Everything about Certificate of Legal Practice

WARNING ; VERY LONG POST 

Disclaimer : This is purely written based on personal knowledge and opinion that I welcome corrections. And to be honest, I've wrote some of these in part and parcels of entries but I decided to compile all the questions I've been receiving concerning this so there will be easy references.

I showed my parents the questions to justify why I got a Pass for Criminal Procedure HA-HA

Now lets start !

1. What is CLP?

This is for the reference of layman because I bet almost all law students had at least an idea about this Certificate. This is basically a professional paper that will qualify you to do what we usually call as 'chambering' note that the word never exist ( my lecturer used to be so furious when we use this chambering word ) . To serve that 9 months of pupillage a.ka chambering , you need to have this certificate. 

And it does not apply to all law graduates , it applies to people who graduates overseas and to some law colleges in Malaysia as well. If you graduate from local public universities ( but I know not ALL public universities ) , then you don't have to take this CLP.

I would say if someone wish to practice in courts or to do law generally , this cert is compulsory for them to do so. It is sort of like a ticket ? 

CLP basically is about Malaysian law together with the principles and the procedures in courts, it differs a lot from undergraduate I did in the UK, because back in the UK I can still gamble on reasonings to produce logic debatable answers but as for CLP, sadly its there in the books that you have definite answers to the questions. You can't goreng la basically. 

2. What are the subjects?

There basically 5 papers you need to sit , but if you break it into subjects you will have nine ? Lets list them down .

- General Paper ( Tort and Contract )

- Evidence

- Civil Procedure

- Criminal Procedure

- Professional Paper ( Land Law, Ethics and Advocacy , Bankruptcy , Probate Administration )

And to pass CLP, you need to pass all these five papers in one sitting. That if you fail one, you'll get a conditional pass that allows you to sit for only one paper in the next sitting. But the ugly part of it is that, if you fail two or more, you're required to sit for all FIVE AGAIN T.T

3. How hard is CLP ?

CLP reminds me of additional mathematics back then haha , even way before I take the subject, its being tainted with impressions that it is hard. ( this doesn't apply to people who fancy Add math haha )

Partly because the passing rate is relatively low. Like this year alone, the numbers of candidates that passed is like 300+ , with another 300+ with conditional pass out of 2000+? candidates. I don't exactly know the numbers but I see massive of cars and there's just a lot of people haha. Previously some says that there's quota imposed on the rates of candidates passing but after going through the whole process, its very unlikely there's quota, its just very understandable why the passing rates are very low. 

Personally in my point of view, yes I would say that its hard, majorly because of the volume. Its just a lot, even I did come up with schedules that I stick to and despite continuous studies, I still find that its just a lot. That if I say its easy, it feels like lying haha. 

But I would say that if you're blessed with very good memory , CLP bonus point is that its basically procedural basis. At the end of the day, you can come up with boxes of checklists of answers to tick. Together with the skills you obtained in law school , like IRAC? Introduction, Relevant Law, Application of the Law and Conclusion , insyaAllah good to go ( as if haha )

4. Can I work while doing CLP?

I would say it depends , on your personality and circumstances. I see there's few of my colleagues who work but eventually stopped few months before the exam to focus. I have a friend from the college, he's a father to a daughter, and he stopped working in January to focus and I envied him haha.

I worked from September till early April , like out of the 9 months period of studies, I worked for 7 months. Excuse my calculation people. I tried sales and marketing but to find myself in a very exhaustive state despite the 'easy' kind of job, then I tell myself, maybe its true that law is my true calling, hence I stick as a paralegal in a law firm for six months.

I was working full time, Monday to Friday from 8.30 am - 5.30 pm. Then I'll rush to the LRT station to attend classes. And on weekdays, my classes is usually 3/4 days out of 5 days Starts at 6.30 pm until 9.30 eh? or 9.00 pm I forgot. I usually arrive at the college at 6.15 pm and got few minutes to calm myself down before the class starts. And full weekends. 

