eLawyer Law Blog Forum

5 essential pieces of Software for Law firm managers

May 23rd, 2013

Content provided by third party

Just like every other type of modern office-based business, law firms are becoming more dependent on technology to do their jobs efficiently and to the highest possible standards. But if you’re a law firm manager, what type of software should you include in your annual budget, and how can it help you run your firm more efficiently? Here is our list of the top five essential pieces of software any law firm needs to have.

#1 – Accounting software

We all need to keep track of our finances, and for law firms this is particularly important. Invoices, fees paid and money due needs to be watched carefully, and the best way to stay on top of the bottom line numbers is to employ a piece of accounting software. While paper ‘books’ are still useful, today nearly every business, revenue service and accountancy firm has gone digital. So investing in a good package such as QuickBooks online by Intuit, which can be integrated with your invoicing software and other packages, makes sound financial sense.

#2- Security

This has to be one of the most important priorities for any online business. For law firms, who are dealing with highly sensitive information every day, online security is an absolute must. To protect your system against online attacks you will need to not only install firewalls, but also anti-viral and anti-spam software too. Go for the most up-to-date version, and choose one that has a good reputation for reliability. One of the very best on the market is AGV, a combined anti-spamware, anti-virus and anti-spyware program that costs just $50. Investing in AGV is probably the best $50 you’ll spend all year! Don’t rely on freeware, as it is often easily hackable and vulnerable to outside attack.

#3 – Copying and scanning

If you’re going over to digital records then you will need to invest in a scanner to ensure that you can make digital copies of existing paper documents. The best combination on the market is the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500, which comes with a full Adobe Acrobat package and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. There are, of course, other scanners and software available, but if you have a lot of documents to scan in to your digital records then time efficiency will be an important consideration. So you may find that, while there may be cheaper versions available, they take much longer to scan in documents and are ultimately less cost-effective.

#4 – Digital dictation and voice recognition software

Want to get rid of those annoying dictaphone cassettes? Digital dictaphones are now commonplace, but transcribing audio into written notes is a time-consuming business. Dragon NaturallySpeaking from Nuance.com allows you to make digital recordings on the go and then transcribe them either in-house or by using an online transcription service.

#5 – Cloud computing

The cloud is, without doubt, the future of digital data storage. This concept represents the next generation of the Internet, and allows you to access your stored data files from anywhere in the world using any device. Using the cloud to store your records means that you don’t have to fill up your own hard-drives with data or invest in your own server. And with security now better than ever with full back-ups, the risk of losing your data is eliminated. Major names such as Google, Intel, Microsoft and Apple are all now cloud hosts, so go online to find the best one that suits your needs.

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First Step to Launching your Legal Career

March 8th, 2013

Reported by Y.A Tan

On 13^th October 2012, Eddie Law, the founder of eLawyer, shared with 10 participants the tips on making the right choice of legal career. The attendees consists of fresh lawyers, law graduates and working adults, all with

Eddie started the session by providing an insight on legal career market, the various types of law firms and corporations, career options, either private or non private practice as well as the variable working culture to be expected.

Eddie also shed some lights into the dos and don’ts during an interview sessions. Amongst others, some of the most common mistakes seen in an applicant are raising salary issues too early, dress inappropriately and inadequate understanding on the company one is applying for.

One of the highlight of the day was that participants were invited to fill up questionnaires to profile oneself. Speaking from his experience, Eddie viewed that profiling do ease the job seekers to narrow down the legal career choice. In general, there are 4 types of profiles, namely Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness.

Eddie unveils the result on the test in detailed fashion. Briefly, if you are:-

a) High D – tend to be result-focused, ambitious, assertive but could be controlling, or dominating others.

b) High I- tend to be enthusiastic, friendly, thoughtful, persuasive but could be emotional, boisterous or sarcastic.

c) High S –a person who is attentive, calm, consistent, at the same time of a shy, passive and adverse to changes.

d) High C –people who are analytical, self reliant, but may be perceived as pessimistic and overly worried.

Having such assessment, the participants had clearer understanding on its personality traits which serve as useful tool to identify the right career path. The session continued with a fruitful Q & A sessions from the floor, and was dismissed at 4.30pm.

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One Should Always Play Fairly When One Has The Winning CARDS -Oscar Wilde

January 23rd, 2013

Sponsored review

Litigation Asia Summit 2013

The Litigation Asia Summit is the premium forum bringing together leading in-house counsel with specialist global law firms. As an invitation-only event taking place behind closed doors, the summit offers regional GCs and international external counsel an intimate environment for focused discussion of key new drivers shaping dispute resolution strategies.

