What motivates you to be a lawyer?

Coming June 15 will be my second anniversary of being called to the Sabah Bar, but when I was asked to answer the question at the Cocktail Reception (no cocktail is served) – a welcoming party for the new ‘callees’ – I went blank!

As I was driving back from the party, I was still thinking if I should have said something more meaningful than babbled about never having thought to be a lawyer and was there all by fate…

But I’ve found out that what I said was really the truth!
The truth is, I really never aspired to be a lawyer…

I happened to pick up law as one of my A Levels subject simply because an uncle of mine suggested I took the subject since my language subjects were stronger (oh, my physics, A-maths results are like 7788), and then it happened that during my A-level year, I was frolicking and never studied seriously (had suffered too much of TTSS for the SPM and UCSE), and got a BEE for the A Levels! Yupe, a B for law! That leaves me no choice but to take up a law degree!

I did enjoy studying law, but all through the LLB course, it never occurred to me that I’d be a lawyer one day. Right after my LLB, I didn’t give CLP any thought, and went straight to the world of employment, earning my first real money!

Then, I get bored with the job (I get bored easily) and thought why not give CLP a try. Everyone says its so difficult but I won’t know just how difficult without attempting it myself right?

So I took half a year off from work, took out money from my EPF, spent all my savings of RM10k (my first 10k hisk hisk hisk)… and miraculously got through CLP at first try (well I flunked Civil Paper, and sat for the paper again in December, but I got through it same year!).

Even after passing CLP I have not thought of practising, I went back for an interview at my old employer’s office… but they actually turned me down and suggested that I give practice a try leaving me with no choice but to proceed with pupilage. And that’s how I became a lawyer… where’s the motivation?

Well, if I have to give a reason, that would be:
I need a job!