contributed by Desmond Ho
On 21st July 2007, the Multimedia University School of Law organized a Law Awareness Day within their campus for their law students with the assistance of the Malacca Young Lawyers and Chambering Pupils Committee. Five prominent members of the Malacca Bar were invited to speak on their life as lawyers in their respective fields of practice.
The 2nd to 4th year students were already anticipating an “interesting” talk from our panel of speakers for the day and Wong Fook Meng started the talk by giving an overview of the transition from law school to legal practice and the challenges facing a “young” practitioner. Chee Kong Chi was then invited to speak about life as a corporate lawyer. With his vast experience, he astounded even the lawyers in attendance about what corporate legal practice entails. Phrases like Reverse Take Over (RTO) and Mergers and Acquisition (M&A) would have baffled many, but Chee advised the students that beyond the conundrum of legal terms, “soft skills” were equally as important for a lawyer.
The subsequent speaker, Amardas Jethanand, delivered his speech without the aid of a Power Point presentation. Nonetheless, he made a lasting impression on the students that a criminal lawyer needs to have the law at his or her fingertips and a good criminal lawyer ought to be well versed with the facts of the case at hand.
Mr Nitin K. Gordhan spoke about life as a conveyancing lawyer and how at times this field of practice breeds “invisible” lawyers. His frank and light hearted remarks about collection of fees brought about much laughter.
Fatima was the final speaker and startled many by starting her talk in Bahasa Malaysia and then requesting for permission to continue in English. Her introductory statement paved the way for an interesting talk about the legal profession being a noble profession that opens up the windows into the ups and downs of the many people that seek a lawyer’s legal assistance.
After a short tea break, the students had the opportunity to come “up close” with the speakers and ask questions about practice. The students were divided into smaller groups and moved from one spot to another to meet with the speakers. The other lawyers in attendance assisted the speakers and gave explanations and insights into the legal profession and fielded questions.
The lawyers enjoyed the presence and company of the students and were pleased to be able to impart some thoughts and advice to the students of MMU. The Law Awareness Day that began at 9.00 am ended at 2.00 pm and was by all accounts a resounding success. (Photos of the event can be viewed at this link.)
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