Kualiti peguam muda harus ditingkatkan

http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/Kota/20121021/wk_02/Kualiti-peguam-muda-harus-ditingkatkan





KUALA LUMPUR 20 Okt. - Majlis Peguam hari ini mendedahkan peguam muda di negara ini belum mencapai taraf kualiti antarabangsa bagi memenuhi kehendak majikan dalam pasaran kerja.

Bendaharinya, Steven Thiru berkata, kebanyakan peguam muda gagal menepati kelayakan asas seperti penguasaan bahasa Inggeris dalam penulisan dan kemahiran berkomunikasi serta pemikiran kritikal.

"Berdasarkan kaji selidik dilakukan ke atas 400 firma undang-undang di seluruh negara mendapati peguam muda termasuk pelatih tidak mempunyai asas kelayakan dan latihan yang diperlukan majikan.

"Situasi ini menyebabkan majikan terpaksa melatih golongan tersebut dari mula walaupun kemahiran itu adalah perkara harus dipelajari sejak awal lagi," katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian selepas forum tentang hasil tinjauan keadaan kerja dan pembayaran gaji bagi peguam muda negara anjuran Jawatankuasa Peguam Muda Kebangsaan (NYLC), Majlis Peguam.

Jelas beliau, kaji selidik itu juga menyatakan graduan berkelulusan undang-undang tidak kira dari universiti tempatan atau luar negara turut mengalami masalah yang sama.

"Mereka boleh menulis dan bertutur dalam bahasa Melayu, namun gagal menguasai bahasa Inggeris. Oleh sebab itu, majikan berasa sukar kerana banyak dokumen berkaitan menggunakan bahasa Inggeris," katanya.

Sehubungan itu, Steven mencadangkan kursus asas peguam diwajibkan kepada semua pengamal muda agar prestasi mereka meningkat.

Katanya, cadangan kursus tersebut masih dalam proses perbincangan setakat ini.

Dalam pada itu, Pengerusi NYLC, Richard Wee berkata, kira-kira 2,070 peguam muda yang berusia 25 hingga 30 tahun menerima gaji bulanan purata daripada RM3,001 hingga RM4,500 di sekitar Lembah Klang.

Katanya, perbezaan itu mengikut tahun perkhidmatan dari tahun pertama kepada ketiga.

Tambahnya, NYLC mencadangkan satu skim gaji iaitu RM4,000 sebulan kepada peguam muda di sekitar Lembah Klang bagi tahun pertama perkhidmatan.

Artikel Penuh: http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/Kota/20121021/wk_02/Kualiti-peguam-muda-harus-ditingkatkan#ixzz2AmL9gbLG
© Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd 

Bar Council Objects to Untrue Statements in The Star’s Article Concerning Young Lawyers

Circular No 230/2012

Dated 23 Oct 2012

To Members of the Malaysian Bar 

Bar Council Objects to Untrue Statements in The Star’s Article Concerning Young Lawyers

On 21 Oct 2012 (Sunday), The Star published an article titled “Lawyers not up to par”, concerning the Bar Council National Young Lawyers Committee’s Working Conditions Forum, held at the Bar Council on 20 Oct 2012.

The article in The Star contained sweeping and untrue statements about the quality of the Malaysian Bar’s young lawyers, which were not made by any of the speakers at the forum.  These statements are a gross misrepresentation of what the speakers had said at the forum.

We have expressed our strong protest to The Star.  We have also sent a “Letter to the Editor” to The Star setting out our unequivocal position on the matter, and have asked that the letter be published in full as soon as possible.  The Star has assured us that it will do so.

Our “Letter to the Editor” is reproduced below, along with the text of the original article that appeared in The Star.   Please click here to view the article as it appeared in The Star's e-paper.

