When 7 Years of Standing of Your Master Start?

I know there a lot of law students out there are the final year/final semester law students and I suppose you've already planned what you're going to do next. But the idea is that you're always encourage to do your chambering (remember the word "chambering" is our custom, and it's never existed in your LPA). Chambering or you should call it as "pupillage" is a requirement, and you should not do it just for fun.

There are many things you need consider before choosing which firm you intend to join. But the only matter I want to share here is the standing of your master. Legal Provision Act 1976 clearly provides that your master must be in active practice for seven years.

13. (1) Subject to subsection (4) a pupil shall serve his period of pupillage with an advocate and solicitor who is and has been in active practice in Malaysia for a total period of not less than seven years immediately preceding the date of commencement of his pupillage.

The question is how you calculate that seven years standing? If you're looking up in Bar Council Directory, you'll find your master profile in which the profile states the date of admission to the Bar. It will give you an impression that the period of seven years started from that date of admission. If you rely on that, you may have a problem later.

I filed my petition on 22nd March 2012. My master's date of admission was January 2005. If you count it, it already exceed 7 years. A week later, Bar Council called me and told me my master still does not completed 7 years of standing. I asked why because his admission was January 2005. And Bar Council informed me the calculation of 7 years only start from the first Practitioner Certificate of your master.

So, if you're master was called to the bar after year 2000, you must confirm with your master his/her first PC. Then you can calculate the 7 years standing. What happened to me caused me to get new master and file again in which I did on 12 April. Hence, I will finish my pupillage a lil bit late compared to other friends who already got their short-call.

May this information help you later.