for the CLP also, isn’t it? so i m going back in few weeks. may i know is that compulsory to take A-level?
and as your opinion, it’s better to come back also?
158 rachael // Mar 10, 2010 at 3:03 pm
do u mind if we can chat through msn or what? it would be an easier way..?
159 vcrpy // Mar 11, 2010 at 12:23 pm
to rachael: (1) if you want to practice law in Malaysia eventually, you need to either (a) pass your CLP or (b) being admitted as Barrister at Law in UK.
(2) in respect of CLP, you have to first obtain a recognized LLB degree (法律学士) before you can sit for the CLP test;
(3) If you want to study locally (in Malaysia) to obtain LLB, you can either (a) choose to do University London External LLB (伦敦校外法律课程）for 3 years and sit for CLP (b) enrol in LLB twinning programmes (normally 2+1) as offered by few colleges in KL and spent your final year in overseas and sit for CLP after you graduate in LLB (c) enrol in local universities’ LLB program (4 years if i’m not mistaken, sorry i did not graduate from local uni). The advantage of study in local universities is that once you obtain your LLB you don’t need to sit for CLP but only need to undergo a short period of intership in order to be eligible for practising.
(4) unfortunately, you need either STPM, A-Level or anything equivalent to apply for External LLB program as well as the twinning program (compulsory). I’m not sure about enrolling in local university.
(5) To sit for a CLP test, you need to have a pass (or credit, i forgot) in your SPM for bahasa malaysia.
(6) if you want to enrol in external LLB or twinning program, A-Level/STPM/equivalent is compulsory.
Hope the aforementioned info is of help to you.
160 vcrpy // Mar 11, 2010 at 2:05 pm
to rachael, again: 至于回来好或不好与否，我无法给与你一定的意见。因为每个人的想法，喜好，愿望 都不同。 但是，我可以为你提供一些ideas and issues。 but in terms of how you approach your life you have to bear the decision making on your own
（1） 你的职业愿望是什么? 你对法律学位的出路了解吗？
（2）回来好不好？从哪一个角度？工作上？生活上？
（3）你对当律师这份工作了解有多少?
（4）个人意见：在台湾读法律，可能将来对你在国际上出路会有一定劣势。我绝对不是说台湾法律不好。而是当下许多国家的司法系统都以英美司法体系为主，假如你能拥有其法律背景，将来在国际化的市场更具竞争性。甚至在中国，许多国际公司，国际律师行都争相聘请有类似法律背景的candidates。 尤其是香港这个中西文化交界重点国家， 沿用的就是英国司法体系。虽说，香港在回归50年后将转为中国法，但用了上百年的司法不是说改就改。而马来西亚也是沿用英国司法体系。所以说，如果你能拥有普通法（common law，英国司法体系统称）背景，在国际上的竞争力会有一定的优势。
（5）你几岁了？时间应该对你不是问题。我当初也是几经辗转下才去读法律。成为合格律师时都已26岁。不过，人生经历多一点对将来会有多一点帮助。我还有朋友50岁才去当律师。但是他们都干得非常出色。因为他们人生历练都很丰富。在美国，如果你没有basic degree 是不能读法律的。因为他们觉得要成熟一点的学生才能当好的律师。所以，别觉得自己必须从头开始比别人慢一步。只要你能找到你所属的行业，就算你比别人起步慢，到头来还是比别人出色。
161 rachael // Mar 11, 2010 at 4:28 pm
hi vcrpy,
ok, means I still have to sit for A-level.
