Huda Hilmi Law Firm

27/05/2026

Legal Power and Limitations: Corporate Lawyers in the Practice World

When brought aboard, many lawyers experience total excitement; some even become intoxicated by the glamour, prestige, and authority the profession holds.

However, this sharing is for lawyers, law students, and legal professionals to reflect on the stark realities of the practice world. It serves as a foundation for knowing where the "legal whip" ends, and where a humble, continuously learning professional can truly thrive.

Below are the situations that—for better or worse—can bring corporate lawyers back down to earth.

1. Scope of Work Bypassed by Other Professionals

Accountants, auditors, and company secretaries may provide advice with finer, industry-specific details according to their respective professional skills and knowledge, sometimes sidelining a lawyer's generalized legal view.

2. Bypassed by the Statutory Power of Company Directors

Lawyers have dominanat position and have fiduciary duty in attorney-client relationship. However, specific to body corporate situation, the company directors generally hold the ultimate decision-making power. Under Malaysian law, while they are encouraged to seek professional advice, they retain the final say on whether or not to act upon it.

Malaysian Companies Act 2016 – Section 215:
This section explicitly states that a director may rely on information, professional or expert advice given by legal counsel, accountants, or other employees. However, the director's reliance must be made in good faith and after making an independent assessment of the information. Ultimately, the statutory duty and final decision-making power rest majorly on the company director, not the lawyer.

3. Affected by the "People Factor"

In the corporate world, diplomacy, teamwork, and collaboration are essential. Because of this, an overly edgy, aggressive, or sharp legal point may not always be usable or politically viable in a boardroom.

4. Human Error

Lawyers are not infallible; they can still make mistakes in interpreting the law or assessing facts. Sometimes, this error may be triggered by facts that were not fully, correctly, or accurately disclosed by the client. Or, it could be lost in translation or unfotunately overlooked.

Additionally, the law may be wrongly applied if internal consultations, proper legal opinions, or standardized peer-review meetings are not strictly followed.

5. Shifts in Corporate Power

Actual power in a corporation comes from the funders (investors) and the appointed officers of the company. A lawyer who exercises their "legal muscle" widely today can see their fate completely change in a matter of a short time if the relative corporate leadership shifts.

6. Industry Competition

Competition in the legal market is fierce. Other lawyers or firms may hold a tactical advantage, such as possessing more accolades, awards, or high-profile accomplishments. Furthermore, competition now arises from competitors offering lower fees, as well as affordable machine learning software and AI tools handling routine and simple legal tasks.

7. Monetary Capital

No matter how well-established a lawyer is, their operational power is heavily impaired if they face financial problems—such as a failure to collect fees or high overhead costs—making it difficult to survive a cutthroat market.

8. Facing More Experienced Colleagues or Opponents

In this line of work, experience and capability are what secure high-value fee cheques. Facing opponents or working alongside colleagues who offer superior expertise can be highly threatening for a lawyer trying to advance their career.

9. The Actual Instructions of the Client

Despite a lawyer's legal prowess and deep knowledge, they can be completely dumbfounded by a client’s simple, confusing, or sometimes disadvantageous final instruction. However, this is not always negative; a client may come with a brilliant idea that the legal professionals completely overlooked.

10. Court Orders, Legal Action, and Facing Authorities

A flashy, aggressive professional who dominates the boardroom or consultation table can still be thoroughly defeated when a matter escalates to actual litigation or regulatory enforcement. This is where knowing one’s limits, boundaries, and responsibilities truly matters.

11. Professional Liability Pressure

The legal field is well known for its demanding culture. High pressure is expected when premium quality is offered as part of an esteemed service. However, this can quickly turn into a massive limitation when professional liability acts as an additional weight. At times, this risk passes a lawyer's pressure threshold altogether, making certain high-stakes projects impossible to execute safely.

15/05/2026

Semakan Elemen Operasi dalam Perjanjian:

1. Memastikan kewajipan cukai dipatuhi.
Sebagai contoh, menentukan pihak yang bertanggungjawab untuk membayar cukai, atau memastikan sama ada jumlah bayaran yang dinyatakan adalah sebelum atau selepas cukai.

2. Penanda aras industri.
Semak kewajipan yang dinyatakan dalam perjanjian bagi memastikan ia selaras dengan standard minimum dalam industri berkaitan.

3. KPI pihak-pihak.
Bagi industri yang masih baharu, kecil atau belum menjadi amalan umum, kewajipan sekurang-kurangnya perlu ditetapkan berdasarkan prestasi, skop kerja dan perincian pencapaian (milestone) yang diperlukan oleh pihak-pihak.

4. Bayaran.
Pastikan tempoh pembayaran, terma kredit, deposit, pemulangan wang, penalti dan faedah dinyatakan dengan jelas. Jika perlu, semak juga pesanan jualan, akaun penerima, invois dan dokumen pembayaran lain yang berkaitan.