Steven Thiru

Treasurer

Malaysian Bar

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

22 Oct 2012 

Dear Editor,

Article in The Star on 21 Oct 2012 titled “Lawyers not up to par”

We refer to the article in The Star on 21 Oct 2012 (Nation, page 6) under the title “Lawyers not up to par” regarding the Bar Council’s National Young Lawyers Committee (“NYLC”) Working Conditions Forum (“Forum”), held at the Bar Council on 20 Oct 2012.  The same article appeared in the online version of The Star, titled “Young ones do not meet benchmark set by employers, says Bar”, at [this link][1] .

Paragraph 1: “All young Malaysian lawyers do not meet the standard international quality benchmark set by their employers, according to a Bar Council survey.”

This sweeping and untrue statement was not made by any of the speakers at all at the Forum.  Paragraph 1 is also not borne out by the Bar Council’s Employability Survey (“Survey”) and is therefore a grave distortion of it.  

While the Bar Council intends for the proposed Common Bar Course to be benchmarked against international standards (to ensure that lawyers entering into the profession will have the requisite quality), it is certainly not our position that all our young lawyers are below par.  The Star has made a very unfair generalisation that is a stain on the many good young lawyers at the Malaysian Bar. 

Paragraph 3: “It found that young lawyers practising for less than seven years do not have basic attributes like English proficiency, communication and critical thinking skills . . .”

This paragraph misquotes what was said.  In his presentation, Treasurer of the Malaysian Bar, Steven Thiru, emphasised that the Survey targeted a sampling of “new entrants to the legal profession”, and he explained that this group consisted of law graduates, pupils in chambers, and lawyers in their first year of practice. The survey therefore did not cover “young lawyers practising for less than seven years”. 

The Treasurer’s statement on the decline in quality was in respect of the results from the sampling of the new entrants to the legal profession covered by the Survey, and was not directed at all “young lawyers practising for less than seven years”.  The confusion on The Star’s part could have been due to NYLC being a committee that focuses on the welfare of, and issues affecting, representing lawyers of seven years’ standing and below.  However, even NYLC’s survey on working conditions was directed at first-year lawyers and not “young lawyers practising for less than seven years”.  

It is also not the position of the Bar Council that all young lawyers practising for less than seven years lack the basic attributes and skills.  The Star’s article paints a skewed and damaging picture of the Malaysian Bar’s young lawyers. 

Paragraph 14: “Thiru and other senior lawyers however, said young lawyers did not deserve the raise.”

This paragraph also misquotes what was said, as Wong Fook Meng and Steven Thiru repeatedly stressed at the Forum that employers (who are able to give the raise) would be willing to give the raise for young lawyers of quality, as it would be in the employers’ interest to do so, to retain talent.  It was also not the position of any of the speakers that a first-year lawyer, notwithstanding quality, did not deserve a raise in salary. 

In all, it was emphasised the recommendations contained in the NYLC’s survey are to serve as a non-binding guide for employer-law firms.

Across the board, The Star’s article also failed to highlight the call by the NYLC’s Chairperson, Richard Wee Thiam Seng, that young lawyers must equip themselves with better knowledge of the law and constantly improve standards.  At the same time, he also said that employers ought not exploit young lawyers by offering sub-standard salaries.  

In its entirety, the article gave the impression that all young lawyers are incapable, and that NYLC’s recommendations for better remuneration are baseless.  This was not the position taken by any of the speakers at the Forum.  To the contrary, it was the common view that the Forum was the first step towards reform in the working conditions of young lawyers, in tandem with the drive to push young lawyers to improve themselves.

We trust the above clarifies matters, and ask that The Star print this letter in full as soon as possible.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Rajen Devaraj

Chief Executive Officer

Bar Council 

Malaysian young lawyers not up to par

Malaysian young lawyers not up to par

KUALA LUMPUR: All young Malaysian lawyers do not meet the standard international quality benchmark set by their employers, according to a Bar Council survey. Bar Council treasurer Steven Thiru said the survey, conducted on 400 law firms, also found that employer satisfaction of new working lawyers was “shockingly low”.

