DBA Dissertation - The Malaysian Legal Profession & Globalization
The Malaysian Legal Profession & Globalization is a 106-page dissertation submitted by Devasenathy Pathy Rajah (LL.B, MBA) for the Degree of Business Administration (DBA) from the International Graduate School of Management (Division of Business And Enterprise), University of South Australia.
An overview of the dissertation is presented below. The complete dissertation can be downloaded as individual chapters. All chapters are in PDF format.
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Overview of "The Malaysian Legal Profession & Globalization" by Devasenathy Pathy Rajah
The World Trade Organization (WTO), with information technology as its catalyst, has globalized the world and has created a new world order with an open legal system of laws that links and coordinates activities from domestic to global levels. This has resulted in global and regional laws superseding in importance domestically created laws. This 109-page dissertation examines the positive and disruptive aspects of globalization on domestic laws and on the legal practice focusing specifically on the practice of law in West Malaysia.
The dissertation comprises the below chapters.
Part 1 is the introduction to this research paper outlining what this research paper is about. Includes Table of Contents.
Part 2 deals with the literature about the current situation and of the impact of globalization on the different legal professions of the world. The research is based on major studies, reports, essays and policy papers from different jurisdictions. The rational for this study emerged as a result of the opening of the markets of the world and the gradual loss of the monopoly of the legal services held by lawyers. With the opening of the markets, legal services have become more competitive. To remain relevant and without disrupting the core values of the legal profession there is a need to change the system of managing the legal profession. The legal professions of advanced nations like the legal professions of the USA, European Union, Australia and Canada have responded to the challenges posed by globalization by encouraging lawyers to venture into the overseas markets and to diversify into new areas of legal practice by restructuring the legal profession. Rules of their profession have also been liberalized to provide a degree of flexibility to advertise and market their legal services. Legal education and legal practice models in the advanced nations have also been restructured. All these were done to remain competitive and to keep pace with the changing environment.
Chapters 1 & 2 (30 pages)
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Part 3 deals with the present position of the Malaysian legal profession in the light of globalization. The Malaysian legal profession has remained traditionally unchanged and has not kept pace with globalization. This has destabilized the profession. There has been no known research study on the effects of globalization on Malaysian lawyers. This part underlines the critical reforms that are needed to transform the profession. The research questions set out in this part were structured to study the reforms needed. To empower competitiveness of Malaysian lawyers without sacrificing the core values of the profession this study was aimed to identify how Malaysian lawyers could be allowed to join Multi Discipline Practices (MDP’s) and restructure practice models.
Part 4 deals with the methodology of this research. The respondents were all lawyers from the states of Penang, Kedah and Perlis. A total of 52 respondents were chosen at random. These respondents represented a broad spectrum of legal practice ranging from civil to criminal law and representing different levels of expertise and experience. The survey questionnaires were based on six identified issues with 92 questions. The individual interview was conducted personally by the researcher.
Chapters 3 & 4 (6 pages)
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Part 5 deals with the findings of the research questions. The implications of the findings showed that lawyers cannot be prevented from joining MDP’s. The best solution for Malaysian legal profession would be to allow lawyers to form alliance with MDP’s. This allows lawyers to share knowledge and skills with MDP’s while retaining their separate legal practice. One positive implication of the findings is that lawyers be allowed to set up Limited Liability Partnerships practice models which provides flexibility to regulate their own working practice while retaining the benefits of a their legal corporate structure.. Another important implication of the findings is that there should be greater liberalization of the rules of the profession to improve competitiveness and reduce constrains in marketing legal services.
Part 6 deals with the conclusion of this research with emphasis on the need to change the policy of the Malaysian legal profession to concentrate more on global and regional activities. Suggestions for further research have also been recommended with the aim to reinforce some of the recommendations made in this study.
Chapters 5, 6 and References (37 pages)
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Appendices deals with the survey questionnaire and the analyzed results presented in table format.
The Appendices (33 pages)
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