The one-to-one business meetings provide access to managers of the largest dispute resolution budgets in Asia – corporate counsel with direct responsibility for researching and selecting law firms. A thorough selection process ensures a qualified audience, which grants unparalleled business and networking opportunities in a luxurious and stimulating environment.

To ensure the success of the Litigation Asia Summit, marcus evans is pleased to partner with a limited number of companies offering valuable services and expertise. The event sponsors are leaders in their fields. The number of companies in each product or service category is strictly limited to ensure an appropriate overall balance. For more information or to recommend a colleague, contact:
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Read the rest of this entry »

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International Malaysia Law Conference 2012

December 19th, 2012

The International Malaysia Law Conference 2012 (IMLC) held from the 26^th until the 28^th of September 2012 attracted exhibitors from 48 different types of institutions and firms.

Our own eLawyer team was part of this distinguished event which was declared open by Right Hounourable Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak (Prime Minister of Malaysia).

The event also saw attendance of YAA Tun Arifin (Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Malaysia), YAA Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Md Raus Bin Sharif (President of the Court of Appeal), YAA Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Zulkefli bin Ahmad Makinudin ( Chief Judge of Malaysia), Judges of the Federal Court, Court of Appeal and High Court, YB Senator Tan Sri Abu Zahar Bin Dato’ Nika Ujang (President of the Senate), Mr Khairil Azmi Bin Mohd Hasbie (President of the Advocates’ Association of Sarawak), Mr Shin Young-Moo (President of the Korean Bar Association, Ministers, Mr. Lim Chee Wee (President of Malaysian Bar) and Raphael Tay (Chairperson of the IMLC 2012 Organising Committee).

Themed the “Asian Perspectives, Global Viewpoints”, globally-renowned figures such as Tan Sri Dr Tony Fernandes, amongst others delivered inspiring talks to those who attended the conference. Workshops and exhibitions explored the impact of law on business, society and government.

eLawyer focused on resonating with the aim of the conference, that is to display the world rise of Asia and Asian lawyers by creating awareness of the platforms available to lawyers to broaden their horizons and employment prospects. Read the rest of this entry »

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World Renowned Contract Drafting Expert Kenneth Adams will address contract issues in Precision Contract Drafting and Contractual Risk Management 2013

December 17th, 2012

Sponsored review

Contract drafting is a vital function at companies and law firms. But traditionally, contract drafting has consisted of recycling contract language of questionable quality and relevance. Many organisations are looking at alternative ways of minimising and mitigating such instances, thus, considerations in legal risk from the very start is essential to mitigate any possible risk for disputes in the future.

It is more critical than ever before that all business practitioners who deal with contracts or other commercial agreements to keep up with and deep dive into the skills and knowledge to effectively draft and develop a legally enforceable business contract by including the best contractual terms.

marcus evans is hosting “Precision Contract Drafting and Contractual Risk Management” on the 25^th to 28^th of February 2013 at JW Marriot Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This 4 days course will guide delegates allowing a greater hold in minimising risk, limiting losses and ensuring clarity from the very beginning whilst gaining the essential knowledge and success strategies in risk allocation, effective negotiation and conflict resolution. This course is specially designed to equip all industry professionals with effective contract drafting methods and dispute resolution as well as risk assessments for every business situation – from regular work environment to complex contract drafting and risk management. Read the rest of this entry »

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FIRST STEP TO LAUNCHING YOUR LEGAL CAREER- Legal Career Talk

September 21st, 2012

Following a successful initiation of Building Your Legal Career Series last year, the Series is back again this year to provide more support for fresh law graduates, law students and young lawyers.

At the beginning of a journey, we all have questions. It is no different at the beginning of your legal career path. Making the right choices there becomes important.

The most significant question is: How do we decide on these choices?

‘FIRST STEP TO LAUNCHING YOUR LEGAL CAREER’

answers that!!

What would you gain from this seminar??

1. Knowledge and insight to the landscape of legal career market in Malaysia.
2. Understanding the career options for lawyers / law graduates.
3. Guidance on how to build your legal career path.
4. Guidance on how to choose a law firm for pupillage.
5. Useful interview tips to succeed at interviews.
6. The awareness of your own personality and the ability to match it with a suitable area of practice.