“It found that young lawyers practising for less than seven years do not have basic attributes like English proficiency, communication and critical thinking skills and commitment to the profession, which is vital for the career,” said Thiru at a forum between the Bar Council and the National Young Lawyers Committee (NYLC).

He said the problem was prevalent among both local and foreign university law graduates. Thiru placed the blame on the failure of several tertiary education institutes, which did not include practical skills with academic learning. “So, what we get is law firm employers having to retrain young lawyers in basic practical skills that they should have learned in university,” he said.

 The findings come in the wake of the NYLC's recommendations to the Bar to increase the wages of young lawyers and provide more flexible working hours. The young lawyers have been complaining that they are being paid “too little” for the amount of work they do.

The NYLC, citing its own survey, said 28.2% of young lawyers in the Klang Valley wanted to leave the profession in the next five years while another 38.7% were considering leaving. Outside the Klang Valley, 15.3% said they would leave and another 48.2% were considering.

“Most cite low salaries and no work-life balance as the main reasons for opting out,” said NYLC chairman Richard Wee. He said most young lawyers were attracted to overseas firms offering better benefits. He said NYLC had suggested a starting pay of RM3,000 to RM4,000 a month for young lawyers in Klang Valley and RM2,500 for young lawyers elsewhere. The current salary is RM2,000.

He said that of the 14,500 lawyers in the country, 2,070 were considered as young.

Thiru and other senior lawyers however, said young lawyers did not deserve the raise.

Chee Siah Le Kee & Partners' Wong Fook Meng said young lawyers should earn the raise they were demanding for. “They fail to realise that they should be working to learn and better themselves as lawyers, rather than focus on the cash. “There are no shortcuts, young lawyers must create value and contribute meaningfully to their firms to justify higher compensation,” said Wong, who is a member of the Bar Council's Constitutional Law Committee and former NYLC deputy chairman.

 By NICHOLAS CHENG The Star/Asia News Network


============

Kindly take note that this was the pre-amended version which appeared in The Star on 21st OCtober 2012. Since then it has been amended to the version below:-

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/10/21/nation/12205345&sec=nation

All new entrant lawyers do not meet employers' benchmark, says Bar

KUALA LUMPUR: All new entrant lawyers do not meet the standard international quality benchmark set by their employers, according to a Bar Council survey.

Bar Council treasurer Steven Thiru said the survey, conducted on 400 law firms, also found that employer satisfaction of new working lawyers was “shockingly low”.

“It found that new entrants to the legal profession do not have basic attributes like English proficiency, communication and critical thinking skills and commitment to the profession, which is vital for the career,” said Thiru at a forum between the Bar Council and the National Young Lawyers Committee (NYLC),

He said the problem was prevalent among both local and foreign university law graduates.

Thiru placed the blame on the failure of several tertiary education institutes, which did not include practical skills with academic learning.

“So, what we get is law firm employers having to retrain young lawyers in basic practical skills that they should have learned in university,” he said.

The findings come in the wake of the NYLC's recommendations to the Bar to increase the wages of young lawyers and provide more flexible working hours.

The young lawyers have been complaining that they are being paid “too little” for the amount of work they do.

The NYLC, citing its own survey, said 28.2% of young lawyers in the Klang Valley wanted to leave the profession in the next five years while another 38.7% were considering leaving.

Outside the Klang Valley, 15.3% said they would leave and another 48.2% were considering.

“Most cite low salaries and no work-life balance as the main reasons for opting out,” said NYLC chairman Richard Wee.

He said most young lawyers were attracted to overseas firms offering better benefits.

He said NYLC had suggested a starting pay of RM3,000 to RM4,000 a month for young lawyers in Klang Valley and RM2,500 for young lawyers elsewhere. The current salary is RM2,000.

He said that of the 14,500 lawyers in the country, 2,070 were considered as young lawyers, having worked in the profession from one to seven years.