因為我哥我姐都是獨中生，在我姐那時不停地說服之下，我去了台灣，那時對自己的方向真的很迷茫，所以去念先修班,sth like Pre-U here,不過只在台灣生效，在其他國家沒甚麼幫助吧，之後我在mass comm和法律之間挑了法律，因為我需要一個更明確的前途，在台灣上了一個學期的law course，我對法律的出路有了更深一層的了解，雖然我有很多次後悔那時選擇了台灣，因為我是國中生，不過因為我需要對自己的選擇付出代價所以我沒有做出甚麼改變，則一直抱著‘既來之，則安之’的心態，我已適應了這兒的華語教學，甚至還打算在台灣考律師，在台灣生活，或是去美國念碩士，因為我的教授都是從美國畢業的，直到這次新年寒假回馬來西亞，家人問我有否想過在台念法律的出路，回到台灣才知道就算我拿到台灣公民也要等十年才可以考律師。而且我發覺自己不想等一個十年，也不想十多年長期在外，偶爾才和家人見個面。
我不知道在馬來西亞是怎樣，在台灣是只要4年畢業，就可以考國家考試，通過之後就能成為律師，或再接再勵再考試去做法官，若不想，也可以選擇當檢察官，或是Consultant之類的，現在我是希望做律師，好像是也有很多種的，是嗎？就是關於Civil Law的，or criminal…
我21歲，我的確很心急想完成學業，因為我不想兜兜轉轉結果還是回到原點。
對法律我覺得很充實，好像覺得在那本‘六法’，(我們的法條書)學到很多，和我們的日常生活是息息相關的，感覺也是一行能保護自己的行業，教授鼓勵我們多留意時事，多看新聞之後，我發現很多事情都會涉及法律問題，這邊台灣很多學生都會挨不下去而轉課系，所以興趣對一個學法律的人來說是很重要，至少我到現在對法律還是充滿熱誠的，with no hesitate，i want to be a lawyer.
致於說回來好不好，自從我清楚我的目標和方向是要當一名律師，我就知道我不能再抱著’既來之，則安之‘的心態了，在台灣念下去，我對‘未來’真的感到很迷茫，好像念了出來沒甚麼作為，也不是台灣法律差，可是我不是台灣公民，很多東西成了阻隔，就算是去大陸發展，大陸到處都是念法律的人，為甚麼要聘請我這個馬來西亞台灣留學生，我懂的他們都懂，他們需要的可能是一些如你所說的英國司法體系的人才吧，我覺得我缺少了‘競爭力’，很難生存的感覺，所以我現在才會想要回國從新來過。
致於生活上我當然會享受台灣的生活，不過畢竟不是自己的地方，很多東西都顯得很不方便，其實我已經想很久了，我是需要一個對馬來西亞法律出路很了解的人去肯定我而已，所以我應該幾個星期就會回吉隆坡吧，我現在也在訂機票了。
所以應該是從A-level開始。
162 vcrpy // Mar 11, 2010 at 5:55 pm
to rachael: 别急别急。。。不怕慢，只怕站。视野要广阔些。读律师的出路是很广的。不一定只要当律师。很多行业都很青睐拥有法律背景的人，尤其是商业方面。
在马来西亚，执业律师主要分民事与刑事律师。不过，马来西亚的专业市场比较小。所以很多律师几乎什么都做。也有一些所谓的企业律师及顾问。不过这类的门槛比较高。通常都是比较有经验的人担任。我本身是民事诉讼律师。
在马来西亚，分为东马与西马律师，since 你在吉隆坡，我便简述一下西马的执业律师获得过程。总的来说，先要有LLB （法律学士）资格。毕业LLB 后，每年6 月或7月都有一次CLP 考试。你可以在9 月或10月时跟律师公会报考。然后，直到隔年6月或7月去考试。间中，你可以报读CLP课程 （KL的brickfield college 很不错）。 也可以自修 （不过超难，除非你很有信心）。
CLP考过以后，你必须找到一间律师楼肯收你为徒，称为ｃｈａｍｂｅｒｉｎｇ（err。。。基本上就是廉价劳工）。挨过一年后，向高等法庭申请律师资格。之后，才能正式执业。
还有，not to discourage you but merely friendly info to you, 很多人说CLP很难考，因为有固打制，就是给土著比较多位额。所以非土著比较难过。虽然，政府口口声声说没有这种事。 不过，别气馁。我认识很多华人考一次就过。如果真的运气比较不好，还有一个方式就是去英国考大律师资格（barrister at law）。 不过要两年。至于到你读完后条例会不会改我就无法告诉你了。不果如果你喜欢法律，读了再说吧。千万不要因为一些外在的因素而气馁。任何专业执照获得都是有其复杂性。如果随随便便就能做律师，那也不叫专业了。 不过，我必须告诉你，竟然你选了这样只走，你也要时时关注有关于你未来考获执照的消息。因为，马来西亚出了名的朝令夕改。（是不是觉得很刺激，哈哈）不过当你对自己的前途有所规划，当律师就没多大问题了。因为，律师就是在迅息万变的环境下，时时关注与改变战略，为的就是保护当事人的利益。而现在，你就是你自己的当事人．
祝你成功！
（我看你是第一个在这个部落格用华语写的，我也是独中生，后来在澳洲留学太久了，所以很久没有写华语了。如果有错的地方请勿见怪）