The details of the seminar are as follows:

Date: 13 October, 2012 (Saturday)
Time: 2:00pm – 3.30pm
Venue: eLawyer Training Room,
12B (2nd floor), Jalan Kenari 5
Bandar Puchong Jaya, 47100 Puchong
Fees: RM40(including a personality test)

Our Speaker Mr. Eddie Law, is the founder of eLawyer.com.my, the leading recruitment portal in Malaysia. Prior to starting eLawyer, Eddie was a private practitioner with a reputable law firm in KL, thereafter he was working as an in-house legal counsel in an IT company. His practice and in-house experience provided Eddie with valuable insight on and understanding of what law firms and corporations look for when recruiting legal personnel. Drawing on his experience and knowledge, Eddie has successfully placed lawyers with different level of seniority and expertise with law firms and corporations in Malaysia.

Eddie’s clients range from small to large law firms, PLC, MNC, financial institutions, regulatory organizations, oil & gas company and international companies.

For more information about this seminar please click here to download the flyer.

To RSVP please email your Name, Contact Number, Position, Organisation to Sarah at sarah@elawyer.com.my and direct bank in to our Public Bank Account: 3153189919 (Payee: Joined Web Solutions) BEFORE 9th October, 2012. Thereafter, bring the bank-in-slip to exchange for entry ticket on that day.

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Marcus Evans Litigation Asia Summit 2012 and IP Asia Law Summit 2012

July 12th, 2012

By eLawyer

The Marcus Evans Litigation Asia Summit 2012 and IP Asia Law Summit 2012 brought together over 120 in-house counsels and practicing lawyers to the exclusive Marina Bay Sands, Singapore for three days of seminars, networking, fun and laughter.

eLawyer is one of the media partners for the event.

It was attended by many in-house counsels and law firms from the region such as Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, China, India and even from United States of America namely the law firm of Adli Law Group.

The setting of the hall that took place for the event.

The participants chit-chat with each other.

The event was kicked off with a welcome address by Marta Federici of Marcus Evans to the participants of both summits and followed by an opening address by Chris Neumeyer, Senior counsel of Lite-On Technology Corporation.

The IP Law Summit followed suit with an interesting presentation by Andrew Marshall, the SVP Legal & Business Affairs & GC, ESPN Star Sports on how to craft forcefully defensive digital procedure to map, track and half online infringement. He shared on the use of the “IP Fingerprinting” technology to trace users who stream ESPN’s content online.

The entire event had plenty of sharing sessions by knowledgeable and experienced in house counsels from various well known organisations such as ASUStek, Ford, Seagate Technology, Fox Channel, Sony, Motion Picture Association International, Coach Asia, Starhub, eBay and so on. Notably, legal information service provider LexisNexis was present as well.

The sharing session.

One of the main highlights of the event is the One-to-one meeting sessions. Participating law firms and in-house counsels are given to meet the law firms or counsels of their choice in a comfortable and private setting. There, practitioners could share their services to the counsels whereas the counsels can meet the firms of numerous jurisdictions relevant to their needs.

One-to-one meeting session.

Although the daily event officially ends after dinner, some participants took their night further at the bars of Marina Sand Bay Hotel for.

The event ended after lunch on the third day. Participants bade farewell to their new found friends with handshakes and some hugs. We hope that the new found relationships will blossom further into mutually beneficial business relationship.

Please look forward to their forthcoming similar event which will be conducted at Hong Kong in November 2012.

Posted in eLawyer Features, International Law News | No Comments »

Clients can seek compensation from Bar Council for lawyers’ dishonesty

June 7th, 2012

By TS Tan

A client can seek compensation from the Malaysian Bar Council for any financial loss due to his lawyer’s dishonesty. The redress comes in the form of a grant from the Advocates and Solicitors Compensation Fund, which was established in 1978.

A claimant can apply for compensation after his lawyer’s misappropriation of money or the client’s loss involving money held from an estate or for a real estate closing. Negligence is however not considered. So far, claims as small as RM178.20 and as large as RM468,012 have been settled.

Under Section 80 (8) of the Legal Profession Act 1978, a claim may be entertained provided certain procedures and conditions are complied with. For instance, a prerequisite is that the lawyer concerned must be first struck off the roll before a client submits a claim.

Claims should be made within 21 days from the date of the Bar Council’s notice of a list of disbarred lawyers published in newspapers. Applications for compensation can also be submitted within six months or a period not exceeding two years after a financial loss is discovered.

