By:
Nathan Hew
Integrity is the cornerstone of the practice of law.
This belief guided John Skrine and his like-minded partners Stanley Peddie, Peter Mooney, William Donald Bewsher, and Chin Yoong Chong when they founded Skrine & Co on May 1, 1963.
Together, they built the firm by taking care of its people and delivering the highest levels of service to clients — all while being anchored to the tenets of justice and dedication.
It's a move that paid off.
This ethos attracted some of the best legal minds in Malaysia, resulting in a blue-chip client list and the respect of peers. The firm flourished and grew, and with that came recognition from clients and firms worldwide. Come Jan. 1, 2000, Skrine & Co. became known as Skrine.
Today, the firm is one of the largest legal firms in the country and has a global reputation.
"Among others, we are the exclusive member firm in Malaysia for Lex Mundi — the world's leading network of independent law firms," explains Nimalan Devaraja, a Partner at the firm.
"2023 was an especially poignant year for Skrine. Besides maintaining our top-tier rankings across the board in all established legal directories, Skrine celebrated its 60th Anniversary in 2023. Various events were held throughout the year to commemorate this momentous milestone."
Achieving these results and milestones wouldn't be possible without every member of the firm — both legal and non-legal — coming together as one to strive, not only to exceed clients' expectations, but also for individual excellence in all that we do. "Both objectives fuse together to form an excellent one, Skrine," Nimalan shares.
Skrine is broadly categorised into three divisions: Corporate, Dispute Resolution, and Intellectual Property. (Image by Skrine)
Legal expertise at Skrine: A three division approach
Skrine stands out with its unique divisional structure, encompassing three distinct areas of expertise: Corporate, Dispute Resolution, and Intellectual Property. According to Nimalan, Skrine is considered a top-tier firm in all three divisions.
"I have practised in Skrine's Dispute Resolution division since my pupillage days in the firm. This division is the largest in the firm, in terms of size, and is considered a heavyweight in the dispute resolution landscape in Malaysia," Nimalan shares.
"We have a breadth of talent across different sub-practice areas and seniority, which enables us to put together bespoke teams to cater to our clients' needs depending on the complexity of a dispute. This has enhanced Skrine's international reputation as a go-to firm for dispute resolution in Malaysia."
When asked what factors make an effective law firm, Nimalan identified three crucial outliers: cohesion, curiosity, and adaptability.
"Legal practice is not an individual game — it’s a team sport. Cohesion within the ranks enables the best teams to be put together to address any legal issue or challenge faced," Nimalan shares.
"One must also always be open to trying new areas of law and delving into the unknown. Legal practice is always changing and the different practice areas regularly co-mingle with each other as cases become more complex and globalised. Law firms and lawyers must broaden their horizons to provide the best service for the client. 'Good' is never good enough."
He adds: "Always adapt to the changes that time brings to continue to provide the best service. Not only does this require a flexible mindset within the law firm and its members, but it also requires a commitment to invest in the best tools and resources to enable the members to carry out their duties — whether it is technology, reference materials or even a strong cup of tasty coffee."
Lawyers and legal staff had to fully understand the features of every new technology and systems introduced to the firm to maximise their full potential. (Image by Skrine)
Adapting to change
In an increasingly borderless and competitive world, where the law is challenged in new ways on a daily basis, technology has enabled Skrine to maintain its tradition of providing top-quality, efficient, and in-depth service to its clients.
Over the past five years, the firm has subscribed to various legal research engines — in addition to LexisNexis — that enable Skrine to have the most comprehensive coverage possible of legal materials. This is paired with the implementation of document management and file management services that allow lawyers to move from a traditional paper-file model to a softcopy-borderless model.
"Now, everyone can access any relevant information from anywhere," he enthuses.
That's not all. Technology is helping Nimalan to improve his efficiency and productivity at work.
"Our adoption of legal research engines has significantly improved my productivity. I can now quickly access a wide range of legal research materials or reported judgments to strengthen my submissions. This is particularly useful during ongoing hearings, where I may need to conduct quick research to find relevant authorities or reference materials," Nimalan shares.
"The online file management and document management services enables me to always to be ready to assist clients regardless of whether I am sitting in the office, engaged in an arbitration at the SIAC, or waiting for a case to be called at the Sungai Petani High Court. This allows me to be efficient as I am able to address client queries or complete impending tasks without having to delay the same until I am back in the office."
To ease the transition into adapting to change at the firm Skrine regularly hosts training sessions for lawyers and non-legal staff so that they fully understand the new features of a new technology or system that the firm subscribes to and can fully benefit from them.
LexisNexis’s international database has helped commercial litigators like Nimalan and other lawyers alike to thrive in their roles. (Image by Skrine)
Lexis Advance: A handy tool for commercial litigator
As a commercial litigator in an increasingly globalised world, LexisNexis' international content sets itself apart from other solutions in the market.
"As cases have become more complex and cross-border, our Courts have demanded that detailed research be carried out into Commonwealth jurisdictions to guide the Malaysian Courts in their consideration of the novel legal principles before them. Skrine has always strived to meet such demands," Nimalan shares.
"Lexis Advance has regularly become my first port of call when faced with legal research after I have read the relevant textbook/reference material to get a broader understanding of the wider topic in which the legal issue sits."
The extensive Search Filters allows Nimalan to narrow down his search and carry out focused research in a timely manner, enabling him to access the latest appellate decisions on the issue quickly.
"This is especially important where time is limited and a quick answer is needed, whether it is to address a question from the Court in the midst of a hearing, or to add in one golden bullet to the written submissions just before filing," he says.
The international case database helps Nimalan to quickly look at how the Commonwealth Courts have dealt with a legal issue, especially in ascertaining whether it endorses the current Malaysian legal position, there is a divergence, or there has been further development.
"Lastly, when the legal issue is related to a statutory provision, the Annotated Statutes of Malaysia is my go-to resource. It allows me to expedite the research process by relying on the well-researched published texts of Lexis's esteemed authors to quickly identify which cases have dealt with those provisions and how those provisions have been applied."
These aspects and features have contributed to the success of Skrine by enabling their lawyers to develop and craft complex, well-founded arguments to advance their clients' causes before the Courts efficiently and concisely — a vital competitive edge in maintaining Skrine's reputation where cross-border, complex disputes involving novel points of law are the run-of-the-mill cases for the firm.
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