5. Why do you work ?

I worked because I wanted to be financially independent. I have four siblings below me, and I wanted to at least ease my parents burden. At the very least I can pay my own bills and rents. And I wanted to pay a portion for my exam fees, as I paid the tuition fees using my savings in the UK.

I earned very little to be honest , hit me up if you want to know the figures. Plus I think I would have too much of ample time if I didn't work.

And when I seek for the job, I make the employers aware about my CLP. That after all my priority is CLP , that if one can't negotiate on the classes schedules I said no to the job. I had a drama when I put in my two months notice to resign (TWO MONTHS NOTICE K GUYS for the six months of working ) , I know the law but it was a courteous move done on the reasons that I felt guilty to both my employer and myself, but still it was a dramatic phase in my life that I don't wish to repeat T.T

 6. How long do you take to study?

To be honest, I studied almost everyday for CLP from day one, very kiasu like that 

Study includes going to classes and tutorials, reread notes once I got back home after classes, and going to class early morning on weekends to have an hour study in the library. CLP invaded my mind up to the point when I watch the news on TV concerning crimes, upon seeing reports on murder or whatnot, all these remands/ bails etc etc and all the statutes keep popping inside my mind.

I'll count that as a little effort I made haha.

Usually on Saturday my class starts at 2.00 pm but I'll be at the college as early as 9.00/10.00 am. I constantly do that through the period of 9 months considering I work full time on weekdays.

I initially said that I can work up until May , but I wanted to have some time off relaxing myself before core revisions starts in middle April , which I did. And I never regret stopping on the first week of April. Good move anis good move.

so I would say I gave myself a period of three months to totally focus on my exam.

But tipulah very strict three months, last time we got Ramadhan, we got Syawal in between and staying at home I can't see myself vowing 24/7 to studies alone.

Next to study techniques / steps / tips , it works for me, and I believe if you're at my age and you've gone through degrees or what not, perhaps you already figured your ways of studying.

A. Know your enemy.

I stopped working on Friday, rushed to class afterwards. Then the next day , the first thing I did in the morning is I printed out the syllabus book provided by the body online. 

This will be provided on yearly basis so make sure you check it online ( on the portal ). I initially wanted to spend time writing down everything but not so wise with hundred of pages ).

 I scheme through the topics and pay extra attentions on the things to focus. It is so helpful with all the cases and statutes especially on the latest cases decided. Its like a bonus point if you know the latest cases apart from the landmark ones. 

I will not say how it helps 100% because you still need to cross refer with your books on the cases gist.

Once you know your enemy , haha CLP wouldn't be nice to be said as friend isn't it. Because you got to keep eye on them.

B. Plan your schedule.

As for me I literally rewrite a calendar inside my notebook so I am very clear on how many days left till the exam. The key is to make the days visible in front of your eyes. 

In April, I aim to at least do one question from any of the subjects per day. Gradually as time passes by, it went from one for one subject to one question from each subjects, which that makes it five. 

Some days where I am just too lazy, I'll make sure I read like a page from the textbook then that's it. But honestly during Ramadhan, my productivity during the day gets really low. That I had to stay up to cater back the things that should be done during the day. 

Well I don't want to get to the tiny details but one thing that I did last time, is I produced massive of notes for the same topic over and over again.

I don't really favour study group so yeah ( but I would say a group of two of me and Diy during the last paper , having that last paper syndrome really helps me a lot ! ) . 

I guess at the end of CLP, I owned like 3 big notebooks for mixed answers for mix subjects , 1 for each subjects for revision days and I use them from the first to the last cover. So at the end of the course I had 8 notebooks with piles of papers which I used for notes from September to December. Later I realized I can't afford rearranging the papers again and again so I changed to notebooks. 

C. Lots of past years questions and attending classes for guidance on answering

Doing pastyears definitely helps but doing past year questions without having the scheme to cross check was way too exhaustive given a very short period of time to cramp everything. 

