International Malaysia Law Conference 2012

26-28 September at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre

“Asian Perspectives, Global Viewpoints”

2012 marks the year the Malaysia Law Conference goes global, which is why the theme “Asian Perspectives, Global Viewpoints” was selected to initiate the International Malaysia Law Conference. This conference will explore the impact of law on business, society, and government in the global arena, through keynote addresses, plenary sessions, and inspirational talks featuring globally-renowned speakers and delegates.

Plenary speakers include:

The Conference Programme is divided into several categories, with each category having two or more breakout sessions. These categories are:

(1) IT & Social Media;
(4) HR & Employment;
(8) Compliance;
(2) International Islamic Finance;
(5) Intellectual Property;
(9) Law & Society;
(3) Oil & Gas;
(6) Trade & Investment;
(10) Arbitration and
(7) Corporate Counsel;
(11) Law Practice Management

 

We would like to highlight the topics under the Law Practice Management category that may be of particular interest to you.

How small and medium sized firms can accelerate their profits and how a Group Practice can benefit small and medium sized firms

Is your firm operating at its maximum revenue and profit capacity? Is your firm operating at a profit that allows significant sustained year-on-year growth? If either of those answers was no, then this session is for you!

Here we will take a look at the specific areas of your practice that drive your profits and what you can do to improve them. We will also take a look at how you approach the areas of marketing, sales and your practice as a whole to identify exactly what is holding you back from achieving your goals. You will also learn the fundamentals of business control so you can keep your finger on the pulse of your operation as it grows and make adjustments accordingly.

It is becoming increasingly more difficult for small and medium sized firms to maintain a competitive position in the Malaysian legal industry. With a growing amount of large firms and International firms attempting to expand into the Malaysian market, it is becoming a challenge for these practitioners to draw in clients. Becoming a Group Practice is an option, which would soon be available, for small and medium sized firms to consider in overcoming this challenge.

A group practice is a collection of small and medium sized firms who come together as one conglomerate while still remaining as separate individual practices within that particular group. This set up is distinct from a merger because each practice will still operate independently from one another while sharing common infrastructure.

Perhaps the biggest benefit of a Group Practice is the competitive factor. As a large group, these firms are able to challenge large firms because group practices can offer the range of expertise and experience which comes from a big firm, while still maintaining the small firm characteristics such as personal relationships with clients and individual attention to each client’s mater.
This session is big on actions and short on theory. It is packed with practical advice and specific actions that you can apply in your practice today.

**Kindly take note that the Bar Council is in the midst of finalising the Legal Profession (Group Practice) Rules 2012 (“Rules”). When implemented, the Rules would, inter alia, allow several small law firms to share premises, staff members, fax machines, photocopiers and IT services. Please refer to Circular No 175/2012 dated 9 August 2012.

Legal services: The evolving legal landscape

In Richard Susskind’s book, The End of Lawyers?, he observed rather casually, “a future in which conventional legal advisers will be much less prominent in society than today, and, in some walks of life, will have no visibility at all”. Is the profession’s engrained conservatism killing itself? This session will explore the threats to and opportunities for small law firms, in-house departments, legal publishers, training establishments, and individual lawyers.

Market Liberalisation of Legal Services in Asia: A Tsunami confronting lawyers or a world of opportunity?

From international partnerships to stand-alone entities, the internalisation of legal services will change how the legal profession in Asia views itself. The current spate of mergers, alliances and expansion involving international law firms with Australian firms with the objective of enhancing their presence in Asia suggests that law firms in Asia will need to be prepared for more competition. Inherited assumptions would be challenged by such economic transformations and market forces requiring a paradigm shift in how lawyers view themselves and the services they provide. What are the implications for law firms, large and small? Many believe it would never affect them because they are small or in niche market segments such as litigation. Law firms doing commercial and banking work will face more competition but could also capitalize on the opportunities of working with these foreign firms. Which approach should law firms in Asia adopt? How should the lawyers prepare themselves? Can legal services be more than mere enablers of other industries and become economic drivers in their own right contributing to the GDP of a country?

I look forward to personally welcoming you to the conference, which I hope will be the starting point of a mutually beneficial partnership and a shared vision towards building a sustainable future for all stakeholders of the law in the global community.

Looking forward to seeing you in Kuala Lumpur.

Raphael Tay,

Chair of IMLC 2012 Organising Committee

Check out the jam packed conference programme! You can still register – use the registration form. A group discount of 10% is available when five or more individuals from the same organisation register simultaneously. Follow the IMLC on twitter at @IMLC2012 and like it on Facebook. If you don’t want to register, you can still come to the Exhibition Centre (make sure you visit the LoyarBurok booth) from Wednesday, 26th through to Friday, 28th September 2012 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre and attend the Fundamental Freedoms Fringe Fest on Thursday, 27th at 7.30 p.m.


 

 

The International Malaysian Law Conference organizers want you to visit their website to register for the event with attractive packages. For future partners, they have interesting sponsorship and advertising...

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