The entry of foreign lawyers will not affect the 'overwhelming majority' of their local counterparts who mostly handle domestic legal matters, said a senior lawyer.

Former Bar president Mah Weng Kwai said foreign lawyers were more keen on commercial joint ventures and partnerships with local firms to service financial transactions.

He felt that only a small number of Malaysian lawyers who handled financial products will be directly affected by a move to open up the market for legal services.

Legal services is among the non-priority sectors that faces liberalisation as part of Malaysia's General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) undertaking.

Cheaper alternative

Speaking at a national law conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, Mah said foreign lawyers found Malaysia attractive as it is cheaper to set up shop here compared to Singapore or Hongkong, and it was also seen as a facilitating platform for entry into more lucrative markets such as China and the Middle East.

His paper gave a Malaysian perspective to 'Globalisation - The Wisdom and Folly of Open Sesame' to over 400 participants including 70-odd local and foreign speakers at the three-day event.

Mah said the Bar Council had drafted a new Part IVA in the Legal Profession Act 1976 and 'Joint Ventures and Registration of Foreign Lawyers Rules 2004' following a survey among legal firms in mid-2004.

"A working group comprising representatives from the council and the Attorney-General's Chambers has been formed to look into the proposed legislation."

Despite a council proposal to limit foreign lawyers to "permitted practice areas" following claims of already tough local competition, the issue continues to be a hot topic.

New skills

Two academicians from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UiTM) urged practitioners to acquire new skills in preparation for the inevitable impact of globalisation.

UiTM assistant vice-chancellor Prof Dr Rahmat Mohd and law lecturer Mohammad Rizal Abidin noted in a joint paper the visible fear of western mega-firms dominating the local market.

They said foreign lawyers are in fact already working for both the government and private sector and given the extensive technological advances, they did not even have to be present.

To them, the Singaporean experience where local law firms lost lucrative jobs to joint law ventures who formed a monopoly should be a lesson to Malaysian lawyers.

Rahmat and Mohammad Rizal also proposed that law schools introduce comparative law studies in anticipation of a tough fight to attract the world's best brains.

Reverse effect

On a practical note, Law Society of England and Wales head of international affairs Alison Hook showed the direct link between a sound legal framework and foreign investment.

Citing China, Hook said law reform contributed towards its economic success where more than 300 laws were passed over the last 20 years defining its legal infrastructure and regulating commercial and civil activities.

Hook, however, stressed that the choice ultimately lay with the profession and the Malaysian government, making a case that more could be gained by embracing rather than resisting globalisation.

Edmund Bon, speaking for young lawyers, estimated that only around 1,200 or 10 percent of the 12,000-strong member Bar handled lucrative cross-border transactional work, sparing conveyancing and litigation services.

Offering a different take on the Singapore experience, he said that competition from foreign lawyers had proven to be a boon to local lawyers there.

"The lesson to keep in mind... is that the entry of foreign lawyers or firms does not necessarily sound the death-knell of the local practice.

"In certain circumstances, the reverse occurs, resulting in higher remuneration for local lawyers in foreign firms and substantial transfer of technology (among others)."

Tough nuts to crack, he said, include meeting the challenge posed by large firms with established international branding which serves as a magnet to secure a high-end clientele.

He believed that ultimately, it is the attitude of local lawyers that will be critical to making liberalisation of legal services in Malaysia a success.