Break Away To Beat the Odds

My internship at Alex Chang & Co. Was a great experience that allowed me to better understand the professional workplace and expectations that come with it. To be frank, I have mixed feelings about working at the firm but I was looking forward to the experience of working in a litigation law firm setting. On my first day, I hit the ground running and began researching legal issues and translating affidavits.

Part I :  First Experience Matters…

When talking about my memorable experience, I can only think about  Writ of Seizure & Sale (WSS). Those day still lingers in my mind. Together with Ms. Lim (pupillage), we went to Seremban for seizure and sale. On a day before, we were given a set of Standard of Procedures (SOP) so that the everything will run smoothly. However, I was dumbfounded at the actual situation that unfolded itself. As an amateur in this field, I learned to have faith in myself and my abilities to handle the tasks at hand and assigned to me without having an experienced person present beside me. As an intern, you can gain practical and pragmatic experience and learn how to do your job well, rather than simply reading about the theory behind it.

Part II : COURT

Moreover, I was given the opportunity to attend court proceedings and events. I also got the chance to witness few judges during the hearing and case management such as Her Ladyship Dato  Khadijah Idris. It was a very interesting sight. Besides that, I got a chance to sit and experience hearings in Chambers, something I have always wanted to experience since day one. I never would have imagined that I could actually witness an actual hearing in court and I can say it is totally different compared to the movies and dramas on TV.

Through this experience, I was able to fully grasp what it means to be a lawyer, and was given a realistic picture of everything. I learned that this internship is not only beneficial for the knowledge that you obtain but also the networking aspect of meeting real professions in the workplace. On top of that, I got to follow procedures in a legal setting and work on cases. often times from the beginning to the end.

Part III:  Doing This and That

As an intern, I was assigned with a variety of tasks, from the basic which consists of photostatting and scanning documents, go to post office to post letters to both parties, other firms regarding matters related to the matters. I am able to say now I am pretty am pretty confident in my ability to fill in Poslaju forms, Certificate of Posting, AR Registered cards… that I believe I can actually be a Poslaju officer. I also learnt how to send legal documents to courts and other firms and obtain  the acknowledgment slips from the recipients.

I remember during my first and second week of being an intern, I probably took at least twice the amount of time it would take a seasoned researcher to complete my tasks. Procrastination is not the problem. Rather, it is perfectionism.

Part IV :  Answer

Throughout my internship, I gained a lot of knowledge and experience working in litigation law firm setting. This 6 months has been a very eye-opening and educational for me. I learned that there are certain things that may seem difficult for me, but I do not think it is impossible to accomplish. Well, it took me several weeks to complete this essay because I cannot find the right words to express about how I feel working at ACC.

I found that lawyers work long hours, and spend a ton of time researching and writing. They are also on call to their clients, sometimes acting more like a therapist than a lawyer. Overall, I found that lawyers are very quick and hardworking and can also cut through the nonsense. I am impressed with the professionalism and knowledge of a lawyer. The passion for what they were doing was obvious and I admired their courage.

“To be successful you must accept all challenges that come your way. You can’t just accept the ones you like” ,quote from Mike Gafka really summed up my experience in Alex Chang & Co as I did step out of my comfort zone, I learnt important lessons that will not only benefit my skills but also help me academically too. Most importantly, I think I have finally found a way to accomplish my goals despite being in a situation where most would consider success to be unlikely.

Outro :  Thank you!

Working here as an intern is just a beginning. I am really grateful to Mr Alex Chang especially, for his encouragement, guidance and support for the completion of my internship programme. I am really grateful to Mr. Alex for giving me the opportunity to work with him and for showing me how to transform my mistakes into skills.

Besides, I thank my supervisor, Ms. Pang Zi Qi for the opportunity to work for and learn from you despite your busy schedule. I also would like to take this opportunity to thank Ms. Janice, Ms. Ivy, Ms. Chow and Ms. Elaine and let you all know how I have enjoyed working with you throughout my  internship at Alex Chang & Co. Last but not least, I would like to express my gratitude towards Emily, Germaine, Melvin, Ms. Teo, Nisha, Ms. Lim and Analene, for developing my “can-do” spirit.

NUR AMIRA AKMA ADZHAR

MANAGEMENT & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY (MSU)