• Average number of attachment students

The ratio of lawyers to attachment students per annum in Alex Chang & Co (hereinafter ACC) can be put down as 2:12 (sometimes more). Since ACC is not a relatively large firm, the number of attachment students who joined ACC each year can be said to be rather high. In contrast, applying the same mathematical ratio of 2:12 to larger law firms, there would be an average of 600 attachment students per year for every 100 lawyers. A survey revealed that in one of the biggest law firms in Malaysia (with an approximate of 160 lawyers), that particular firm only takes in 18 attachment students per year.

• Relevance of number of attachment students

The number of attachment students becomes relevant when comparison is made between small and large firms. Since there are only 2 lawyers attending to 12 students per year in ACC, students should not expect to be spoon-fed individually. In contrast, referring to the survey stated above, the 160 lawyers would not have an issue in supervising the 18 students. However, this does not deter the lawyers in ACC from pointing out the strength and weaknesses of students to allow them to evaluate their inherent potential along their attachment journey. Moreover, an attachment student are expected take initiative to look for guidance when faced with problems.

• Building relationship

In ACC, attachment students are given opportunities to meet the lawyers in person. They will also be able to work close to the lawyers and engage in conversations whenever possible. Whereas in the larger firms, the feedback from past attachment students often showed that they are less likely be able to meet all the lawyers or partners, what more the opportunity to engage in conversation with any of the lawyers or partners.

• Building network

If one is lucky, during their attachment period in ACC, the student may be able to meet powerful and influential individuals, not only in legal but also other fields. One of our lucky students even had the opportunity to meet the former Court of Appeal Judge, Dato’ Kang Hwee Gee. This helps to build network which in turn would be helpful for students to move up the career in the near future.

• Emphasis on certain practices and areas of law

Unlike other larger firms, ACC does not offer rotation to different departments or areas of law during the period of attachment. Rather, the students will be working under one ‘unit’. This would allow the students to learn more in-depth in relation to the areas of practices offered in ACC.

• Hands-On Experience

Attachment students in ACC will gain hands-on experience doing real work for real clients. This is usually under the supervision of the lawyers. The students will be able to put what they have learnt in law school into practice. Further, they will also learn about the formalities in courts which they have studied theoretically in law schools. This provides the students an insight as to how the real legal field works.

• Wide exposure

In ACC, attachment students are given opportunities to observe the preparation of different types of legal documents such as affidavit, statement of claim, statement of defence and many more. This is absolutely useful in providing the students a general idea of how such documents would look like. Past attachment students revealed that doing attachment in ACC (prior to the commencement of their studies in CLP) further ease their understanding during their CLP journey as they would have a clearer image of the relevant legal documents when learning about them in class.

• Legal writing

Attachment students in ACC will be exposed to legal writing including drafting or assisting with the preparation of legal opinions, written submissions and others. This would definitely help the students in getting an insight on how each document works. They may also be tasked to draft a submission in relation to an actual case handled by ACC in a practice manner which will later be evaluated. Such practice prepares the students to handle real submission in later days.

• Research

Research is one of the tasks assigned to the attachment students. The topic of research varies accordingly from legal principles to case laws. Students are able to develop better researching skills by making use of the extensive online and offline resources. The research done will be evaluated and any flaws will be pointed out. Furthermore, the research done will also be applied into the real submissions. This allows the students to learn and prevents them from making the same mistake in the future.

• Attending the Court

ACC provides opportunity to attachment students to attend court hearings. This allows the students to watch the presentation of submission by the lawyers in the court. Most of the testimonials from past attachment students in ACC revealed that they were allowed to follow Mr. Chang to the court even on the first week of their attachment. This provides a great opportunity for students to observe real court trial instead of just doing mere office work throughout their attachment period. They may also be required to prepare and file court documents at times. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, attachment students were also invited to join the hearing in the Chambers.

• Mooting sessions

ACC provides opportunity to attachment students to participate in mooting sessions. This would expose students to simulated court proceedings. Students will be given the chance to read case file and complete a skeletal submission based on that particular case. It will allow the students to analyze their strong and weak areas to further improve their skills. Further, students are able to improve their written and oral advocacy skills through the provided mooting sessions.

• Other skills

Doing an attachment allows students to improve other relevant skills such as time management, communication skills and related IT skills.

• Other opportunities

Attachment students in ACC are given opportunities to assist in trial preparations for hearing. They will also be tasked to write articles on legal principles or case updates. Further, they may also come across other tasks such as translation of documents and serving documents.

• Social events

Based on the testimonials from past attachment students in ACC, social events are often organized for all colleagues to get together outside working hours. This helps to maintain a strong bond between the colleagues and further enhance the working experience with one another.

Tan Kejing
University of London