Attorney General′s Chambers

Company Overview

The Attorney General′s Chambers is the principal legal adviser to the government of Malaysia.

Chambers consists of 9 different divisions which deal with national and international legal issues involving government interests:

• Prosecution Division
• Civil Division
• Appellate and Trials Division
• Law Reform Division
• International Affairs Division
• Research Division
• Drafting Division
• Syariah Division
• Advisory Division

What attributes do you look for when recruiting graduates?

The prosecution, civil and appellate and trials divisions are litigation heavy in nature and thus require candidates who could think on their feet and aren′t adverse to court diaries which would take them the breadth of the court circuits around East and West Malaysia. The other divisions are principally based around vetting contacts and agreements and coming up with legal opinions and advice for and on behalf of ministries and other government linked agencies.

What key advice would you give to Asean students/graduates who would like to work for your company?

If you are considering a legal career at the Malaysian Bar, working with the Attorney General′s Chambers affords you an exemption to the usual 9 months pupillage/chambering requirements before being admitted to the Bar after having served for at least a year in your respective division. This will then give you rights of audience to appear at all levels of the court strata as a private practitioner.

The Prosecution and Civil Divisions in the meantime are the places to be if you are keen to get your feet wet with court work as soon as possible. On average, junior Prosecutors can expect to handle their own trials within 6 months of joining (I cannot however offer comment on Civil Division Federal Counsels, though I don′t expect it to be too far off the 6 month mark). In contrast, junior lawyers in private practice do not receive briefs for trial until at least three years of full-time practice on average.

Apply as soon as possible because interviews are few and far between. If you′re still in Bristol and aren′t sure when you′ll be coming back, apply anyway and inform HR of your personal circumstances.