International Clerkship Report

Gladys Chun, September 2006

Sponsoring Office: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Receiving Office: Singapore

Background

I applied for the Baker & McKenzie international clerkship program after checking out the advertisement on my university website.  Initially, I had no clue at all of what I will be getting myself into and what to expect through this program.  Having long had an interest in travel and different legal systems, I was extremely thrilled to be given the opportunity to undertake an international clerkship in Baker & McKenzie Kuala Lumpur and Singapore offices in 2006.

The 8 weeks duration of the clerkship program has been a great learning curve for me in the process of establishment of my legal career path.  It is definitely a great opportunity and an absolute privilege to be a part of this young, vibrant and energetic team.  It is a great opportunity to learn from the experienced partners and associates whom, despite their busy schedules, could still afford time to part certain knowledge to me, which enabled me to learn things more effectively. 

Kuala Lumpur

My first day in the office, I was greeted by the warmth and friendliness of all the people in the office.  Everyone in the office ranging from partners to support staff to librarians and also cheerful pupils were always so willing to lend a hand in helping me to adapt myself to the office culture and also when I was lost in the midst of research.

The assignment of work and rotation across four departments starting with Intellectual Property & Litigation, followed by Banking & Finance, followed by Corporate Commercial and lastly Tax, were very fruitful in terms of the exposure, knowledge and the friendships nurtured.  The week spent in litigation was really an eye opener to the life of being a litigator.

Numerous visits to the courts and preparation work for a trial are intense.  The week in banking and finance provided me with a slight insight into the Islamic banking requirements in Malaysia and procedure on drafting agreements for such transactions.  Not forgetting also, for the first time, I was exposed to the merger and acquisition law and principles governing such transactions.  The week in Corporate Commercial gave me a valuable opportunity to witness a major restructuring and be part of the team for the compilation of documentation.  The final two weeks in tax overwhelmed me with the knowledge on double tax treaties and evaluation of different taxation issues in Malaysia.  I was able to do a lot of research into specific points of law, which polished up the many lectures during which I dozed off throughout my law school years!  The opportunity to apply what I learned in law school to ‘real’ hands-on work is really satisfying.

In addition the normal hustle and bustle of legal matters, the company does provide numerous in-house and outside seminars and conferences for self-development.  I had the opportunity to attend a few conferences and I found these extremely rewarding for self development and advancement of knowledge.

The focus on professional development across the Firm is really worth praising as I personally found that I learned so much through the interaction sessions with experienced associates, discussion and talks with the rest of the crew.

The five weeks flashed by so quickly that I could not believe it when I had to say goodbye to all the new friends I had made. The sadness I felt in leaving the office on that last Friday in the office was only offset by the prospect of things to come in Singapore.

Singapore

The 3 weeks in the Singapore office provided a totally different angle and exposure compared to Kuala Lumpur office.  Unlike being on a rotation schedule, I was stationed in two departments, Corporate Commercial and Tax.  Due to the limited time that I was placed in Singapore, I found that the decision to be stationed permanently in the chosen departments were extremely beneficial for me.

The designation in Corporate Commercial indeed lives up to its reputation of being a fast paced and intense field, with associates often immersed in their challenging work and it was an experience to keep up with their lightning pace.  I have managed to grasp on several corporate governance issues in terms of directors’ duties in a company.  The exposure under the tax group was very interesting and challenging at the same time.  I was introduced to the main drive of Budget 2006 announced by the Singapore government and the impact on the taxation system and implications in the private banking industries in Singapore.  I was given a chance to explore the valuation of various plans and schemes including valuation of non-cash benefits.  I was also involved in researching for materials to write articles on several taxation issues primarily the impact of Budget 2006 on businesses in Singapore.  Throughout my duration there, I was guided thoroughly in many aspects of taxation in Singapore by a group of ever-helpful and patience associates who were always willing to teach me in all the tasks that were assigned to me.

Conclusion

The clerkship has unquestionably been one of the most rewarding experiences to date.  I learnt an enormous amount of knowledge in the legal profession.  I would highly recommend everyone to apply and I could almost 100% assure that there will be no regrets at all as the experience is just too overwhelming.

Thanks go to the various people who made the arrangements for my clerkship and keeping me occupied with interesting work and for teaching me much about their particular workplaces.  A special thank you to KL office and Singapore office for accommodating me for the clerkship and for making this memorable experience happen for me.