pupillage

New Employment Act amendments may mean law pupils are entitled to minimum wage

Marcus van GeyzelLeave a comment

A much-discussed issue in Malaysian legal circles for some time now has been the remuneration of pupils in the legal industry.

Many law graduates are grossly underpaid during their compulsory 9-month pupillage period, with reports of monthly pay as low as RM500. This is well below the current monthly minimum wage in Malaysia, which is RM1,100/1,200. However, pupils fall outside the scope of the Minimum Wages Order, as they are not “employees” under the existing Employment Act (EA).

Proposed amendments to the EA may change this position, and mean that pupils will be entitled to the national minimum wage.

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Law Firms in Malaysia Face Tight Cashflow and May Downsize

Lee Shih1 Comment

Law firms in Malaysia are facing challenging times. Based on the recently released Bar Council survey results on 5 June 2020 (report available from the Malaysian Bar website to members only), almost half of the law firms replied that they would be downsizing, closing their law practice or ceasing practice. Close to 60% of the law firms responded that they were not intending to hire due to financial issues from the movement control / COVID-19.

I highlight the key points from the Bar Council survey from the perspective of hiring trends moving ahead.
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5 lessons I learnt from pupillage

The Malaysian Lawyer1 Comment

This is a guest post by Isabelle Siaw, and is one of the 3 articles selected to be published on TML following our open call for submissions. We would like to thank everyone who sent in their articles, and hope to see more quality legal writing published, which will hopefully lead to vibrant discussions and thought leadership in the Malaysian legal industry.

Pupillage can be a testing period for law graduates. Most lawyers would agree that the transition from law student to fully-qualified lawyer during that pupillage period can be challenging and stressful. As I approach the end of my own pupillage, here are five lessons that I have learnt.

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5 Things I Hope to Achieve During Pupillage

The Malaysian LawyerLeave a comment

Guest writer Shi Jing shares the 5 things she hopes to achieve during pupillage. Having completed the Bar Professional Training Course with an overall grade of Outstanding, Shi Jing is about to commence her pupillage at one of the top legal firms in the country.

So you have completed 4 years of legal studies and you are about to embark on your pupillage journey. Aside from hoping to be retained by your firm, what are the 5 things you hope to achieve during pupillage? Every pupil has different priorities and goals and here are the 5 things which matter most to me. Continue reading →

5 things I learned from pupillage that law school didn’t teach me

The Malaysian LawyerLeave a comment

Guest writer Janice Tan Ying has recently completed her pupillage, and has been retained as an Associate in one of the most well-regarded tax teams in Malaysia.

Call to the bar
An exuberant and fresh-faced Janice on the day of her Call to the Bar of England & Wales, before commencing pupillage in Malaysia. Post-pupillage photo not supplied for comparison of exuberance or freshness of face.

Pupillage. The budding legal eaglet’s nine-month rite of passage (read: baptism of fire) into a career at the Bar.

These nine months will shape and mould your career and personal development. Your pupillage period may be the springboard towards a flourishing legal career, or one that will (gasp shock horror!) turn you off practice permanently.

These are the five key takeaways that I have gleaned from my pupillage journey. They are by no means hard and fast rules, but are my personal take on some of the usual ‘how to’ advice dished out by lawyers.

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