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This post has been edited by euphoria92: Oct 16 2015, 11:28 AM

Best if you decide which area you have a passion for i.e litigation, conveyancing, banking, corporate finance.

Then, decide which firms (big, medium, small) and/or lawyers interest you, go for interviews, and decide carefully where you want to spend the next 9 months (which is obviously not enough).... A hands on pupil master can make all the difference

Hey Euphoria, I may also be looking to be a pupil soon. Do you mind sharing the mid-sized firms you are aiming for? I don't know too much about mid-sized firms and I could use some of your opinion.

I'd say that with your GPA you may stand a chance with some of the big firms, so don't give up on those just because you are worried of being rejected (if you are jealous of your friend that means you might be into big firms?).

Im not in law. But i have interviewed quite a number of famous lawyers who regretted going to big names early in their career. They did not learn enough due to the shear size of the firm.

Plus, they advice on looking for niche market. Avoid common stuff like conveyancing etc. Go to something like taxation, import export, intellectual properties etc.

DIY law may come soon, so better prepare yourselves. Take the roads not taken.

Hi congrats on passing your law degree, I did my Chambering few years back and my thoughts are as follow:

Firstly during the interview, please be aware that most firm would not really specify what scope you are doing, and I think it's best not to argue that you only willing to specialize in one area, the next 9 months is a "trial run" to see if you can handle the pressure to work in a law firm. What ever areas you are covering is just to test your skill and see whether you can apply it. So please have a open mind choosing your specialty

Big firm - you wont have a master who will guide you directly under you, but you will have LA's to work and do the research, clerical stuff and maybe do mention several times, about the specification, please be aware that the firm has the right to "campak" you anywhere liti, conveyancing or corporate, my best advise is that just accept the work and do it. After 9 months it helps you to choose what sort of lawyer you would like to be.

The perks of a big firms is that you have a loads of materials for research plus you get access to MLJ , CLJ, Lawnet, so if you are willing to work hard I believe that it's a very good choice for you to be in a big firm, however usually you may need to live with a master or partners who have big egos, and may not even want to talk to you unless it really important.

But let's be honest too, the reason why people choose big firms is due to $$$, especially those in KL, which is important lah to survive. But it's very difficult to get retained in a big firm, my friends who went there out of 5 only 1-2 will get retained. The best part is sometimes they keep you in the dark on whether you would be retained after Chambering or not, which I feel is totally unprofessional.

Medium size firm - This are the firms which has around 8 lawyers only, I did my Chambering in this type firms, the pros i would say is that you know everyone, there is a certain "chill factor" when I come to work due to having to deal with only my master and no one else bother me with their work. But I did specialist in Banking liti nearly 90 percent of the time. But i think that it was good since I got to concentrate on the other stuff too like the forms to fill in to apply to be called to the bar, i also attended a lot of courses provided by the Bar Council, since Chambies get discount on the rates of the courses. Also right after you chamber and you don't screw up, the possibilities of being retained is high, sometimes even before you complete your Chambering, you would receive offer from the firm. Money wise, I received less then those who Chambered in a big law firm but i think the effect if minimal, best part I didn't receive an allowance but a salary means the firm was paying me EPF when I was Chambering.

Small firm- This are the firm with 2-3 partners, I did my attachment in this type of firm, all i can say is be very aware of the people working there, all you need is one partner/LA who like to torture Chambies and your 9 month there will be hell. I remembered doing my legal aid and met with this Chambee who was Chambering in a small firm, she told me about her horror story, the shouting, screaming that i felt pity for her and asked her to apply to my firm to continue her Chambering (which is possible actually). She did that and finally finished her Chambering in peace. But if you are lucky you may get those Lawyers who really wants to guide you and share their experience with you (they do exists) then you will have the time of your life. It's really fun getting a hands on experience like being able to attend court or follow your master to meet with his Clients and attend meetings. But like any small firms, they will specialize in one area like Maritime law, so be sure you are prepared to learn and gain experince form that area for the next 9 months. Also money wise, it would be low compared to big firms, so please be prepared about that, I know some firms only offering RM500.00 allowance for Chambies, which I think is unacceptable. Also the smaller the firms are, the more chances of you doing clerical stuff like photocopying, scanning etc etc, but again its a good exposure, to know to do this trivial stuff. Who knows one day you open your own firm and you will need to do everything yourself.

Good luck with your Chambering.

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This post has been edited by euphoria92: Oct 16 2015, 11:28 AM

Good for you. I still remember going to 4 different interviews for Chambering the big, medium, small. and very small (all 4 rang me up to ask to offer the position) but I decided on the mid size firm. But all you need to do is just be calm and be humble. If you can't answer a question just say so dont "goreng" like what we all do during LLB. I remember my interviewer told me he expect "zero" out of me, hihih and he was right he go zero, but from zero you will learn the loops and start becoming better.

Most of the lawyers you will meet would inform you that what you learn in College would not help you at all. I've met a senior partner who complaint about a 1st Class Honor Student who could not OBEY or Do As Instructed (guess the 1st Class went up to her head) and to be honest I've met some of them too, let's be frank no matter how high your result are or how much u think your opinions are worth, it doesn't matter if you are Chambering or a junior lawyer. I still remember how I got pissed when I was asked to do a research and came out with nearly 15 cases related to the case ( tak tidur satu malam buat research ok) then the lawyer just took 2 cases for his submission. But now i realize that she was right, you only need cased which is DIRECTLY connected to the case, rather then getting cases which have slight relevance.

About your preference, don't worry about it, for me I believe that "work is work" whatever I do I will try my level best to be an expert at the subject. A very very high senior ranking person once told me that if you can specialize in one field ie maritime all you need to do is read a book on another subject and specialize in that matter. The way you draft your opinions, analytical skills and research skill is the same as how I would specialize in maritime law.



This post has been edited by Ash muhammad 28: Oct 19 2015, 10:48 AM

Trust me, what you learn in uni (bookish theory) will never be what you do in REAL legal practice (the blood, sweat and tears - not necessarily yours, if I may add)... Unless you become a professional form filler la....

As you have admitted "Heck, even after 4 years, i'm still not sure what my preferences are", then you may have to rethink your options already.... Legal practice is not for the faint-hearted, neither is it a sprint race.....

The CGPA are only numbers in the certificate..what you will encounter in the real world is something else..i'm not doing chambering..but now as in-house counsel..its another branch in legal practice that can be look for..

You must be an overseas graduate. Usually it's quite difficult for local graduates to get position as in house counsel without working experience.

No lah..i'm from local university..but i do work in various firm and company..just as practice is not my thing..

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This post has been edited by euphoria92: Oct 16 2015, 11:29 AM

Has anyone attended any interview in Zain & Co, Rahmat Lim & Partners, Soo Thien Ming, Mah Kamariyah & Phillip Koh before?

Can you guys share your interview experience here? What kind of questions asked by the partners, any test hv to do and etc?

Thanks!