Chambering...

Nite to all my frens...hopefull you still awake to read my article for is post about chambering.

Chambering is a period where you must undergo before becoming a qualified lawyer.

The next issue is how do you choose a legal firm to do your chambering? What factors effect your decision in choosing the legal firm? How do you make a right decision? What kind of legal firm is more suitable for you?

Undeniable, I have the same queries in my mind at that point of time.

Below are some of the factors that you may want to take into account when making your decision:

1. Exposure - exposure is very important when you are in your young career stage. This will enable you to see the “clearer” picture of legal practise.

2. Learning opportunity- this is in particular to the variation of aspect of laws that you can “learn” (or rather expose to) during this 9 months period. Too early to specialise or ”compartmentalised” yourself in a single area of law is not too good. Don’t afraid to ask if the law firm can transfer you to different department (at least position you to litigation, conveyancing & corporate department) during your 9 months period as this is the best opportunity for you to see which area of law is most suitable to you.

3. Personal connection with lawyers/partners- some law firms do set a rules that only lawyers can give instruction to chambie, instead of the senior clerks. This is a very good policy I must say as you should have as much personal contact with the lawyers as possible. This is to ensure that you really learn from the right person.

4. Specialisation- if you already know what is the area of law that you want to focus and practice in future, you should apply to the firm which specialises in that area of law so that you will get the best exposure and learning experience.

5. Reputation - trust me, it is very helpful if you can attach to a reputable firm as it will be a very useful stepping stone in your career path. However, please be aware that reputable firm not always will give you the best learning opportunity.

6. Remuneration - this should be the least priority in choosing your law firm.

The key factor is to “learn and learn”.

Join the firm which you think can give you the most learning opportunity as don’t forget you are still a pupil and your main “task” is to LEARN.

I think there is nothing call the “best legal firm for chambering”, it is all depend on what you want out of it.

This post is linked to www.laweddie.com/wordpress