Case Study: Under Observation

After several years of practice, Max, a legal assistant at Messrs Channing & Associate, the Insured Practice (“IP”) was offered to be a partner of the Firm by Caroline, the sole proprietor of the Firm at that time. Max had been handli...

Case Study: Don’t Let The Grass Grow Under Your Feet

Fred appointed Messrs Doo and Co (“IP”) to discharge his condominium from Bank ABC upon the settlement of his property loan with the said bank. The bank forwarded the relevant documents to the IP for that purpose. Three months later,...

Case Study: Always Be On Your Toes

Chuckie, a partner at Messrs Finster and Associates (“IP”) acted for Tommy, the purchaser in a sale and purchase of a property. The property was charged to Bank ABC as a security for the loan extended to Angelica, the vendor in the transa...

Case Study: To Rest In Peace

Tina, a sole proprietor of Messrs Belcher & Co. (“IP”) was instructed by Teddy, her good friend who was terminally ill to convey a few properties owned by him to his family members. Teddy had two families from two separate marriages a...

Case Study: Leave No Stone Unturned

Messrs Turner and Associates (“IP”) was the panel lawyer for Bank ABC and handled commercial loan transactions for the bank. In 2013, Cosmo Property Pty Ltd (“Cosmo”) approached the bank to get a commercial loan of RM1,700,000...

Case Study: Always Do The Spadework

Messrs Korra and Associates (“IP”) was named as the Third Defendant in a writ filed by a Claimant who claimed that the IP was involved in a conspiracy to defeat the execution of an arbitration award against the First Defendant. It all ...

Case Study: When It Rains It Pours

Danny Fenton of Messrs Fenton and Co (“IP”) acted for Jasmine, the purchaser in a conveyancing transaction to prepare the SPA. The vendor, Maddie was not represented but was assisted by her daughter and son-in law. After the deposit was p...

Case Study: Present Here But Not There

Messrs Wakeman and Carbuckle (“IP”) represented the purchaser, Sheldon to prepare the SPA for a residential property. The Vendor, Tremorton Pty Ltd (“Tremorton”) was unrepresented. Two months after the execution of the SPA, Sh...

The Skinny On Checklists

Case Study: Riding out the Storm with Risk Management

Connor & Partners was established by Olivia and Peter Connor in 2003. They are a law firm that specialises purely in conveyancing matters. One day, Olivia visited the Inland Revenue Department (“IRD”) to get a stamp for her client&rsq...

Case Study: A Dicey Situation - Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Jack Alastair, the sole proprietor of The Law Chambers of Alastair, notified Insurers of a possible employee embezzlement in his law firm. In his notification, Jack apprises that his account's officer, Elena, had committed criminal breach of trus...

Dispute on Legal Fees

Lindsey retained Messrs Kline & Partners to represent her in a divorce settlement. By an agreement, Lindsey paid RM20,000 to Kline & Partners as the retainer fee and should the matter proceed to the Court of Appeal, further legal fees will be...

Failure to Follow Client’s Instructions

Messrs Keating & Co, the Insured Practice (“IP”), represented both the Purchaser and Vendor in a Sale and Purchase Agreement (“SPA”). The property in question was charged to Furama Bank as a security for a loan given to th...

Casual Conversations: A Panel Solicitor’s Point of View

In a continuation of frank conversations with stakeholders of the Malaysian Bar PII Scheme, we sit down with three Panel Solicitors (“PS”) to get their views of the Scheme and an in-depth look at their experiences so far in defending Insu...

Faiure to Timely File Notices of Appeal

Case Study 4A Messrs Thompson & Rifkin, the Insured Practice (“IP”) acted for the Defendants in a conveyancing suit. The High Court allowed for the Plaintiff’s application for summary judgment following which there is a 14-day ...

Case Study: Self Representation - Every Rose Has Its Thorn

Law firm ABC & Co was formed in 2007 as a partnership by Anna, Bryan and Calvin.  Two years later, Calvin fell out with Anna and Bryan thus deciding to dissolve their partnership, and he formed a sole proprietorship, Messrs Calvin & Co. ...

Self-Representation: Every Rose Has Its Thorn

“A man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client” [1] – Does this apply when a lawyer is representing himself? Undeniably, majority of lawyers would assert that self-representation in their personal capacity is justified as t...

Jack of All Trades, Master of None

Karpal Singh.  Preet Bharara.  Fatou Bensouda.  When these names are mentioned, we instantly recognise them for their work done in a precise area of law. There are numerous arguments as to why being a "Jack of all tr...

An Unforgettable Experience

IP Interview No 1: The IP who had risk management in place IP were the Solicitors for their clients who were the Vendors in the Sale and Purchase Agreements (“SPAs”) for the sale of two pieces of land to the Claimant.   Bo...

Hindsight is Insight

The situations in the case studies below could have been avoided if the lawyers had implemented good practices in their firms.  CASE STUDY No 1: Don’t Forget To Remember Me – Limitation Period On 1 April 2006, John met an acc...