A claimant is required to submit two forms – A and B – given by the Bar Council Secretariat or downloaded from its website (www. Malaysianbar.org.my). Form A is for the report of a financial loss caused by a breach of trust by an advocate and solicitor who is a member of the Bar Council. A claimant uses Form B to apply for compensation, providing full details of the claim and attaching relevant documents.

He or she must submit a certified true copy of a police report lodged by the claimant against the lawyer, a photocopy of his/her identity card or passport and other supporting evidence for the claim. A cheque or postal order for RM100 as the administrative fee is also required.

Panel reviews claims

All documents may be mailed or presented to the Compensation Fund Department (Jabatan Dana Pampasan), Bar Council Malaysia, 15 Leboh Pasar Besar, , 50050 Kuala Lumpur. A claimant may also seek advice from the council’s secretariat (tel: 03-2031 3003 or fax: 03-2026 1313/2034 2825/2072 5818).

An adjudication panel comprising senior lawyers will review the application before inviting the claimant to attend a hearing together with witnesses and produce the original documents. The panel will next submit a written report with recommendations on whether the claim should be approved in part or in full, or rejected. The Bar Council will have the final say on the claim.

The council may also recommend a legal suit for civil remedy, criminal proceedings against a defaulting lawyer or action by a disciplinary board.

First mooted by veteran lawyer JSH Skrine in 1972, the compensation fund was introduced to protect the interests of lawyers’ clients who suffer losses as a result of dishonest acts committed by unscrupulous advocates and solicitors. It is also aimed at safeguarding the reputation of the legal profession.

The council does not restrict the number of claims made per year. In 2007, it received a total of nine claims for amounts in excess of RM1.5 million and it approved more than RM1.4 million for such claims in 2009.

Claims that are not considered

The process of obtaining compensation may take a year or longer, depending on the nature and complexity of a case. The council does not entertain claims for losses when a lawyer is not acting in his professional capacity or when they are caused by a default of a client’s personal loan advanced to his lawyer or suffered in a business venture. It also does not consider payments made to lawyers as legal fees.

The fund is accrued from the yearly RM100 contribution by each of the Bar Council’s 12,800-odd members. It currently stands in excess of RM12.8 million.

The council may use its discretion to invest the fund’s surplus in worthwhile projects. It may also borrow money from the fund with an annual interest set by the Malaysian Association of Bankers. Its members may also obtain loans from the fund.

Other countries have established similar compensation funds with some variants. In Singapore, for example, it has the Law Society’s Compensation Fund which covers financial losses caused not only by dishonest lawyers but also their staff in failing to pay or deliver trust money or trust property.

Staff lawyer assigned

In the US, a government-mandated client compensation fund is available. Each lawyer is required to pay a biennial registration fee of US$375, which is considered to be excessive.

In dealing with claims, the Law Society of Upper Canada assigns a staff lawyer to recommend each case to its fund’s review committee, which makes the final decision, or prepares a report for consideration.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority of the UK deliberates over similar claims which can be made not only because of a lawyer’s dishonesty, but also because of his failure to account for money received. The claimant may not necessarily be a client or a former client.

In some countries, there is a distinction between the duties of an advocate or barrister and those of a solicitor. An advocate in the UK pleads cases in court, whereas a solicitor deals with out-of-court work, gives legal advice, prepares cases for barristers or represents clients in certain lower courts. In the US, an attorney is permitted to handle both office and trial work.

A distinction does not exist in Malaysia where the duties of advocates and solicitors are fused. Both are therefore allowed to present cases in higher courts.

Posted in Malaysian Law News | No Comments »

Establishing Effective Legal Risk Management Processes

May 15th, 2012

Due to increasing demand on legal function to actively support global business growth and the number of new regulation on a global as well as local level, many general counsels are faced with a challenge of how to effectively run their legal department in mitigating legal risks worldwide.

In light of this, Marcus Evans has announced that the much anticipated Corporate Legal Risk Management conference will be held in Kuala Lumpur from 5 to 6 September 2012. This conference aims at leveraging organisations’ mitigation processes and response strategies in minimising business exposure to today’s legal risks.

Martin Ekundayo, Region Legal & Compliance Director of Baker Hughes Asia Pacific who is one of the speakers for the conference stated that legal compliance should be embraced as a means to achieve sustainable long-term growth and profitability, rather than as a barrier to business.

