Why this innovative dispute resolution-only firm in Malaysia dubs LexisNexis as a ‘treasure trove of information’

Since its inception, Thomas Philip Advocates & Solicitors ("Thomas Philip") has grown to become an innovative dispute resolution-only firm in Malaysia, focused solely on civil and commercial litigation, arbitration and mediation — comprising 23 litigators servicing various areas of specialisation.

"We take pride in our mission to develop young lawyers and provide opportunities to transform to become independent advocates in a short period of time," explains Alya Qistina Junaidy, Chief Business Development Officer at Thomas Philip.

"One of our recent milestones is the promotion of 10 lawyers to principal associates who have embodied our values — to have strong conduct and application of their technical skills, to appear at all levels of the court, and to have the ability to generate work and business for themselves."

Beyond this, the firm has achieved some noteworthy achievements in 2023, including lending a hand to vendors and artists of the Good Vibes Festival when the festival was cancelled last year through its pro bono service and winning alongside residents of Taman Rimba Kiara after a seven-year battle against a development order. Capping the year off, the firm secured the title of Contractual Disputes Law Specialists 2023 issued by APAC Legal Awards 2023 and also received the Notable Award in Dispute Resolutions from asialaw 2023 awards.

But beyond the victories in court, heartfelt generosity in their acts of service, and shiny accolades is also an equal emphasis on professional development beyond the traditional pillars of legal practice.

"In terms of business development, areas such as marketing have been streamlined, and we produce a consistent weekly newsletter for segmented client pools. We also focused on a LinkedIn takeover as we believe in strengthening our lawyer's digital presence to give them a competitive edge," Alya shares.

"Our learning and development programmes have also been packed with external trainers and consultants holding workshops in areas beyond legal, as we believe commercial awareness and soft skills are just as important for an independent lawyer. Plus, we often organise events and collaborate with other professionals around KL to promote a sense of community within the legal fraternity."

"Our driver is the belief that young lawyers are capable of achieving much more than they think they can, and we must point them in the right direction," says Mathew Thomas Philip, the firm's founder and Managing Partner. (Image by Thomas Philip)

'Young lawyers are capable of achieving much more'

As a dispute resolution-only firm in Malaysia, Thomas Philip mainly focuses on litigation — covering areas of law such as civil litigation, commercial litigation, corporation advisory, mergers and acquisitions, and more.

Given that litigation can be applied in many industries through a wide range of approaches, success for Thomas Philip comes through practice and knowledge-sharing at the firm.

"We strongly believe in experiential training and development, usually through early exposure. Whether it be research skills or advocacy skills, the young lawyer must apply their learned methods before the lessons can be reflected upon. Through experimentation and discourse with other lawyers, one can develop their art of practice," Alya enthuses.

The firm's founder and Managing Partner echoes a similar sentiment. "Our driver is the belief that young lawyers are capable of achieving much more than they think they can, and we must point them in the right direction," says Mathew Thomas Philip.

Asked about the factors that make for an effective law firm, Alya shares that every firm is different — and recognising the factors that make a firm stand out is key to gaining a competitive edge.

This include harnessing a memorable style of communication, developing expertise in complex fields and industries, having a client-centric business development program, embracing technology as a tool of trade, and appreciating evolving methods that keep up with the needs of the market. "Hiring a reliable pool of lawyers and supporting staff with a variety of technical skills also helps," the Chief Business Development Officer adds.

Technology is present is almost every business process at Thomas Philip, which has grown to be the innovative dispute resolution-only firm in Malaysia. (Image by Thomas Philip)

How does this innovative dispute resolution-only firm in Malaysia embraces technology

Despite popular belief, AI hasn't been the job killer that some predicted, at least not so far. Census data released in March showed that 2.6% of employers reported cutting jobs between July and February in response to the introduction of generative AI — and 2.8% reported adding jobs because of it. 

While other regions are playing catch-up with regard to the technological advancement of legal tech, firms like Thomas Philip are no strangers to embracing technology to improve their client service delivery. In fact, technology is present in almost every business process at the firm.

"Our vendors cover library management, cloud storage and backup, file and matter management, legal research tools, accounting and payroll software, customer relationship management software, social media management and others. The technology ensures business continuity and is also the tool for bringing work in," says Alya.

For example, the firm has tools help streamline business processes such as billing and collections, provide a chronology of filing, and contain a cloud backup of documents with highly controlled access to different files—providing an extra layer of protection for client information or confidential matters within the firm.

Alya found that she needs a trial period with a few users to gain feedback and assess whether a new technology truly meets the firm's pain points. Regular cybersecurity checkups and technology policy updates are also required as precautions and reminders against email phishing and others.

"We also include software training into our employee onboarding programmes, whether it is for secretaries or new lawyers," she explains. "Setting milestones that involve the application of certain technologies also helps as a measure to retain the use of software. Thus, reducing our cost-per-use and helping our business become more efficient."

Sean Tan Yang Wei, a Principal Associate in the firm's Corporate and Commercial Litigation Department describes the LexisNexis platform containing more resources in terms of law reports and available jurisdictions. (Image by Thomas Philip)

LexisNexis: A treasure trove of information

LexisNexis has been a trusted platform for lawyers, pupils, and paralegals at Thomas Philip to conduct legal research and find the appropriate authorities and citations for the case they are working on.

"Its user-friendly features are why it remains a crowd favourite," Alya shares. "Furthermore, our lawyers have also used LexisNexis as a platform to ideate on content creation to market themselves out there and present themselves as subject matter experts to prospective clients. LexisNexis is a treasure trove of information."

Sean Tan Yang Wei, a Principal Associate in the firm's Corporate and Commercial Litigation Department, agrees. "LexisNexis's platform offers more resources in terms of law reports and available jurisdictions. I would also say that their search engine is easy to use. With the right connectors, we can get more accurate results and narrow down our search," he shares.

Refreshingly intuitive and flexible, Lexis Advance has been designed with efficiency in mind. Meanwhile, Lexis Analytics Malaysia is a first of its kind analytics tool designed to revolutionise the practice of litigation with advanced knowledge extraction capabilities, giving users unsurpassable data-driven insights.

Seasoned legal professionals have reported that colourful highlights on key points are helpful and time effective. Junior lawyers at the firm also generally use the software as a first point of reference to statutes and provisions.

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For more information about Lexis Advance and Lexis Analytics Malaysia, click the links below to learn more and request for a free demo.

Lexis Advance: https://www.lexisnexis.com.my/solutions/lexis-advance 

Lexis Analytics Malaysia: https://www.lexisnexis.com.my/solutions/lexis-analytics