Alex Chang: “In court, you will need to present an argument that is refreshing yet irresistible.”
\nTo win a case in court, this is how a good lawyer takes to make his case.<\/p>\n
I bet most of the law students would have heard or have watched the popular US legal drama series – Suits. I have always admired the character, Harvey Specter who was an astonishing corporate lawyer in the series. He never failed to amaze me with his confidence when he makes his legal arguments in court. However, you need to be so well-prepared before making your case and this had me thinking, “How much preparation is needed before you present your case at court?” And hence, I mustered the courage and applied to intern at a law firm for me to get a hold and also learn how preparations are made before making your case at court.<\/p>\n
It was my first legal attachment at a law firm and to be honest I had mixed feelings when I accepted the offer. I was both excited and worried at the same time. Knowing the fact that I am about to satisfy my curiosity and able to see how a real legal firm preps their cases excites me. However, at the same time I was worried and nervous about my insufficient knowledge my overall lack of experience.<\/p>\n
I remember walking in on the first day and I was instantly overwhelmed. Everyone in the firm was bustling back and forth with their tasks. That was when I realised I am about to be part of the “behind the scenes” and that sounded pretty cool. As an attachment student at ACC, we were given tasks such as case researching, the basics (“photostating, scanning, binding, printing, running errands”) and the best part was being able to shadow Mr Chang in court.<\/p>\n
One of my court experience was getting the opportunity to attend a case in Chambers alongside with Mr Chang and also his legal assistant, Miss Jess. I was so thrilled to be able to sit in in Chambers with the special leave of the Judge as usually only lawyers are able to do so! This case was about setting aside judgment in default entered by the Plaintiff and we were representing the Defendant. I have learnt from the Civil Procedure Rules during the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) about the principles of Judgment in Default. It was deemed the easiest way to obtain judgement for a case. However, it was also known as a ‘nightmare’ for the Defendant because if judgment was entered in favour of the Plaintiff, the Defendant would lose his chance to defend himself in court.<\/p>\n
The Plaintiff’s counsel wished to adduce an admission letter by the Defendant. However, we took a stand that the admission letter was inadmissible in court as evidence as the letter was “without prejudice”. As such, the court granted in favor of our side and hence the default judgment was set aside. To hear both counsel submitting their case, it definitely was a remarkable experience for me. In addition, I also had the opportunity to witness the Admissions to the Bar ceremony of Mr Chang’s pupils. A joyful celebration which marks the end of a law student and the beginning of a practicing lawyer. A day to be remembered for the rest of their lives as a legal practitioner and I am honoured to be able to witness such a significant moment of both pupil of Mr Chang.<\/p>\n
One of my unusual yet intriguing experience was being able to witness the execution of a writ of seizure and sale taking place. I studied about this order and judgment from the Civil Procedure Rules. However, how many people have actually seen this type of enforcement as it is being carried out in practice? Nothing beats the experience of going into the field and witnessing the execution as it is being carried out. I was lucky to be given the opportunity by Mr Chang to go to Seremban for a case and have an insight on how the process was executed. It was exciting, being able to participate in such a procedure. Unfortunately, my excitement became disappointment as the owner of the property was not around, hence I was not able to witness the full procedure of execution taking place. Nonetheless, this experience has led me to a deeper understanding for this type of enforcement as compared to studying it from the books.<\/p>\n
I would now like to express my gratitude to Ms Elaine, Ms Chow, Ms Janice and Ms Ivy for their guidance and patience. Not to forget legal assistant, Miss Pang for always taking the time to explain and guide me despite her busy schedules. Also, the fellow interns, Amira, Melvin, Teo, and Daryn who helped me throughout my attachment and also for my learning experience. Last but not least, I would like to thank Mr Chang for his constant patience, support, guidance and also providing me with this opportunity and made my whole experience a fruitful one.<\/p>\n
My so-called without prejudiced experience turned out in a way which was unanticipated and to summarise I would definitely say it was a worthwhile learning experience for me. Working in Alex Chang & Co made me learn that time is of the essence. Working as a legal practitioner requires you to finish tasks within a stipulated time frame. Although it may be stressful at times, but I believed that this is how you improve and learn how to cope with daily challenges which is faced by practicing lawyers every single day. Though it was a short attachment, however, it is a challenging yet valuable experience that I would not forget. Stepping out from your comfort zone might not be easy, but I promise you that it’s going to be worth it!<\/p>\n
Emily Yong Ee Mae<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My “Without Prejudice” Experience Alex Chang: “In court, you will need to present an argument that is refreshing yet irresistible.” To win a case in court, this is how a good lawyer takes to make his case. Chapter I: SUITS I bet most of the law students would have heard or have watched the popular […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1804,"featured_media":11402,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[107],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alexchanglaw.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6542"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alexchanglaw.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alexchanglaw.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexchanglaw.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1804"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexchanglaw.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6542"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/alexchanglaw.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8734,"href":"https:\/\/alexchanglaw.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6542\/revisions\/8734"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexchanglaw.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alexchanglaw.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexchanglaw.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexchanglaw.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}