The legal profession is filled with various types of practitioners, from paralegals to lawyers to judges. If you’re looking for a full-fledged career as a lawyer you should definitely consider and understand what a lawyer in Malaysia does.

The profession in Malaysia is known as a ‘fused profession’. To understand what this means, you should know what exactly has been fused together to create the Malaysian lawyer.

Like much of the law, the term ‘advocate and solicitor’ is inherited from the British legal system which itself is hundreds of years old. This separation of skill sets is characterised as being a ‘split profession’.

To understand the process, we must begin with the solicitor’s role.

Solicitors are qualified lawyers who deal with the public in offering all aspects of le­gal advice and representation of their cases. Good solicitors undertake the job, consult with their client, do the research, gather the documentation and provide other services. In the case of a dispute between two par­ties, their work may result in a case being amicably solved by settlement or by arbitra­tion from a third party.

However, the big question is what if a case ends up going to court?

Thus, an advocate – as the name suggests – is someone who takes on the courtroom aspects of legal work on behalf of the solici­tor. Often they are appointed by the solici­tor and will get briefed on the necessary as­pects of a case. Because of this, advocates rarely work with members of the public and may only meet and consult with the indi­vidual they are representing just once or twice before the court case. Instead, they will get all the information they need from the solicitor that has passed the case on to them. Advocates are perhaps famous for be­ing the ones who wear robes and the iconic white wig in English courts.

In the UK and Ireland, advocates are known as barristers.

In some countries, notably the US, Cana­da, New Zealand, most Australian states, Singapore and Malaysia, the roles of ad­vocates/barristers and solicitors are com­bined, i.e. it is a ‘fused profession.’ Lawyers in this case may call themselves ‘barristers and solicitors’, or in the case of the US, call themselves ‘attorneys’. They simply cover the entire scope of work in representing their clients.

If you enjoy all forms of legal research, case reading, case analysis, working with people and also enjoy problem-solving then you will be able to do the part of the job that a solicitor would do. It provides for a wide scope of working conditions and exposure to clients of all kinds.

If you would like to work in the court sys­tem and be a part of the judicial process, be­ing an advocate/barrister will be something you would enjoy. Advocates should ideally have excellent presentation skills and be skilled in the art of persuasion, and these skills can be learnt throughout law school.

As the job is fused in Malaysia, you would do the legwork in the office as well as attend court. So if this is what you want to do, you must be all-rounded; you should have the ability to do research as well as have oratory skills in the courtroom. There is of course the option of becoming a corporate or con­veyancing lawyer (one that deals with com­pany law and land matters). These lawyers are not required to attend court, so you can consider this option if you think arguing a case in court is not for you.

The fused nature of the profession may make the job more demanding but it is also perhaps twice as satisfying. Lawyers gen­erally put in many hours at work in their career. As experience builds up, the lawyer gains a more senior position in the firm. As a senior member, you can expect to be made partner of the firm, where bonuses and remuneration can be expected.

In Malaysia, it is easy to climb up the lad­der if you are good at what you do. A law­yer who can represent clients successfully in court quickly becomes prolific and will be sought out. With private practice as an­other option, the career path of a lawyer is as exciting as it is rewarding.