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 …
As a litigator in Malaysia, if there is one trait we must possess, it is adaptability. Besides the constant sea changes to court processes, case management and court demands, and usual deadlines, we must also contend with the occasional unique legal innovation imposed on us which finds no source in tradition, custom or practice, or the Rules of Court 2012 (the procedural rules for matters in the civil court). One legal innovation that was the …
It was a defamation case in a High Court up north sometime in my tenth year of practice. The one time I was there was my only appearance, ever. I was assigned to do the trial since my colleague who prepared the case had left the firm. Thankfully, he was the diligent sort. It meant he kept a good record of the file and kept it in a sensible order. That always made take over …
Earlier this year, I had a matter with a long-time client that provided me with an example to use to explain the quality of integrity I expect from the people I work with and want to work with. Several years back a client of ours had a short-lived affair with a non-Muslim woman frustrated with her marriage. She got back at her non-Muslim husband for his neglect and disrespect by taking on a series …
As a senior lawyer, I almost always work with a junior or two on a matter. By junior I mean a fresh or less experienced lawyer or a pupil. The junior would be the one that has to do the ‘getting up’ for the case. To ‘get up’ a case is to prepare a case for hearing or trial. It is not a phrase often used these days. In getting up a case, the junior …