Hence I do emphasize the importance of going to classes and tutorials. Because it will be super helpful with answers to most of the past years. 

Through the program I remembered that I only missed few classes and it was when I was down with high fever and my grandfather passed away. 

D. Preparing for D-Day

Timing is always a BIG Q that often time is never on your side. 

My advice, plan your time. My lecturers taught me some calculations for question that carries certain marks basically how many minutes you need to spend. I stick to this and alhamdulillah for every paper I have at least 10 minutes to recheck and topup the answers. 

Like undergraduates, using heading helps - highlighting the law is super helpful as well. At least for you to see that you have one law for one issue. *at least *

and unlike undergraduates with all fancy reasoning, CLP is pretty straight forward , that there is always AN ANSWER for the question , and it must be reminded that marks doesn't really dictate the amount of words you need to write. Sometimes a short answer will give you a full point. so yeah. 

Handling per subjects tips : 

General Paper ( Contract and Tort ) 

Contract - sadly you need to know all ALL THE PRINCIPLES from basic offer acceptances - to mistakes - remedies including specific performances, which to say you got to remember bits and pieces of Specific Relief Acts and Civil Law Act . Remedies are like a one size fit all kind of answer that applies to any kind of questions. 

Always imagine that you're advising a layman ( with additional of law which layman are usually not very concern with ) , so you got to start with what are the possible things that the client wants , list them all though some may not be possible to be granted. 

Tort - Tort is always about accident cases though the syllabus includes more than that. Practice on your statement of claims , one with death included, one with no death claim. Familiarize yourself with the steps and the format. 

Very risky to spot topics for GP, so my advise study them all. I like spotting questions though but parts of me are very insecure that I studied them all ( but I couldn't guarantee that it sticks inside the brain cells wahaha ) 

Evidence 

I would say that its possible to focus on certain topics that you master the topics very well. During revision my lecturer told us to start the question by identifying the nature of trial whether its civil or criminal. 

You don't necessarily need to reiterate those in your answers but I did. Then you identify the parties , moreover if they used fancy names - who v who. Having those inside your answers will make things easy on what are the standard to proof the cases. You can already put few cases that can fit in all, in bracket to supply this part.  

At least this will help to guide you, on how to start. Sometimes it gets so frustrating isn't it to start the answer, hence having the answers above will solve that introduction part. 

Professional Paper

2019 candidates are very lucky because they can bring the Legal Profession Act in , I don't know whether I am happy or sad with that haha, because when you can bring them in, it eases you A LOT. Basically you can score Ethics and Advocacy , two compulsory questions at ease. 

I would advise try to answer one question from one subject - in Section B they gave you 3 Land Law questions, 1 Bankruptcy and 1 Probate. Previously I thought I'll do 2 Land and 1 Probate due to the new company law act and the changes from Bankruptcy Act to Insolvency act, plus rearrangement of new Insolvency Rules. Regardless, I studied Bankruptcy and I forever grateful that I did despite all the new rules sobs. 

Because I can't answer more than one land law question haha because I remembered the principles but not the law. I even remembered the lecture we had on the topic where the lecturer discussed different approaches in different cases but my confidence for the question was just questionable haha.

Civil Procedure 

I don't have much advises on this, because the statute book is there and the answers are there, ( plus you got the statute as the law ) . You got to familiarize yourself with the index and pages. And yeah cases to remember. 

Criminal Procedure

This year they gave us one compulsory question which it has indirectly forced me to study all the topics without fail. AND ITS DAMN A LOT plus I miss my summary and High court trials classes and revisions ( fever and grandfather ) and guess what the compulsory question alone is in two pages and a half with various of topics tested. 

I fancied Criminal Procedure a lot but I would say its the toughest paper for me. And it was reflected on the grade, I got a Pass for that. 

You just can't afford to skip any of the topics, read them all, revise them all people. I am not sure whether the statute book is a great help in CPC but I don't think I used it as much as I use the Civil statute book. 

