‘How is it you dare to be so upfront and personal on your blog?’ A friend of mine asked me the other day. ‘Really? I’m just relating what I learned and endured from my personal experience. I suppose it is necessarily personal so I can be sure of the truth I speak or write about. And I am the upfront sort. It keeps things clear.’ ‘Yah. It’s like you let people into your mind. What …
Litigation is a drag these days. For the most part. A primary reason for that is regrettably my colleagues at the bar. Not all of them, of course. There are competent and credible ones who are also reasonable, fair and pleasant. But they are like Malaysian public holidays: they exist, they are celebrated but there’s never enough of them. My sense of it is there is a widespread misguided idea of what it is lawyers …
Having a father in legal practice can make moments more awkward than if I had no legal lineage whatsoever. My father was known in the legal fraternity amongst those of his vintage. He was reputed to be brilliant, independent-minded and articulate. His friends and acquaintances reminded me often enough. Growing up, whenever I was introduced to them, they would tell me, Your father is such a brilliant/intelligent/honest man. He [tells me his story]. I am …
I started From the Bar Stool (FTBS) on 6 October 2020. Today is 9 June 2023. I have been posting my essays every Friday. I haven’t missed one since. It’s been 2 years 8 months 4 days since I started. This is the 204th essay I uploaded. I chose it to congratulate myself for getting this far. Everyone celebrates round number figures: 10, 20, 50, 100, 1000. In keeping with my maverick spirit, I chose …
To be concise is to be brief. To be clear is to express something we have a thorough grasp of in an easily understood way. To be cogent is to be persuasive. These are the three qualities I constantly aspire to with my work. On the rarest occasions when I achieve all three qualities, I haven’t just produced a piece of legal work for the client, I have produced legal art. It’s art because the …