Morning Briefing: Malaysian law firms call for innovation

Lawyers in Malaysia are calling for the country’s Bar Council to embrace innovation which could be of benefit to smaller law firms. The country is home to more than 17,000 lawyers but it’s estimated that 90 per cent of law firms have five lawyers or fewer. The Malay Mail reports that corporate lawyer Marcus van Geyzel is critical of the Bar Council’s refusal to allow changes that would modernise lawyers’ working practice including a ban on virtual offices last year. Lawyers are also still precluded from forming limited liability partnerships by 1976 legislation despite the legal entities being created in 2012. Malaysian Bar vice-president George Varughese said that he believes the issue of LLP’s will be discussed in the next parliament.
 
Female judge calls for greater diversity at the top
The only female Supreme Court judge in the UK has spoken out against the prevalence of male, white and predominantly privately-educated judiciary on the bench of the country’s highest court. Speaking at Birmingham University on Friday, Lady Hale said that in the past decade all of those selected have been from that demographic and said that the Court should be “ashamed” if diversity is not radically improved in the next round of appointments. The Guardian reports that her remarks may be considered a rebuke to Lord Sumption who said recently that speeding up diversity in the senior judiciary could lead to “appalling consequences".
 
Steve Irwin’s daughter in legal wrangle over TV dance show
The daughter of the late Steve Irwin has been told that she must prove that her father legally gave up rights to her money before she can appear on the US version of Dancing with the Stars. Irwin, one of Australia’s most famous celebrities, died in 2006 after a stingray attack but the federal judge will need to see a death certificate before lawyers can convince him that 17-year-old Bindi is free from a claim on her earnings. Her mother has already given her assurance.