163 rachael // Mar 11, 2010 at 6:33 pm
其實我想問很久了，vcrpy 和 eddie是同一個人嗎？
我在這修的就是那種企業律師，我修財經法律，應該是稱commercial law吧。我還擔心你是國中生，會不習慣用華語交談，因為我以前國中生都不用華語交談，知道去了台灣，連我部落格都轉用國語了，也配合身邊的台灣人和香港人吧。
不過真的很謝謝你的info，很了解了
是阿，台灣的甚麼司法又要改革了民國100，就是明年吧
可以問那你是在西馬嗎？為甚麼你選擇民，不是刑，你是被聘請還是自己执業？在馬來西亞民事的案件會多嗎？那都是在處理甚麼案件多呢？就如我們所念的，好比離婚，遺產，物權，動產不動產之類的嗎？
馬來西亞有要念憲法嗎？可否分享你當律師的感受與體會？當初你是因為感興趣而念法律的嗎， 你會覺得當律師壓力很大嗎，有否想過中途放棄
因為我很少接觸律師，以前在新加坡接觸過，那時是想嘗試在law firm做clerk，原本他還雇用我，不過之後他給我test，要我打字，平時msn聊多以為自己打字很快，結果他給一篇article要我打，只是錯了幾個字，不過他說我速度不夠快所以failed了，不過那時我對律師這行業完全沒有那個概念一點都不了解，所以當他解釋他是屬於哪一種lawfirm我也不明白，所以如果你不介意的話又有時間回我，我很樂意分享你的律師體驗。
164 James // Mar 11, 2010 at 6:53 pm
I’m confused already. BVC takes 1 year or 2 years?
By the way, I’m from Chinese Independent school too.. Hahaha..
165 vcrpy // Mar 11, 2010 at 7:21 pm
to james and rachael: oh, my fault. BVC only one year then call to the bar. But to be able to practice in UK as barrister they require you to do another year of chambering if i’m not mistaken.
For the purpose of admission in Malaysia, you only need to be called as Barister at Law in UK. don’t need to do chambering in UK. But i heard that in UK they’re trying to make it into 2 years before you be called as Barrister in UK i.e. one year BVC and one year chambering. Dunno if it’s true.
Thanks for pointing out the mistake james.
166 vcrpy // Mar 11, 2010 at 8:54 pm
to rachael: eddie 和 vcrpy 不是同一个人啦。。。haha。。。我不在西马，是东马执业律师（其实没差多大别，只是admission requirement 不同罢了）。我是在澳州获得执业执照后才回国。家乡在东马。
我之前也在西马读过A – Level. 至于为什么要选民事律师，因为民事的范围很广。简单一点说，只要是刑事以外的都可以称为民事，商业法，合约法，家庭法等等。个人上说，我不太喜欢刑事。我不太喜欢碰类似案件。我现在主要负责跟进商业诉讼，毁谤，争产等案件。诉讼律师的压力非常大。尤其像我这样还年轻的律师（junior lawyer），法官很喜欢有事没事试探你的实力。而且得面对顾客与法庭的压力。不然就是被法官骂。。。哈哈。 没有自我嘲解的能力，真的很难混。 不过，马来西亚的法官很多都是没有你想象那样厉害。如果你在外国执业过，你就懂什么叫真正的法律专业。我记得我在国外受训时，当时老外法官直接跟我讲，不要以为你是海外生我就会网开一面，我只要最top的律师出现在我面前。接着下来，我的结案陈词就几乎被他攻击得体无完肤。哈哈。。。诉讼律师就是这样。。你必须要能在压力与嘲笑中成长。直到有一天你发现法庭里的人，包括你的对手与法官都聚今会神的听你说话时，你已赢得同行的尊重。。。我才28岁，还没自己出来执业。。。哈哈。但是，在这里，没有很多律师愿意打官司。因为压力大而且赚幅没有在外国那般丰厚。所以，几乎就算你是junior lawyer，根本就要扛起主审律师的责任。虽然压力大及很累，但是学到的东西是在很多地方学不到的。。。而且打民事，会学到很多知识。
