Contributed by Azwa Zulsamli, Officer, Professional Indemnity Insurance and Risk Management Department, Bar Council
Starting your own firm — either as a sole proprietor or in a partnership — can be an adventure that is exciting, challenging, as well as rewarding. It is a major decision to look at, and needs careful consideration. The Getting Started! workshop is an initiative, by the Bar Council Professional Indemnity Insurance (“PII”) and Risk Management Department under the direction of the PII Committee, which provides lawyers with ideas and strategies for new ventures. This workshop is also suitable for lawyers who need a refresher.
The recent workshop was held on 26 Apr 2018 at the Bar Council’s Raja Aziz Addruse Auditorium, Wisma Badan Peguam (formerly known as Wisma Straits Trading), from 9:00 am to 5:45 pm, and was attended by approximately 57 participants. It comprised five sessions, and carried seven Continuing Professional Development (“CPD”) points. Materials were distributed at the beginning of the workshop, and meals were provided throughout the day.
Six speakers, who were mainly lawyers and accountants, were invited to share their experiences, opinions and knowledge.
Nahendaran | Jeremiah | Karen | Heron |
The first session, entitled “Bar Council & You: Obligation & Privileges”, was divided into two parts: “Bar Council Statutory Requirements”, presented by Gayathri Chidambara Iyer from the Bar Council Membership Department, and “Professional Indemnity Insurance”, presented by Johan Shahar of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Sdn Bhd. Both speakers highlighted the latest updates in the respective topics.
Nahendran Navaratnam — who spoke at the second session entitled “The Fundamentals of Legal Practice” — provided insights from his 30 years of experience of practising in large and small firms, and eventually at his own law firm. He emphasised some of the important elements when opening a law firm, such as the firm’s objective, partnership and economic structure, partnership agreement, nature of practice, target clients, selection of staff, and a proper record system. He also provided useful examples of situations that participants might encounter.
Heron Khalid Goh, accompanied by his colleague Ralph Ravin, conducted the “Accounting & Taxation” session. He explained basic accounting requirements that every law firm should have, such as payment vouchers, invoices, and a trial balance. Heron also highlighted the importance of managing a proper client account, recording every transaction, and ensuring the law firm’s account(s) are up to date because this will provide an overview of the law firm’s operations. He also shared the latest information on the Inland Revenue Board and the Goods and Services Tax (“GST”) requirements for professional services.
After the lunch break, the session on “Conveyancing in a Competitive Climate” was presented by Jeremiah Gurusamy, and served as an introduction to conveyancing practice. The speaker emphasised four points: (1) Follow–up system; (2) Using the conveyancing checklist; (3) Training of staff; and (4) Alerts for deadlines. He alerted participants regarding the case law in relation to conveyancing practice, specifically involving lawyers’ negligence, with suggestions on how to avoid similar pitfalls.
Karen Cheah Yee Lynn briefed participants on the Anti–Money Laundering, Anti–Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001(“AMLA”) before she presented her the last session, entitled “Winning Ways through Civil Litigation”. Karen spoke about how litigation lawyers can make mistakes, and also provided details regarding the jurisdiction of courts as well as the required documents for litigation matters.
Participants were given time to network and discuss ideas among themselves and with the speakers.
When assessing the quality of the event, participants recommended that the workshop be organised frequently.
If you would like to attend a Getting Started! workshop or would like to know more about risk management workshops, please contact the PII and Risk Management Department by telephone at 03–2032 4511 or by email at
pirm@malaysianbar.org.my.