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The Bar Council, in its efforts to improve the standards of the legal profession, has over the years put in place various professional development programmes.  These programmes have been conducted in lecture/seminar format, primarily at the Bar Council Auditorium in Kuala Lumpur.  They run parallel with continuing legal education programmes that are undertaken by State Bar Committees in the respective states.

The Bar Council appreciates the logistical and practical difficulties (as well as cost considerations) faced by Members outside the Klang Valley who may be interested in attending the professional development programmes held in Kuala Lumpur.  As many of these programmes can benefit all Members, the Bar Council has been looking at ways in which Members can easily have access to these programmes. 

With this purpose and objective in mind, the Bar Council, through its Continuing Legal Education Committee (and now the Professional Standards and Development Committee) (PSDC) began exploring the possibility of establishing and implementing an e-learning scheme.  It is popularly known as “e-CLE” and it would enable Members to participate in interactive professional development programmes of their choice from their desktops/lap-tops.

E-CLE is an established component of modern professional development programmes worldwide.  It has been widely received and acknowledged as an important training tool for lawyers.  It comports with the traditional lecture/seminar teaching and learning methods.  Thus, e-CLE for the Malaysian Bar will be the next milestone in our professional development activities. It would also be a critical part of the intended mandatory professional development scheme as it would provide another avenue for Members to acquire the requisite points under the scheme.

As a first step in the implementation of the e-CLE, the PSDC decided to develop e-learning modules based on the existing Ethics and Professional Standards (EPS) course manual for pupils. In this regard, the PSDC has worked with CrimsonLogic Sdn Bhd (www.crimsonlogic.com) a leading technology provider with a strong track record in developing, and running e-solutions and services for governments and industry around the world. Having successfully implemented the world’s first nationwide civil litigation system in Singapore and comprehensive online legal services platforms such as LawNet and Legal Workbench, CrimsonLogic has extended its domain knowledge and experience to develop new projects in the legal and judicial arena globally as well as provide a comprehensive range of services incorporating consultancy, systems integration, maintenance, marketing and training. 

The new programme is called “e-Ethics and Professional Standards” and it will encompass all six modules of the EPS course.

The e-Ethics and Professional Standards programme will soon be available to pupils at a nominal one-time payment of RM30.  Under the programme, pupils will be given an overview of the course syllabus, the issues to focus on, training on how to approach these issues and interactive questions and answers.  It is important to note that e-Ethics and Professional Standards is not meant to replace the manuals that pupils are provided with (which they are still obliged to consult) and neither is it meant to replace the two-day EPS course and exam.  The e-Ethics and Professional Standards programme complements the existing learning tools and it will assist pupils in their preparation for the course and exam.

The Bar Council wishes to thank CrimsonLogic Sdn Bhd (and particularly Julie Thomas and her team) for working with the PSDC on the e-Ethics and Professional Standards programme.  We wish to also record our appreciation to Abdul Rashid Ismail, a member of the PSDC and its e-CLE Project Head, for his work in this initiative over the past two years.  We wish to also thank Members of the Bar who have worked with CrimsonLogic Sdn Bhd on the various modules. They are Hendon Mohamed, Trevor De Silva, Colin Pereira, Ravindran Nekoo, Sheila De Costa, GK Ganesan, Brendan Siva and Steven Thiruneelakandan.

The Bar Council will launch the e-Ethics and Professional Standards programme on 6 October 2009. For further queries on the programme, please contact Mr Julian at 03-2031 8481 or Ms Lilian at 03-2031 7854.

Dated 16 September 2009