I remembered for classes that offered soft copy notes, I purposely don't print them out, that usually I'll take raw notes from the lecturers and later I cross refer with the notes in the laptop. 

So I'll verify the spellings of the cases. I remembered having trouble to spell American Synametwhatwhat haha for Civil Procedure.  

well I can't really remember all the tips but if you wish to hear more, I can dig back my notes and will be happy to help :)  

More general advises will be shared at the end of the post !

7. Why Advanced Tertiary College ? (ATC) 

Some people did asked me why I choose to study CLP in ATC. 

Honestly the utmost reason is the fees are relatively cheaper as compared to BAC. Plus during my second year, one of the lecturers went to give a talk in Cardiff about CLP. I don't really give much thought or weigh the balances between two schools but eventually I choose ATC. 

I don't have much knowledge on how things are being conducted in BAC which I am very sure they have their own added points hence more people went there, so I'm just going to tell you what I love about ATC. 

Till today I would say that is one of the best choice I ever made in life. One because of the size of the class, I never really count but I know its just nice. And I always sit at the second row hence I don't really know what happens behind. 

Two , amazing lecturers. I admired few of my lecturers that my eyes went glittery and round when they give lectures. Some of them even shared a lot about the practice and real life cases they encountered together with valuable values to be learned when you ventured into practice world. 

Example , one day my Criminal Procedure lecturer brought his robe in the class and explains to us the meaning and the values attached to the robe. It was so mesmerizing that my love for law outflows from my heart like the dripping honey from Pooh's honeypot HA-HA 

Three, even though bonding with classmates is not something practical to be done through the course, ( blame me the anti social ) , I felt a close connection between us. I remembered the time when I miss the class , the day my grandfather passed away, one of the friend who sat next to me recorded the lectures T.T for me and I'm just so touched. Like she don't have to do it but she did. 

god I'm so tired already but I haven't write for general advises HA-HA 

8. General Advice(s)

Be mentally prepared. 

To loose your weekends, say bye bye to resting over weekends. 

I think when I was working I saw people who worked as well would say they are looking forward to weekends so they can rest. It saddens me when I see those because basically my class arrangement is like Friday evening, 2.00 - 9.00 pm on Saturday , 11.00 - 6.00 on Sunday then hey working again on Monday and having class on Monday evening. 

Start early , if you don't handle stress very well, its very recommended to start early. Start simple like reread lecture notes after class, or attempt one of two questions, or made sets of statement of claims.

 I don't think one can afford to cramp it all at the end of revision time. Make sure, well at least you have an idea about a topic at the very end of the course. or maybe safe to say you've heard about the term before , we can work on the knowledge later ?

If its possible, sit at the front raw in class. I don't how this is helpful because I never really tried sitting behind. Plus I want easy access to toilets and surau. But even sitting in front I had trouble to catch some of the lectures. Can't help but sometimes to feel very sleepy in classes. 

Allow breakdowns, most of the people I talked to and encountered with in this journey, have at least experience breakdowns. Don't be too hard on yourself, take some fresh air in the midst of hectic classes and revisions. 

Last time ATC gave us a week off before the revisions starts , I am glad I went for a vacation during that time. Talk to people whom you think will understand the whole situation, maybe me? 

Because I did once tried to seek solace from people who don't really get the idea of what is CLP, and one of the comment that I got, which got me so furious was ' DON'T BE LAZY NAJWA' and I am like there's no one single day ever passed that I didn't contribute a thing to CLP like how I really wish I can be lazy. 

It took me quite some time to cool down and be okay with it. I did a lot of self consoling moments , saying to myself constantly that I can do this, I can do this. 

You got this people !

If you wish to know more or wish to seek help for any of subjects, I welcome questions and ready to help you out, with my best ability to do so. I've been there and I acknowledge the struggles, if not many at least one struggle you faced, hence I know how much effort and time you invested . 

Keep trying , may Allah ease ! 

 Love, the'ann