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Article:[1983]1CLJ7

PREPARATIONOFLAWSTUDENTSFORLAWPRACTICE
by
DatukHarunM.Hashim
Malaysia

InMalaysia,beforeapersoncanpractiseattheBarhemustfirstbeadmittedasanadvocateandsolicitoroftheHighCourt.Togainadmissionaperson
shall:
(a)PossessalawdegreefromarecogniseduniversityinMalaysiaoroverseas;
(b)Haveattainedtheageof18years;
(c)Isofgoodcharacter;
(d)IseitheracitizenorapermanentresidentofMalaysia;and
(e)Completedaperiodofpupillage.
Atthemoment,therecognisedqualificationsarelawdegreesconferredby:
(a)TheUniversityofMalaya;
(b)TheUniversityofSingapore;
(c)SomeuniversitiesinAustralia;
(d)SomeuniversitiesinNewZealand;and
(e)BarristersatlawofEngland.
Generallythesequalificationscombineanacademiccourseinlawaswellasprofessionalpractice.
Pupillage
The Legal Profession Act, 1976 governs the legal profession in Malaysia. It provides that before a person can be admitted to the Bar he should first
complete a period ofpupillageof 12 months with amaster(a legal practitioner of not less than seven years standing). The object of pupillage is to
familiarisetheyounglawyerwiththepracticeandprocedureofCourtsinMalaysiaandotheraspectsoflegalwork.Hecanonlycommencepupillage
afterhehasfirstacquiredhislawdegree.Thepupillageisservedinalegalfirm.Intheolddays,pupilshadtopayafeetothemaster.Later,nofeeswere
payablebutrecently,duetoashortageoflawyers,somemasterspayanallowancetopupils.
Thedegreeofknowledgeandskillimpartedtopupilsbymastersduringtheperiodofpupillagevariesfrommastertomaster.Sometaketheirjobsvery
seriouslyandmakethepupildevilcasesforthem,i.e.,doingresearchandpreparingbriefsfortheirmaster.Insomefirmstheseniorlawyersthemselves
aresobusytheyhavenotimefortheirpupils.Thelawrequirespupillagetobefulltimewithregularattendanceatthelegalfirmandforbidspupilsfrom
holdinganyjob,whetherfulltimeorparttimeduringtheperiod.Afterthreemonths,thepupil(withthepermissionoftheCourt)mayappearonbehalf
ofthemasterbefore:
(a)aJudgeortheRegistrarinChambers;
(b)aSessionsCourtPresidentortheRegistrarofaSessionsCourtinChambers;
(c)aSessionsCourtPresidentoraMagistrate,tomentionacaseortoapplyforbailortotakeaconsentjudgmentororder.
The period of pupillage may be reduced to nine months if the pupil attends a special practical course or to six months if the pupil has served the
(Government)JudicialandLegalServiceforthreeyearsorabsolutelyifhehasservedtheGovernmentforsevenyears.
Thequestionis,whetherthisissufficientpreparationofalawstudentforlawpractice.Isheinapositiontogivelegaladvicetoclientsoncorporate
matters,commercialcontracts,probate,divorceorevendefendapersonintheCriminalCourt.Itissubmittedthatthepupillagesystemhasoutlivedits
usefulnessandisgrosslyinadequatetomeettoday'sneeds.Alegalfirmisafterallabusiness.Officespacecostsmoneyandmanyfirmsjustdonothave
spacetoaccommodatethegrowingnumberofpupils.TheMalaysiansystemhasbeeninexistenceforalongperiodoftime.Itwasagoodsysteminthe
olddaysbecausethefewyounglawyerswhoenteredtheprofessioneachyearoncompletionofpupillagegenerallyremainedwiththefirminwhich
they served their pupillage as the firm's legal assistants or they would join another established firm. Today, however, the reality is that the newly
admittedlawyerpromptlysetsuphisownpractice,quiteofteninsomeremotetownandheiscompletelyonhisown.Heisofcourselegallyentitledto
dosobutishefullyequippedtomaintainthehighstandardsrequiredofthelegalprofessionatthisinitialstage?
Itisgenerallyrecognisedthatinanyprofessionthereisnosubstituteforexperiencewhichcanonlybeacquiredbyactuallyperformingthejob.Clients
generallygotoalawyerwhoisalreadyknownortoputitinanotherway,lawyerswitharecognisedtrackrecord.Thebestcasesgotosuchlawyers.The
young unknown lawyer, will at best, get the crumbs. Above all, the young lawyer on his own, will not get the benefit of a second opinion from his
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Article:[1983]1CLJ7

colleague; the best clerical assistance; will not know how to manage his office and certainly will not have the capital to own a proper law library,
essentialtoolsforalawyer.
Doctors, engineers and architects inMalaysia are required to work undersupervisionfor two to three years after first qualification, before they are
allowedtopractiseontheirown.Itissubmittedthatlawyerstooshouldinitiallyberequiredtoworkundersupervisionforatleastthreeyearsbefore
theyareallowedtopractiseontheirown.
Recommendations
(a)AslawyersinMalaysiamayacquiretheirlawdegreesfromoverseas,allpersonsintendingtopractiseattheBarinMalaysiashouldbe
required to pass a written examination in practice and procedure before admission to the Bar. This examination, to be known as the
Malaysian Bar Examination should be held regularly during the second week of January and July each year. Only persons who possess a
recognisedlawdegreeandareotherwisepermittedbytheBarCouncilmaysitforthisexamination.
(b)OnpassingtheMalaysianBarExamination,admissiontotheBarisautomatic.Pupillageasitisnowknownisabolishedandtheyoung
lawyermayappearinanyCourt
BUT
(i)HecanonlydosoifheisaLegalAssistantofafirmwithaseniorpartnerofnotlessthansevenyearsstanding;and
(ii)HemaynotsetuppracticeeitheronhisownorbecomeapartnerofafirmearlierthanthreeyearsafterbeingcalledtotheBar.
Conclusion
Itismyfirmbeliefthatthelegalprofession,whetherinMalaysiaorelsewhereintheASEANcountries,willattainhigherstandardsofprofessionalism
and ethics if young lawyers are required to commence their professional careers in the first three years as a legal assistant under the supervision of
experienced and respected elders of the profession. During this period they will be exposed to the real work of a law practice, preparing briefs,
appearinginCourtandarguingtheircases.Duringthisperiod,however,theCourts(Judges)andmembersofthepublic(Clients)willalwaysbeassured
thattheyounglawyerperformsunderthesupervisionofhissuperiorsandthathehashadthebenefitofCounselbyhiselders.Thereputationofthe
legalfirmheworksforisalwaysatstakeandthataloneissufficientinducementtoensurethattheyounglawyerwilldohisbestforhisclientandhis
firm.Onthejobtrainingwithsupervisionisthebestpreparationofallforlawpractice.Itisalsofair.Theyoungmanisentitledtohisfeeandtheclient
getsvalueforhismoney.

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