Participant of this conference will gain industry insights on topics such accelerating the process of embedding compliance in place for businesses; Online and electronic social media platforms and its connection to legal risks; Aligning business culture and operations with regulatory requirements; Legal protection, support and structure during crisis management; Optimising approach to cross border litigation and managing the costs involved efficiently; Assessing the likely outcomes of disputes and the most suitable dispute resolution process; as well as discussing the impact of new acts in the Asian business environment.

According to Anneliese Reinhold, Board Member at Corporate Counsel Middle East and General Counsel and SVP Legal and Regulatory Affairs of du, an award winner for ‘Best In-House Counsel Telecoms/Media/IT Sector’ 2008 Dubai Corporate Counsel Group Awards, legal risk management is an extremely broad topic, but one which is of key relevance to businesses of all shapes and sizes in today’s post Global Financial Crisis operating environment.

Key presenters from the Corporate Legal Risk Management conference include Kuna Muno, Ethics and Compliance Chief APJ from Hewlett-Packard; David Blackmon, VP and Associate General Counsel – Upstream International Asia of Shell Eastern Petroleum; Martin Ekundayo, Region Legal & Compliance Director of Baker Hughes Asia Pacific; David Flavell, SVP and General Counsel AMEA of PepsiCo, Inc. and Anneliese Reinhold, Board Member at Corporate Counsel Middle East and General Counsel and SVP Legal and Regulatory Affairs of du.

Marcus Evans is one of the world’s leading providers and promoters of global summits, strategic conferences, professional trainings, in-Company training, business-to-business congresses, sports hospitality and on-line information. Founded in 1983, the company now employs over 3500 employees operating in 35 countries around the world. The company’s revenues are generated from clients across majority of the world’s top 1000 companies. Our international network of offices provides a one-stop shop for a company’s business intelligence, learning and training needs. For more information, please visit www.marcusevans.com.

For more information about this topic, please contact Cherrie Koay at 603-2723 6662 or email to CherrieK@marcusevanskl.com.

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ALSA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2012

April 19th, 2012

The congregation of regional minds produces unexpected sparks in all aspects of life. To foster stronger relationships across borders and to grow progressively as a regional community was our ultimate goal. Such phrases would best describe the gist of what ALSA Malaysia is and the philosophical pinnacle of ALSA Conference 2012.

ALSA Malaysia, also known as Asian Law Students Association of Malaysia serve as a platform of regional law students gather and exchange intellectual thoughts and ideas which would help the association grow as a whole. The ulterior intention of the existence of such organization is also to build social network across borders in the region. To put that idea into perspective, ALSA International Conference is held annually for members all over Asia to meet at a host country and to discuss global issues of the present day.

As such, the theme for the current ALSA International Conference 2012 focuses on the issue of global sustainability. As one of the many leading global issues of the day, it is not an easy issue to be tackled with and a noble notion indeed ALSA has to have such an ambitious purview of the theme of the event.

The first 3 days of the conference centralizes tackling the issue from the academic perspective. Model United Nation, a simulator of round table talks between national representatives from members of the United Nations was conducted frequently to discuss and resolves selected issues as a whole. A mooting competition with environmental law as its theme was also conducted simultaneously in order to let universities compete on a regional scale. It is also riveting to watch this competition as all of the mooters have different points of view and certainly employed different angle of analyzing the moot question as all of them adopt a different set of culture, and thus rendering their method of presentation to be distinctively different from each other, despite the fact there are only subtle inconsistencies in terms of their thinking patterns and mentalities. All in all, the academic activities conducted throughout the conference have achieved its purpose which is to allow members of ALSA to exchange thoughts and ideas intellectually.

The remaining days of the conference exposed the participants of its lighter side as tours were arranged to various parts of the country, such as the Historical Town of Malacca, Genting Highlands and so forth. Mentally exhausted by rigorous academic activities, it is vital to have these non-academic components in place in order to tone down the formal and rigid atmosphere of the conference. As a fellow Malaysian, it is also heart-warming to see the international participants to experience the hospitality the country has to offer. It also certainly highly satisfying to acknowledge the fact that international participants appreciated every single moment they spent in the conference, especially during the farewell dinner where all participants savored their last moments in the conference together in a massive exchange of contacts, photography sessions and sing-alongs.

On a final note, ALSA International Conference 2012 has worked wonders in translating its motto into an unforgettable gathering experience, which is “ALSA Always be One”. Special thanks to all of the event’s sponsors: