Contributed by Firdaus Husni, Co–Chairperson of Bar Council Constitutional Law Committee
A very good afternoon I wish to Puan Hendon Mohamed, past President of the Malaysian Bar, and pupils in chambers.
To the pupils in chambers, congratulations on having gone through the examination for the Ethics and Professional Standards course. I know right now you are just relieved that the examination is over and done with. But more importantly, I hope what you had learned in the Ethics course, you will take along with you as you embark on the journey as a full–fledged lawyer not too long from now. The tendency that we have when we go for an examination is that, right after, we will store all that we had learned for the exam right in the deepest, most isolated part of the brain where it is almost impossible to recover. Speaking from experience, don’t. Don’t do that. And I will tell you why.
Firstly, allow me to say that I am personally very honoured to be invited to speak to you all at this luncheon today. I realised that previous speakers who had been invited include the likes of Mr Andrew Khoo, a Bar Councillor and Co–Chairperson of the Human Rights Committee; Mr Narayanan Chandran, a senior practitioner with vast legal experience; and of course, the President himself, Mr Steven Thiru. They are all giants of the Bar! And therefore I feel very humbled to be given the same opportunity to stand here today to address all of you.
I am well aware that I am by far the youngest speaker to have been invited to speak at a luncheon for the Ethics and Professional Standards Course. To give you some perspective, I did my pupillage in 2009 and started practising in Messrs Chooi & Co. in 2010. By usual standard, having completed five years is still considered young in the profession. I made the decision to join the Constitutional Law Committee of the Bar Council in the first week of my pupillage at Messrs Raja, Darryl & Loh. And I am grateful that subsequently in 2013 the Bar Council gave me a wonderful opportunity to chair the Constitutional Law Committee till now. I am also presently a member of the Bar Council Task Force on Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (“IPCMC”).
The point that I want to drive home is this, and I feel it is the same reason why I am invited to speak to you all today, is that you are never too young to contribute to the Bar. You are never too young to bring the Malaysian Bar to greater heights, and I will tell you more about this in the later part of my speech.
Today, I have been asked to speak on three areas:
(i) How to be an excellent, ethical and successful lawyer?
(ii) What are the challenges that you are going to face in the profession?
(iii) Why is maintaining independence of the Bar is important?
(i) How to be an excellent, ethical and successful lawyer?
After half a decade in the profession, yes I feel that I have learnt so much from the profession, but along with it, comes the realisation that there is still so much more to learn. That is the nature of the profession; it is a life–long learning process. And that is the mark of a good lawyer. You never stop learning. The law, the profession, are ever evolving. Keeping yourself updated with the development of the law is crucial to a successful career.
In fact, I am currently in the midst of attending a two–day seminar on the Strata Management Act 2013 and the Strata Management (Maintenance and Management) Regulations 2015, which came into force on 1 June 2015. I am here to join you all at this luncheon, but after this I need to go back to the seminar. This is what I meant by keeping yourself updated with the development of the law.
At the beginning of your practice, it is very likely that you will do a lot of assisting work. Regardless of whatever work comes your way, take ownership of your work. Be proud of your work, be it research, drafting, preparing for meetings, hearings or trials, or even translation. Take pride in what you do, because that will show in the quality of your work.
Of course along the way, you will make mistakes. But the last thing one should do is to shy away from any given task or work because you are afraid that you will make mistakes. If you do that, you lose the opportunity to become better. I have had my fair share of mistakes, minor and major. And if you ask Puan Hendon, I am certain she will share with you similar experience, of varying degrees maybe. These are part of the learning process we all have to go through especially as young lawyers.
Drafting skill, is an important skill you need to have to be a successful lawyer, regardless whether you later choose to be a litigation or corporate lawyer. There is a certain skill required in drafting a legal opinion for client, in drafting cause papers, an agreement, written submissions, and even in drafting a letter or an e–mail to client. Each requires a certain skill, in knowing what manner of drafting presents what kind of impression to the intended reader, be it the client, the opposing lawyer, or the judge. It is for this reason that I advise you to take assisting work seriously. Be observant. Observe the different styles of different lawyers in attending to all these areas which I had mentioned earlier. And I say this, the drafting style that I have personally developed over the years and use today is a combination of the styles of all senior lawyers that I had assisted.
Another skill that you will need is your speaking skill. Brush up on your language, English and Bahasa Melayu. Just like drafting, there is a certain skill required in, say, conducting meetings or conference calls with clients or with other lawyers, in submitting a case before a judge or a panel of judges. Observe the senior lawyers, but take every opportunity to be on your feet, and you will develop your style along the way.
When you have the opportunity, do sign up for talks, seminars and workshops of different areas of the law. When you do attend these events, make full use of the networking prospects, and it will go a long way in the profession. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to meet and work with many good lawyers who later became my good friends. We learn from each other. We inspire each other to be better.
There are other skills needed to become an excellent, ethical and successful lawyer, but the bottom line is, don’t stop learning. Don’t stop improving yourself. I know I still am.
