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When asked to head the organizing committee for the Young Lawyers’ Convention, the first thing I had to do was to decide on the theme of the convention. At the National Young Lawyers’ Committee (NYLC), issues such as pupilage and working conditions are common issues that the NYLC had to deal with but focusing a convention on these issues alone would have made the Convention boring. (Please click here to download the flyer for the 3rd YLC)

Issues on legal aid and activism have been dealt before and we do not want the upcoming convention to be a repetition of its predecessors and so we contemplated on highlighting issues on technology and lawyers. However, focusing on issues relating to technology alone may lead the convention becoming a technology law convention and not one for the young lawyers. That idea was also scrapped and information technology was decided to be one of the topics we are going to talk about and not the sole topic.

The other issue that cropped up was the possible entry of foreign lawyers into Malaysia but this idea was also scrapped because before we talk about GATS etc, we have to equip these young lawyers with the necessary skills to compete with their foreign cousins.

And so we went back to the drawing board. Knowing full well that many law graduates enter the profession, not so much with the inspiration to uphold justice and the law, but more with the priority on how to settle a huge study debt on their backs, we were contemplating on issues relating to pupilage, salary and working conditions but salary and settling their study loans are not the only issues that hover over the minds of these young lawyers. They are an energetic and creative lot but the demands of legal practice normally leave them jaded. It would not be long before many will leave the profession and choose to become something else. It is certainly a waste of resources should these law graduates decide to leave the profession for another occupation..

The article on Generation Y in the Time magazine that gave us an idea that the theme of the convention should be about Generation Y. We have chosen a theme called “Independent, Innovative & International” as it describes what Gen-Y’s are.

Born post 1978 and early 1980s, studies have indicated that Generation Y-er exhibit independent thought and have different motivations and needs compared to their predecessors i.e. the Generation X, the Baby Boomers and Generation Jones.

In general, members of Generation Y were found to be "demanding, impatient and bad at communicating" by a 2007 survey of business owners in Australia. The survey found that almost 70% of those surveyed found their Generation Y workers to be dissatisfied with no understanding of appropriate corporate behaviour. However, the survey by Dun & Bradstreet also showed most employers praised the energy and charisma of their Generation Y workers. Generation Y-ers are smart, tech-savvy and creative.

Thus, it is highly crucial for the Bar as a whole to recognize the potential change in thinking and work ethic present in the young lawyers of today, so as to ensure that the quality and the traditions of the Bar are maintained. It is equally crucial for the Bar to harness the ability and determination of the Generation Y (young lawyers) so as to improve ability and productivity.

Another issue that we have chosen as a topic is the importance of the continuing legal education. It is common knowledge that the study of law does not stop upon graduation. The law is a living being, not carved in stone. As law changes according to societal change, lawyers have to ensure that their knowledge is up to date, hence the need for continuing legal education. It is important that lawyers equip themselves with new skills and knowledge to keep moving forward.

The third topic that we have chosen is information technology and its increasing role in legal practice. New lawyers who are not tech-savvy will be left behind their brothers and sisters at law if they do not know how to operate a computer. Technology has definitely changed the face of legal practice. Most firms are well-equipped with computers, laptops and online research. Some firms would be paralysed if technology is taken away from them for one day. Lawyers now communicate via email, instant messaging, Blackberry etc. Legal research has also been made easier. With the click of a button, lawyers are able to access the latest cases and statutes.

But has technology really improved the working conditions of lawyers? How? Or has it made it worse? These are the issues that we hope to deal with and find the answers to.

Apart from Generation Y, continuing legal education and information technology; there will also be a topic on how to stand out in the legal crowd. We all know that the numbers of lawyers are increasing. With so many lawyers, how do young lawyers entering the profession ensure that they are better than the rest of their peers?

The session is inspired by the speech of the current Chief Justice of Singapore Chan Sek Keong at the Singapore Mass Call (Singapore Mass Call) on 26.05.2007. In his speech, he gave out pointers, virtues and principles that a lawyer must have to succeed at the Bar.

As this is a convention for young lawyers, there will be two sessions where young lawyers will be invited to speak. One is entitled “The Tired Bar”. Here, representatives from State Bar Young Lawyers Committee will be invited to speak and share their personal accounts, and discuss the work and participation of the young lawyers in their States. Are we doing enough in our contributions to and for the Bar? Is the Bar progressing? What is the future of the Bar? Are we relying on a small pool of members? How do we expand the pool?

Last but not least, the concluding topic will be a session called “Reflections”. Again young lawyers are called to summarise proceedings and conclusions during the sessions of the Convention, and participants are to share their own thoughts for mutual enrichment.

For this convention, the organisors have invited speakers comprising senior members of the Bar, academicians, entrepreneurs from the business world and young lawyers to speak and share with us their expectations and their views on how to be better lawyers.

The organisors aim to create greater awareness and educate our young lawyers about adopting a more global perspective in their working lives.

The organisers hope that many young lawyers will join us at the Convention to be held in Penang from January 18-20, 2008

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