不过，如果你要在非诉讼律师界找到比较前途广阔的经验，我觉得非企业律师莫属（即corporate lawyer）。 如果你能加入大的国际律师行，那么薪金是非常丰厚的。此外，你将来要去国外求职的机会大增。我看过，杜拜很常聘请corporate lawyer （尤其有英美法律背景的）。动辄年薪酬以每年四五十万美金（而且是免税的）起跳。
马来西亚的专业市场并不比邻国新加坡大。所以，你很少看到有所谓的specialist lawyer 如税务律师 或 企业并购律师。不是没有，只不过通常在大律师行才有而已。此类专才不多。一般律师行什么都做。只是有分刑事或民事为主而已。如果你不打官司，一般都在处理合同，买卖或类似的业务。
你问在马来西亚要修宪法吗？正确来讲，要看你在本地大学还是本地学院读external LLB 或 twinning program。比如说，你修伦敦校外课程，那么你就只修英国法而并没有修马来西亚法（但是马来西亚还是在某些法律上沿用英国法，比如说类似案件即case law precedent，等你上A Level 的法律课后就会懂）。 而宪法是必修科，不过修的是英国的(严格来说，英国没有宪法，他们是三权分治）。 如果你在本地大学，就修马来西亚法。宪法是必修科。马来西亚是君主立宪加三权分治。我们有一套联邦宪法。台湾与英国都不是联邦国治。他们没有州。所以，你将来在马来西亚执业，就会遇到有些是联邦法律，有些是州法律。而各州法律也有不一样的地方。
167 rachael // Mar 11, 2010 at 11:23 pm
馬來西亞有修英美法嗎？ 台灣有一所大學的法律希是念英美法的，不過就要念5年，如果我念的是台灣那所大學的英美法，馬來西亞還是不承認嗎？
杜拜不是金融風暴嗎？
168 rachael // Mar 11, 2010 at 11:32 pm
其實21了又再回馬從新來過我真的覺得很浪費時間，做律師和工作經驗有關嗎？我的意思是如果一邊在律師樓做admin，一邊念書，會好嗎，至少畢業出來不會從零開始，這麼做會更好嗎
169 vcrpy // Mar 12, 2010 at 10:56 am
to rachael: for the ease of explanation i wrote british/americal legal system. But please do not confused with two of them. They are of separate legal systems and in malaysia we only recognize those who have LLB from British legal system, not american. When i use british/american in my previous blog, i simply mean from international perspective this two systems are most popular.
In malaysia, the Bar Council (律师公会）is the one who regulate the admission of lawyers. It is a rule that in Malaysia it will only recognize law degrees from certain countries and universities. And Taiwan is not within the list of the recognizable countries thus you still cannot be accepted to do CLP with your taiwan degree.
金融风暴不一定说薪资就会降低，可能就聘请数额降低。杜拜金融风暴也不过是几个月前的事。发展到后来好像也没有太严重，因为阿拉伯联合酋长国好像有出手相救。 杜拜不过只是其中一个例子而已。还有许多地方如abu dhabi， bermuda，virgin island等地都有高薪聘请海外律师。不过门槛太高了。。。没有specialist lawyer 的经验就不用想了。
对了，我个人意见是你最好不要半工半读 （除非你很需要钱）。因为律师公会有规定你要在多少年内读完LLB。不然的话就不能考CLP。详细情况跟bar council 跟进吧。http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/
但是，如果在长假（马来西亚没有暑假）时去律师楼见习（我不太懂华语叫什么，英文叫 attachment，类似internship），倒是不错的经验。不过得看你遇到的律师好不好了。
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