(ii) What are the challenges that you are going to face in the profession?
Where do I even begin?
For a start, expect the first few years of your legal career to be very challenging.
Often you will feel that time does not seem to be on your side. Do not despair, because this is not uncommon. Develop a system, your own system to manage your time in attending to whatever work comes your way.
Lack of knowledge and lack of experience will also get in the way during your initial years in the profession. How do you face these challenges? Always try to be a step ahead by doubling your efforts and research. Do not be afraid to seek counsel with the senior lawyers. Oftentimes, the solution needed to address a given situation or problem is not readily available in textbooks.
Other challenges that you will face, which are tied up with what I had already mentioned, would be in dealing with clients, fellow lawyers and judges. These are people skills, which you will need to learn and develop along the way. Different characters require different manners of dealing with them. But most importantly, be mindful of the provisions of the Legal Profession (Practice & Etiquettes) Rules 1978, which govern the conduct of lawyers: between lawyers, between lawyers and clients, between lawyers and the Courts. This is what I meant earlier when I said that you should not forget what you had learned in the Ethics and Professional Standards Course.
Above all, never be afraid to take up challenges, because that is how you will learn.
On a larger scale, is a challenge that the Malaysian Bar is facing, and by extension, as you will be members of the Bar, that you too will face — the public perception of the Malaysian Bar.
This brings me to my next point.
(iii) Why is maintaining independence of the Bar is important?
I am sure by now, if I point to any one of you, you will be able to tell me word for word what Section 42 of the Legal Profession Act 1976 says. Section 42 sets out the object and powers of the Malaysian Bar. This is what makes the Malaysian Bar what it is today.
Some quarters remarked that the Malaysian Bar is anti–government, that the Malaysian Bar is pro–opposition. But ladies and gentlemen, Section 42(1)(a) states that the Malaysian Bar is to uphold the cause of justice without regard to its own interest or that of its members, uninfluenced by fear or favour. It is for this reason the Malaysian Bar highlights abuse of power, and the Malaysian Bar condemns erosion of citizens’ fundamental liberties and violations of other provisions of the Federal Constitution caused by that abuse of power, regardless who wields that power.
Some other quarters have remarked, “Why does the Malaysian Bar need to be concerned with what is going on outside? Why can’t they just be concerned with their own lawyers?” The answer lies in Section 42 itself, specifically Section 42(1)(g), that is, to protect and assist members of the public in all matters relating to the law.
It is for this reason that the Malaysian Bar has been sending team of monitors to monitor public assemblies. We set up urgent arrest team to be on standby to act the moment any members of the public get arrested. We seek to appear as amicus curiae (friend of the Court) in cases concerning the public interest. Where there are inquiries conducted by bodies such as SUHAKAM or EAIC, we send our team of observers. Some members of the Malaysian Bar provide legal representation to those who cannot afford legal fees, through the Bar Council Legal Aid Centres or the National Legal Aid Foundation (Yayasan Bantuam Guaman Kebangsaan, “YBGK”). We organise marches, the most recent being the Walk for Peace and Freedom 2014 to demand for the repeal of the Sedition Act. We set up committees and task forces to look into various issues.
The Malaysian Bar undertakes all these initiatives because of Section 42, because upholding the cause of justice is what makes a lawyer a lawyer.
In 2009, the Bar Council launched a nationwide campaign called the MyConstitution Campaign, aimed to promote constitutional awareness to the Malaysian public. We embarked on this initiative because of the changing atmosphere in Malaysia. In recent years, Malaysians have become more aware of issues, more aware of rights, and of governance. If previously we had what we called a representative democracy, where decisions and policies concerning the country are left entirely in the hands of the people’s representatives, the MPs, the trend now seems to shift towards a model of participative democracy, where participation of the citizens goes beyond the ballot box. Citizens today want to know what are laws and policies that affect them, how these laws and policies affect them, and how they too can effect change on these laws and policies.
That is where the Malaysian Bar comes in. We equip the citizens with the required knowledge of the law, particularly the Federal Constitution.
On the Federal Constitution, we now see a dangerous pattern. There have been attempts by certain quarters to distort the Federal Constitution, to skew its provisions to suit their own interest. This is wrong.
Why? Because the Federal Constitution provides for all. It belongs to all of us. It belongs to you, it belongs to me, it belongs to each and every Malaysian citizen out there. For this reason, all of us, we need to claim ownership of the Federal Constitution. All of us, we need to preserve, protect and defend the Federal Constitution.
Twice, I had been asked this question, “Why is it that lawyers seem to be at the forefront of activism in Malaysia?” My answer to that is this — with added knowledge of the law, comes added responsibility not only to those around you, but to the society at large. So go ahead, join the Bar Council committees, sign up as Bar Council monitors, observers, or urgent arrest team members. There are a lot of options you can choose from.
I would like to leave you with these words by Winston Churchill. He said, and I quote:
“What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone.”
Thank you.