About IMLC

The Malaysian Bar is once again organising its signature biennial conference — the International Malaysia Law Conference (“IMLC”) 2023.  This fifth edition carries the theme “Navigating the Present, Exploring the Future”.  The main aim of IMLC 2023 is to shed light on the realities of practising in a post-COVID world that has embraced technology, and what we need to do, collectively and individually, to ready ourselves for the future.

Regardless of whether we are ready or willing, the only constant thing that we can be assured of in life is change!  We have gone from typewriters to computers; and from the elite few who had libraries that were the envy of many, to every single lawyer having access to online legal research databases.

Take a moment and think back to 2019 — did we ever imagine a world where instead of getting up before sunrise to beat the traffic to arrive at court early enough to get a parking spot, we now merely turn on our laptops, because most court matters are conducted online!

We know many of us were not ready then.  We know that many of us knew we had no choice but still pleaded for time and indulgence.  So, we want IMLC 2023 to be a platform to discuss what is coming and our preparedness in relation to what is coming.

Why Join IMLC 2023?

Legal practice in Malaysia sorely needs to improvise and adapt to cater to the tremendous changes that are happening around us.  The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide has led many to look into business sustainability and continuity to counter sudden changes and interruptions.  With changes happening in a heartbeat, lawyers must be better equipped to move along with the tide and grow.

In analysing the growth and potential of a legal market, we will need to consider the following factors at play — political (“P”), economic (“E”), social (“S”), technological (“T”), legal (“L”), and environmental (“E”) (collectively known as “PESTLE”).  Today, we hear frequently about ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) being bandied around as the next compliance norm and a new field for lawyers to explore.  As of September 2022, Bursa Malaysia announced the requirement for sustainability reporting to be compulsory for listed companies in Malaysia.  With that in mind, we aim to touch on this at IMLC 2023.

Next, legal specialisation will become a trend.  The overcrowded legal space will compel the industry to recognise lawyers focusing on niche areas of practice, and more clients will, in time, require the services of specialised lawyers.  As the business world changes, so will the demand towards legal specialisation.

Prior to the pandemic era, the Malaysian legal industry seemed to have stayed in its comfort zone, with a hesitance to change.  Examples of this are the implementation of e-Courts, and the introduction of the continuing professional development (“CPD”) scheme among Members of the Bar.  These were all met with resistance at first, but now, lawyers reap the benefits.  For the Malaysian legal industry to grow and thrive in tandem with the global legal industry, it is necessary for Malaysian lawyers to experience a paradigm shift in the way they think and operate.  Growth is necessary, but being equipped for growth is mandatory.

While change and growth is important when one becomes a fully-fledged lawyer, growth is essential from as early as when one first starts his/her legal education.  We need to take a hard look at law schools in Malaysia and the quality of graduates entering the legal market.

What’s Featured at IMLC 2023

The following are among the topics that will be featured:

• Navigating Corporate Rescues
• Laws for an Ageing Nation: Improved Laws & New Laws
• Effective Advocacy: Exploring the Future
• Prospect and Viability of Small Firm Practice — Are Affiliation and Group Practice the Next Logical Step?
• The Development of the Law on Discovery / eDiscovery Pre- and Post-Pandemic: A Comparative Analysis
• Liability of a Law Practitioner: An Attempt to Identify and Balance between Privilege, Secrecy and Compliance Under the AMLA Regime
• Litigation Funding
• Issues Surrounding NFTs
• Publicity vs Advertisement — Where are We At?
• Waqf: The Legal and Regulatory Framework Needed for Implementation
• Challenges to Legal Education: Is It Time to Assess and Rank Law Schools?

Register Early and Enjoy Early Bird Rates

Sign up by 28 Feb 2023 to enjoy exceptional early bird rates of just RM1,100 for Members of the Bar, and RM800 for Members of Bar with fewer than seven years in practice!

Register here for individual registrations, and here for group registrations.  Group discounts (5% (3–5 persons); 7% (6–10 persons); 10% (more than 10 persons)) are available for simultaneous sign-ups from the same law firms or organisations.

Join IMLC 2023!

IMLC 2023 is poised to address the concerns and hurdles legal practitioners face, with the determination to equip them for a rewarding future and to provide a vision for robust growth.  We want our lawyers to be inspired and empowered, steadfast yet versatile, resolute and unafraid, and at the ready to embrace transformations in the evolving legal landscape. It is you who stand to gain!  So, come join IMLC 2023!

Yusfarizal Yussoff, Harleen Kaur, Desmond Ho Chee Cheong
Co-Chairpersons
IMLC 2023 Organising Committee