Thiru and other senior lawyers however, said that most did not deserve the raise, which should be reserved in retaining quality lawyers that perform.

Chee Siah Le Kee & Partners' Wong Fook Meng said young lawyers should earn the raise they were demanding for.

“They fail to realise that they should be working to learn and better themselves as lawyers, rather than focus on the cash.

“There are no shortcuts, young lawyers must create value and contribute meaningfully to their firms to justify higher compensation,” said Wong, who is a member of the Bar Council's Constitutional Law Committee and former NYLC deputy chairman.

NYLC Forum on Young Lawyers Work Condition

Working Condition Survey by NYLC

Circular No 215/2012
Dated 4 Oct 2012

To Members of the Malaysian Bar and pupils in chambers

The National Working Conditions Survey Report and Working Conditions Forum:

The Bigger Better Deal for Everyone? (20 Oct 2012)

We refer to Circular No 225/2011 dated 5 Oct 2011 and Circular No 276/2011 dated 23 Nov 2011, wherein we had disseminated the National Young Lawyers Committee (“NYLC”)’s National Working Conditions Survey (“NWCS”). 

NWCS

At the 4th Young Lawyers Convention (“Convention”), held from 1 to 3 July 2011 at Malacca, the delegates of the Convention issued the Malacca Statement which mandated the NYLC to conduct a national working conditions survey to review the working conditions of younger Members of the Bar and the remuneration schemes received by them. 

NWCS was disseminated to Members and pupils in chambers all over Malaysia over a course of three months, from October to December 2011.  The NYLC then spent a total of five months thereafter collating, collecting, extracting and preparing the data to be presented as the National Working Conditions Survey Report (“Report”).  Attached please find the Executive Summary of the Report.  Alternatively, click here to download the Executive Summary and 111-page Report.

The NYLC urges Members to read the Executive Summary together with “A Short Review on the Findings, Comparisons and Conclusions”, which can be found at page 93 of the Report highlighting the NYLC’s international and national comparative studies, tables, reports and recommendations. 

NYLC’s Findings: A Summary

From the Report, the current generation of young lawyers in Malaysia are earning the following:

Average Pupils in Chambers’ Allowance

Klang Valley : RM 1,501 to RM 2,000

Outside Klang Valley : RM    500 to RM 1,000

Average First-Year Lawyers’ Salaries

Klang Valley : RM 3,001 to RM 3,500

Outside Klang Valley : RM 2,001 to RM 2,500

The NYLC further discovered that the current generation of young lawyers leans towards the following benefits from their employers: extra technological items (including laptops, tablets and other gadgets except smartphones), dental benefits, weekend allowances, gym benefits, wardrobe allowances, medical benefits and especially for young lawyers outside the Klang Valley, parking and travelling allowances. 

Working Conditions Forum: The Bigger Better Deal for Everyone? (20 Oct 2012)

The NYLC is conducting a forum focusing on the findings of the Report, and to propose recommendations on the ideal working conditions and remuneration packages that the current generation of young lawyers is seeking for. 

The details of the forum are as follows:

Date         : 20 Oct 2012 (Saturday)

Time : 11:00 am to 2:00 pm

Venue :  Raja Aziz Addruse Auditorium, First Floor, Bar Council

The NYLC would like to invite all Members and pupils in chambers, including employers of law firms and in particular, younger members of the Bar to join us at the forum. 

To maximise broadcast and reach out to more Members, the forum will be streamed live at http://www.livestream.com/nationalylc or on our backup channelhttp://www.ustream.tv/channel/nylc.

Please be informed that although this event is open to the public, pre-registration is required, as places are limited.  Kindly complete and return the attached registration form by fax to 03-2031 6640, or by e-mail to ml.tan@malaysianbar.org.my, by 19 Oct 2012 (Friday).

For enquiries, kindly contact Marianna Laureen Tan, Officer, Bar Council, by telephone at 03-2050 2086 or by email at ml.tan@malaysianbar.org.my.

Thank you.