Legal services in Malaysia

In many years I have only had one time I needed to consult a lawyer and it was for questions, not an active case for which I hired them. So I have very little experience to share and would also like to hear from people who have had cases or ongoing relationships with lawyers.

That said, lawyers tend to specialize in certain areas like civil law, criminal law, personal injury, even immigration, so its difficult to find a "one size fits all" lawyer. Yet it is in an expats interest to establish themselves with a lawyer soon after arrival for the purpose of having  SOMEONE to call when the need arises, then to have that lawyer hand you to a specialist for your specific area of problem if that lawyer cant handle it themselves.

In Malaysia there are fake doctors, fake lawyers, fake animal vets, fake dentists, so what I would do is, if you are really brand new to this, is ask your boss or condo manager for names of lawyers they use and make an appointment with them to introduce yourself and see if they can be of help in the future.

Lawyers TEND to be case oriented, meaning that instead of telling you a price per hour for a small matter, they size up the whole matter and tell you its a RM2000 or RM5000 or RM25000 or RM90000 case. You want someone who will give you attention for just a letter to a nasty neighbor if thats all you need and charge you accordingly, like RM100. Since lawyers are like any other business, they will tend to maximize returns from people with deeper pockets and thats a problem. However, many expats have told me they have found good and reliable lawyers who charged reasonably.

If you came to the country legally and properly, a lawyer specializing in immigration matters is not someone you will need. It is more likely you will need a civil lawyer to handle contracts and contract disputes such as in real estate transactions. When you have such a lawyer established and then you are in a car accident, just call him/her and let them guide you.

Its very important to check credentials of professionals. See if they are a Bar member. Same with doctors, make sure their licence is current with the Health ministry. I always do that.