A Klang Valley Lawyer Outside the Klang Valley
I was a member of the Kuala Lumpur Bar from 1999 until 2008 when my father decided to move the firm from Bukit Damansara to Mutiara Damansara. Since mid-2008 I …
Rejigging the Legal Submission
Preparing for arguments for court is now an exercise in labouriousness. Let’s take an application. The court will fix a schedule for the exchange of affidavits on the first case …
Do I answer the Judge now or later?
During the course of our submission, the judge may interrupt us to pose a question. It may not be something we are addressing at that precise moment but at a …
Law Degree Good, Articled Clerkship Better
In Malaysia, there are actually two ways to be an advocate and solicitor. The first is the law degree route. You obtain a law degree from an approved university. A …
‘How do you stay motivated?’
Last week, I participated by video as a speaker for a few sessions relating to strategic litigation for lawyers and activists in Sarawak. In the closing session, after we opened …
A siesta in the afternoon
Afternoon court sessions are a challenge to get through; especially after a heavy lunch. It is for this reason, no competent litigator would or should eat a full-on banana leaf …
Witness Statements and the Abstraction of Justice
In Malaysia, witness statements contain the questions asked by a lawyer to his own witness with the answers given committed to writing. They serve as the evidence that a witness …
Answer yes or no only, understand? | From the Atelier
I commissioned Jun Kit for this piece. You can check out his portfolio in my write-up about him here. I chose Jun Kit for this piece. I thought it to …
Advocacy lesson: Set ’em up quick, take ’em down slow
There was an occasion when I saw Amer open his cross-examination on an investigating officer (IO) in a case we did together with Amer’s partner, Edmund Bon, in Ampang many …
Hasan Ali and Me | Part One | From the Atelier
From the Atelier I met Nuriman Manap (Iman) through my secondary school friend, Yong Foo Seng, who saw my call out for artists on Facebook and LinkedIn. Foo Seng is …
The difference between a submission and an executive summary
The second question posed to me by a new practitioner that wrote to me about his advocacy issues, is as follows and my response comes after: Since parties are required …
10 grounds of appeal. How should I address them?
Recently, a new practitioner wrote to me to ask two advocacy-related questions. I thought of sharing my answers for those interested. I address the first query today; the other, next …
Written Advocacy Tip: Break it down
Legislation is not an easy read, even for lawyers and judges. Sometimes I feel it is made difficult out of thoughtlessness, habit or a policy to make the law inaccessible …
My debut Federal Court appearance
After my debut in the Court of Appeal and getting a few hearings at that level under my robe, my boss trusted me to conduct a hearing at the Federal …