Legal competency: heightening through lawyer specialisation

This Chapter discusses the role of a barrister or a solicitor in England and Wales with an advocate and solicitor in West Malaysia with special focus on whether the members of the legal profession in Malaysia should specialise in the interest of enhancing their competency. Although Malaysia is a common law jurisdiction where the system of law largely originates from the English system, there are some significant differences in relation to legal practice. One such difference is that, in England and Wales (which is one jurisdiction), the legalprofession is divided into the profession of solicitors and barristers. At present, in England and Wales, there are more than 165,000 solicitors in practice.9 As to barristers in practice, the number is just over 17,000.10 The total number of lawyers (i.e., solicitors and barristers) is more than 180,000, of which approximately 90% are solicitors and 10% are barristers. Comparatively, the size of the legal profession, in terms of the number of lawyers in Malaya, is about 10% of what it is in England and Wales. Perhaps, the numbers explain why it is more difficult to have two separate professions in Malaysia, given its size. Aside from the question of whether the numbers justify having two separate professions in Malaysia, it will be appropriate to consider the differences between the two systems.