5. Duti setem, yuran guaman dan kos lain.
Tentukan pihak yang bertanggungjawab menanggung kos-kos tersebut. Cadangan penambahbaikan boleh termasuk: pihak yang lebih berkemampuan menanggung kos, kos ditanggung bersama, atau setiap pihak menanggung kos masing-masing (contohnya bagi yuran guaman).

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Checking Operational Elements in Agreement:

1. To observe tax obligations.
For example, the duty to pay tax primarily relies on which party, or to check whether the payment amount is before or after tax.

2. Industry benchmarks.
Check the obligations stated to ensure they are in line with the minimum standards in the industry.

3. Parties’ KPIs.
In cases where the industry is new, small, or not mainstream, the obligations shall at least be set according to performance, scope of work, and details of milestones required by the parties.

4. Payments.
Confirm the payment period, credit terms, deposit, refund, penalty, and interest. If needed, ascertain the sales order, recipient account, invoicing, and other payment documents.

5. Stamping, legal fees, and other costs.
Determine which party is responsible for the costs. Improvement proposals may include: the more capable party pays, mutual payment, or each party pays their own costs respectively (e.g., for legal fees).

13/05/2026

Elemen asas dalam kontrak.

Di sini kami kongsikan gambaran umum berkaitan perkara asas dalam kontrak. Walaupun Akta Kontrak, Akta Setem dan Akta Syarikat memperuntukkan beberapa peraturan secara langsung dan tidak langsung berkaitan kontrak komersial, secara umumnya kontrak boleh dibahagikan kepada dua komponen utama.

Pertama ialah struktur asas kontrak yang bergantung kepada peruntukan undang-undang bertulis dan statut seperti tawaran, penerimaan dan balasan.

Kedua ialah persetujuan antara pihak-pihak. Bahagian ini banyak bergantung kepada amalan industri serta tahap pendedahan dan pengalaman pihak-pihak dalam berurusan atau membuat kontrak dengan pihak lain.

Bagi bahagian kedua ini, tiada peraturan yang benar-benar tetap. Pengamal undang-undang dan klien kebiasaannya bergantung kepada preseden, templat, rujukan kepada perjanjian terdahulu atau draf standard.

Yang terbaik adalah apabila sesuatu kontrak disediakan dari awal mengikut keperluan khusus pihak-pihak. Ini termasuk mendapatkan maklumat dan konsultasi dengan klien mengenai keperluan sebenar mereka, serta melalui proses semakan dan rundingan berulang kali dengan pihak satu lagi sehingga persetujuan bersama dicapai.

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Basic elements in contracts.

We share here some of the general picture on contract matter. While Contracts Act, Stamping Act and Companies Act provide some direct and indirect rule on commercial contracts, contracts are often divided to two main components.

One, is the main structure which relies on statutory and written laws like offer, acceptance and consideration.

Second, is the agreement of the parties. This rely heavily on industrial practice and how well parties are exposed or experienced in contracting with others.

For the second part, there is not really a hard and fast rules. Practitioners and clients alike often relies on precedent, template, reference to earlier agreement, or a standard draft.

The best is for a contract to be done from zero. Consultation with the client on what they need exactly, and to review and negotiate, to and fro, with the other parties until mutual agreement is achieved.

17/12/2025

01/08/2025

Ibu-ibu di Gaza kini hanya mampu memberi air kepada anak-anak mereka kerana ketiadaan makanan.

28/01/2025

Perjalanan 5 Tahun yang Penuh Cabaran

Detik yang sangat bermakna bagi kami. Selepas 5 tahun penuh dengan usaha, doa, dan tidak putus asa, akhirnya kami berjaya mendapatkan persetujuan bersama hampir 28 pemilik tanah untuk melengkapkan proses mendapatkan Geran individu.

Perjalanan yang sememangnya bukan mudah. Ada cabaran besar yang perlu dilalui, pemilik tanah yang telah meninggal dunia, maklumat yang tidak lengkap, dan pelbagai halangan lain. Namun, Alhamdulillah satu demi satu masalah dapat diselesaikan.

Sejurus mendapat perintah daripada Mahkamah, team kami terus ligat berusaha bagi proses yang seterusnya.

Terima kasih kepada semua yang telah membantu dan memberi kerjasama yang baik sepanjang proses ini.

Kunci utama : SABAR

30/10/2024

Sharing here some of the regular commercial concerns in contract reviews. Hope this could be of help for those working closely with business agreements.

08/05/2024

We’ve got a good news today. Earlier this year we represented this client for a hearing in front of Lembaga Jururawat Malaysia. Today, we received the result from Lembaga that our client is released from the charge. We remain thankful for the support and trust from our clients.

02/05/2024

Our firm is appointed to represent Alif Satar’s team for this collaborative deal with Durioo Plus Malaysia. We are glad to see the venture is now out and rolling. Thank you for all the support from our clients and friends.

24/11/2023

Our Partner, a Corporate Counsel En Amar, virtual meeting for Joint Venture with Vietnamese legal team and client's business partner.