CAT OUT OF THE BAG SERIES #1 - Dirt on Career in Law and How to Nail Your First Interview With A Snooty Law Firm

I had the privilege over this weekend to speak to an acquaintance who needed some help and tips in getting into the fraternity. I had time, so we met over lunch at Delhi Grill Brickfields Kuala Lumpur (by the way the restaurant serves the most AMAZEBALLS Egg Grill Sandwich!) on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

Her name is Felicia (name has been changed to protect the identity of the person I did not ask permission from when I published this article) and she began her story by telling me that being a mature law student where she spent half her life working and studying law and then she left for UK to do her LLM and BPTC; she is now finding it hard to get an interview with her dream law firms in Kuala Lumpur.

Me inside "Dream Law Firm? Sounds like this woman has no grasp of reality about the fraternity!" I kept my mouth shut and let her continue her story. She said she was rejected within hours of applying to one of the TOP law firms in KL. She was keen to pursue her career in law with a focus in medical negligence, as she was before an expert in the field of pharmaceuticals and that the tort of medical negligence peeks her interest.

Inside my head went "Oh boy, where do I start? She seems so bright-eyed about the profession and I am just gritting my teeth, wondering should I pour out the entire jerrycan of worms that I've been bottling up? Should I crack her rose-tinted glass window and show her the conjuring horror of the profession or should I just let her find out the hard way, the way I did? Bruises, burns and all... hmmm...

She then tells me she is 36. She wonders if her age has anything to do with it. I look at her straight in her eyes and said "Yes, it might." She was shocked at the blatant truth I spewed in cold sour. I then told her I was once rejected by a law firm because the partner thinks I am "too old" to be taught. I was 28 then. She was surprised that age was a factor of consideration. I said, some yes but not all firms. Some do value knowledge and past experience.

I asked her how she would add value to a medical negligence practitioner / law firm; and to which she replied that her previous job experience will give her an edge, i.e. getting specialist connection, and specialist reports for opinion writing. I then said "You think the med neg practitioners and law firms which have been around for decades have no connection with ANY specialists in town to get them to write an opinion for Them?" She went silent.

I apologise for bursting her bubbles. She said it was okay but I could sense that she was sadden by the fact there will be hard questions which she may not be able to answer. I again told her that in one of my interview I was asked how I can add value and I quoted my previous work experience to the interviewer/partner of the firm and to which he snubbed and said "I do not need your past experience in my firm. Your client handling skills are redundant. Our juniors are not allowed to handle any clients until year 3. You are merely to assist the partners." At that point of time, I was getting flashbacks and what feels like a brain ischemia about pre-chambering and the first two years of nightmare.

I was join by another lawyer, a friend who was supposed to share the afternoon with Felicia, lets call her Mei Ting (MT) (again, no permission). MT also shared her dreadful first year where she was working till 2 am with unreasonable bosses. Felicia ask "What about work life balance?" MT and I scoffed in unison and shook our heads. No Such Thing.

But we did say that in recent times, younger and more vibrant law firms are advocating for work-life balance as a firm benefit whereas older law firms are beginning to look into creating a health(ier) work environment for their lawyers.

She asked if we could give her a list of GOOD law firms in town. Again, we told her what might be good for us, may not turn out well for her. It also boils down to work compatibility with her new boss.

I think that just made it more puzzling for her. So we decided to sketch down some dos and don'ts when getting into a career in law.

1. Don't expect to be spoon-fed. Being proactive helps you.
2. Humble = Humility. No one likes a know-it-all.
3. Do Fight for What You Believe In and What You Do- e.g. MT was first placed in Conveyancing Department during her pupillage and was promised that she will be rotated. 3 months later, she was still in conveyancing department and the excuse given to her is that conveyancing still need her around. She told her master, she will have to leave if she is not rotated. Two days later, she printed a resignation letter and that was when her master finally allow her to be rotated. #likeabawse
4. Don't Ever Lose Yourself - We cannot guarantee every law firm offerings and methodology are in line with your principles. But if they crosses some lines which you do not think you can stomach, walk away. Do not lose your integrity.
5. Unlearning Everything You Know- Mature pupils comes in bundling with previous job experience and some times the working of the law firms may not make sense to them. (I was shocked when I was asked to analyse a 100 set bundles and put it in a word doc report. I guess no one ever heard of excel before). Take a step back and start looking from the law firm's perspective. The hardest part of going into a new career is unlearning the old ways, which may make sense to you but not to the people in your new career path. So, take your time, relearn and unlearn everything. At the end of the day, it is only you who benefited from the two life paths.

Felicia also showed us her resume. It was a 6-pager of black-white ink stating her entire life-long career including the time she worked at the supermarket at the age of 18. MT and I knew we have to help her in the resume drafting.

We told her not to forget that Big Law Firms get tonnes of resumes daily and shifting through the resumes are done by the Office Manager. If you want to be seen, you must stand out among the rest of the thousand resumes that go in everyday.

1. Keep It Short and Simple (KISS) - A 2-page resume is all that you ever need.
2. Use alternative choice of presentation - Does not have to be in word doc, try Prezi or Canva to develop an interesting resume. The templates are in abundance.
3. Highlight Your Strengths (Not Your Life-long achievements because they are not interested)

Colour Scheme - Cool colours are preferred but if you think you can rock a blood red velvet with tangerine orange combo in your resume, by all means, go for it. But remember, you are applying to a law firm, they might be still sensitive to some colours of the rainbow. (Hahaha!)

1. Cover Letter - Most generic cover letter will talk about the applicant. Guess what, the law firms do not care about this stranger who is verbally tooting their own horns in a what seems to be a like a bad Tinder introduction. A good cover letter should at least state:

• How did you know about the Law Firm?
• What You think about the Law Firm?
• Why you choose the Law Firm?
• How you can be of service to the Law Firm?
• Your aspirations if you get to be part of the said Law Firm.

P/S: Remember this, no one wants to hear about yourself. They want to hear about them through you.

The lunch ended on a pretty good note and that is when we said Goodbye (to) Felicia [pun intended] and went along with our day. We hope Felicia will get into the firm that she wants. I hope no one will need to go through the nightmare MT and I went through but if you do, know that you do not have to become the nightmare you lived in. You can create a better environment for your future-self and for future lawyers.

Here is to me, signing off and reflecting what I never want to become. Cheers!