what is ur job and how much u earn per month ? that would be conclude things you said

so?

Just thought I'd revive this discussion. I'm currently a 2nd year law student.

I've been trying to decide whether or not to work in the UK or return to Malaysia after my BVC (you can do this in Manchester Metropolitan as well, not sure why no one in this thread pointed that out).

Personally, the only reason I'd go for the UK is the salary and standard of living here, and perhaps abit of glamour. Otherwise, I'm leaning towards Malaysia because of family, familiarity, perhaps less resistance in penetrating the higher end firms, and most importantly I'll have my day in court as an advocate+solicitor (despite the breaking down of the walls between solicitors and barristers in the UK, if you look at most chambers in London... it's the Oxbridge batch. I'm not being negative, just realistic as a student from Uni Manchester)

Is there anyone working in Malaysia now who made an attempt to penetrate the legal profession in the UK? I'd love to hear your experience.

It's quite important to me internship/mini pupillage wise because I wouldn't waste my summer break interning in the UK where that time could be spent in KL on a more realistic prospect.

Thanks.

Most big firms are leaning towards working attitude, rather than academic results. It is untrue that Zico, RDL, Raslan Loong, SLB, SD and Skrine look solely at your academic results prior to taking you in. Those who excel academically may not necessarily do well at work.

This is from years of witnessing those "fail dot com" who joined the firm I'm practising in.

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Added on January 8, 2010, 10:55 pmMore like affiliates. Examples as below. There's no concept of international law firms in Malaysia.
1. Wong & Partners (Baker & McKenzie)
2. Jeff Leong, Poon & Wong (Deacons)
3. Zaid Ibrahim & Co (Allen & Gledhill)

This post has been edited by sugarplum: Jan 8 2010, 10:55 PM

seems like working in low skilled sector in Singapore may earn more than Malaysia lawyers for the 1st few years. How ironic.

This post has been edited by advocado: Jan 9 2010, 12:34 AM

luzzio,

I too am an ex UK grad.

give me a PM if you don't mind I may have some ideas

Lack of working experience i think is probably one reason, even having a degree in law is difficult to get hired for any decent job.

The legal profession is a very hands on job, where by constant supervision from a Master (Sr Lawyer) may be required for the first few years of a Jr Lawyer. Thereafter, to the deep end of the pool you go.

hi all, had you guys heard of eLawyer? Here's the link:

http://www.elawyer.com.my

http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=1299747&hl=

they helped me find a job in the legal field last time. maybe you guys could give them a call.

By the way, they DON'T charge the jobseekers. They charged the employers upon successful placement.

This post has been edited by Alphawolf: Jan 19 2010, 02:40 PM

Hi, I'm not a lawyer but I think this website should be more useful at gauging the large firms in the country.

Asia Pacific Legal 500 2009/2010 - Malaysiahttp://www.legal500.com/c/malaysia

Perhaps you can give it a shot, or alternatively go google and type - Law firms in Malaysia. The first few search results are pretty good yardsticks at measuring sizeable law firms.

I've personally delt with Skrine (nice office btw), Shearn Delamore, Baker & Mackenzie (office in gardens, nice place!) and Zaid Ibrahim in my job function.

Legal 500 is a good way to start, but law firms pay Legal 500 to have a mention on the site.

Legal career for lawyers...

hi, anyone wud provide me better advise whether to chamber under AG better or private firm better? am in my final year

dont join the legal profession if u want to work in Malaysia.

That is my advice, I know a 50+ year old lawyer, work really hard, own office own company. Barely making ends meet, one consultant opened a law firm, quite an average sized one. Each month barely even making RM5k.

My cousin graduated from England come back to Malaysia to work, working in one of the cmopanies based in Midvalley, they pay him RM1,200 per month.

I can get RM1000 per month working part time. Really vomit blood. The prospects is not good, unless u are truly exceptional. Or u can tie to someone who does a lot of real estate and u can do all the documentation for them. Otherwise this is really not a good field to go into.

It is true that there is a comparatively low demand for lawyers or in other words, oversupply of qualified lawyers. It is also true that lawyers here dun get paid as high as a few other common law jurisdictions.

Nevertheless, there are always success stories and stories like yours. Due to the numerous numbers of qualified grads entering the field, there is good healthy competition for positions in good firms that pay well.

in that case any suggestion for better living with law degree graduate?

What do you want to do in the future? Do u want to practice? Do u see yourself as a litigator? Dun be bothered about the salary. Find out what you want to do first. If you are unsure, attachment programmes may help you gain an insight. For me, I very much prefer private practice...

thanks alsree786, i wish to join litigation or inhouse. all i wish for is good paid. around 5k per month wud be great within 2 years.
but then getting master wud it bring andy different in salary wise?

a masters does not affect your salary*. if you are aiming for 5k within 2 years, well, litigation is a good field to be in. you need to be good at academics and join a good firm. If litigation is what you want, I recommend then pursuing the BPTC. You stated above that you are in your Final Year...do well. A good 2:1 minimum from a good uni is a must to reach your target.


*sorry, would like to clarify. Depends on which masters. Experience is more important than an LLM. The general consensus is that an LLM is too theoretical and does not add value to a practitioner. If you intend on a masters, do an MBA. I recommend that over an LLM anyday for legal practitioners. Whether that increases your salary, well depends on your employers, but the knowledge acquired from an MBA would definitely help u more in the long term than an LLM. Think long term.

This post has been edited by alsree786: Jul 2 2010, 12:12 AM

Thanks alsree786 for all the sharing!
but then BPTC is also need for local uni graduated? where can i take BPTC?
Thanks so much for all the guide!

Sorry. My bad. Wrongly assumed you were a UK llb student. You don't need to pursue the BPTC. The key skills to land a good job for law at your level (in no particular order):

i) Good academic results

ii) Proficiency in language, both BM and English since you want to be a litigator though give emphasis to the latter

iii) Good personality that suits that firm. Introverts will not go far in legal practice. You need to be sociable esp in bigger firms

iv) Good ol' hard work. Expect to work long hours.

v) As always, good connections help


Whatever comments I've made are solely based on my personal opinions. Also consider what you want to do, as I have emphasized before. And if you feel right, consider the big firm v small firm debate. It is not always good to join big firms, unlike in other industries e.g. joining a BIG FOUR accountancy firm seems to be the first smart step for most ppl doing accountancy. It depends on what you intend to do in the future e.g. do u want to start your own firm? Some, more experienced persons may help you with the field of litigation as my knowledge on that area is poor. Inhouse is company specific. For that, the bigger companies are recommended as they have bigger in house legal depts.