For those involved in the restructuring and insolvency field, I thought it would be useful to set out all the relevant provisions, subsidiary legislation and documents for the corporate rescue mechanism in Malaysia. Corporate rescue under the Companies Act 2016 is corporate voluntary arrangement and judicial management.
Salutary Reminder to Litigators: Crucial Importance of Well-Researched Arguments Before the Court
The Court of Appeal issued its grounds of judgment dated 19 September 2018 in the case of Mak Siew Wei v Yeoh Eng Kong and other appeals. The Court of Appeal took the unusual step of issuing a post-script to remind counsel of the need for well-researched briefs and advocacy. The Court reminded us that it is a cornerstone of the administration of justice. In our adversarial system, the Courts would rely significantly on the arguments of counsel and on the truth of the legal arguments.
Case Update: Court of Appeal Clarifies Leave for Bankruptcy against Guarantors under the Insolvency Act 1967
The Court of Appeal decision in Hong Leong Bank Berhad v Ong Moon Huat [2018] 1 LNS 1612 has clarified two important points under the new Insolvency Act 1967 on bankruptcy actions against guarantors.
The first issue is to clarify the protection for guarantors where all modes of execution and enforcement must be first exhausted against the principal debtor alone. The second issue is that when seeking leave to proceed against the guarantor, the judgment creditor can apply for leave to proceed either upon the issuance of the bankruptcy notice or even prior to that, up to and immediately prior to the filing of a creditor’s petition. Continue reading
Judicial Management Case Study – The Rise and Fall of Photon Bhd
The Malaysia Insolvency Conference 2018 will be held this Thursday 22 November 2018. I am organising the case study session where it will feature a hypothetical judicial management case study. It is still not too late to sign up for the conference.
There is a strong lineup of speakers: The Honourable Judicial Commissioner Puan Wong Chee Lin, Melisa Tai of Adnan Sundra & Low, and Koo Yin Soon of Shearn Delamore & Co. The two speakers will take on the role of opposing counsel for and against a judicial management application. The Judicial Commissioner will then hear arguments, pose questions and then decide on the application. The counsel have already prepared their skeletal submissions and filed it before the Judicial Commissioner.
As a sneak preview, here are the background facts for this case study of the fictional Photon Bhd and how the company applies for judicial management. Will the judicial management application succeed? Will Photon Bhd rise again? Continue reading
Largest Law Firms in Malaysia: Domestic and Foreign Firms
The year 2018 saw some mergers and consolidation among the larger Malaysian law firms in Kuala Lumpur. Other firms have seen organic growth and has started to overtake other established large firms in terms of number. The foreign law firms, Herbert Smith Freehills and Trowers & Hamlins, also appear to be slowly boosting their headcount in Malaysia. It also remains to be seen whether the Dentons combination with Zain & Co will lead to a bigger Dentons’ presence in Malaysia.
Here, we rank the size of the largest Malaysian law firms. We first cover the domestic firms and then make some observations on the foreign firms. The headcount is based on the Malaysian Bar directory listing at the time of writing. All images are from the firms’ website and the number of partners are also based from the firm’s website. Continue reading