Most richest type of lawyers in Malaysia

Written by: Averroes

(1.0) Introduction 

There are law students out there who are thinking of what type of firms or legal field that they wish to pursue in. Though, some may think ingeniously and crave for the dollar bills. Who in the world does not want to jump on a stockpile of money?

Regardless of the majoritarian view that money does not bring happiness. Hate to break it, but money is still quintessential, because how are we supposed to feed ourselves without money? The world's barter and business involves money and within this modern monetary system, money is the source of wealth. 

The question is, how do I profess my future lawyerly career, but at the same time, generate sickly insane amount of cash? 

(2.0) Factors that influence salary

Before we discover what type of lawyers and their field of expertise that make the most money, it is unequivocally and undeniably that the;

    i) Geographic region, typically Kuala Lumpur and Selangor areas have the highest salaries

    This would not reflect well in the rural areas or small towns

    ii) The size of the firm, the larger the firms the more money. 

    Large firms has the ability to hire lawyers across the country and has the most flexibility

    iii) The skill & experience, especially lawyers who had just entered into the legal profession

    As the newly admitted lawyer gains upward mobility in their career, so does their income,

    iv) Education of the lawyers, firms are typically choosey on the university that the student went to,

    The firms would want students from prestigious universities and their overall academic achievements

Are the most important factors for higher salaries,

Without these aspects, even the most expected type of lawyer or field of law that makes the most money would not get close to that. If you are wondering, even OnlyFans creators make more money than lawyers nowadays. An article may be read here

(3.0) Top-Paid Lawyers

This is the moment that we have all been waiting for. Here are the list of lawyers that make the most money in their particular industry.

Number 1: Corporate Lawyers. It may seem obvious but yes, a corporate lawyer is involved in business transactions, acquisitions & mergers and sales. They prepare contracts, assist in finding opportunities, advise clients on buying and selling corporate assets. They would also proofread and check for any predatory contracts that their clients may enter into. 

According to RinggitPlus, corporate lawyers make exponential amount of money, and not family law, public defence, appeal or estate planning. Corporations have larger expenditures to make, including our legal fees. 

Generally, corporate lawyers make around RM93,000 a year, but generally an average lawyer makes around RM40,000. If we make less amount of money as expected of a corporate lawyer, then it depends on the type of corporation we are working with. 

Number 2: Tax Lawyers. Again. it is quite obvious. We can see the trend that, if that industry plays a lot with money, such as the banks and buying property or anything financially related, money will splurge. These lawyers represent their clients from organisations dealing with the government. 

Number 3: Intellectual Property (IP) Lawyers. IP involves many categories from patents, to trademarks and copyrights. These lawyers protect their clients, especially investors' rights and prevent others from infringing their rights when they create products or inventions while the patent is still enforced. 

Number 4: Medical Lawyers. They represent hospitals or sue them as people are always falling ill and cases of negligence. The medical industry has many consumers and insurance would definitely be involved. Medical technologies are expensive, the cure and medicine would not be exempted. 

(4.0) Other High-Paying Jobs

We have a list of other paying jobs in Malaysia. What do we have in common?

They are all interrelated in the same field and expertise. For corporate lawyers, the most closest non-legal careers would be CEO positions or Chief Financial Officer, Head of Shared Services Centre, Procurement Director, Head of Corporate Banking, Head of Sales, Finance Director and Senior Insurance Manager.

Is the trend clearer now?

As we have guessed it, it is the financial sector. It is no surprise that a corporate or tax lawyer makes the most money as they enjoy the spillovers of economics, business, entrepreneurship, investments, taxations, banking, fintech, FOREX, auditing and accounting. 

According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) between 2015 to 2020, in this industry, each employee a month receives an average of RM4,221 who provides financial, insurance, takaful and pension-fund services to the public. 

The salaries grew steadily from 2015-2020 at 3.8% a year. It was the 10th-largest employer by industry with 327,000 workers in 2020. 

For medical lawyers, they are similar to that of a medical director who is an experienced doctor or surgeon who serves as the medical leadership for all things related to medical care and facilities. According to DOSM again, staffs in the health and social-worker industry were paid RM4,075 each month in hospitals, medicine, nursing, mental institutions and rehabilitation centres. 

Social work involves services from counselling, welfare, guiding the elderly, disabled, refugees and other indigent or marginalised groups. The salary was the fastest out of all industries, averaging at 6% from 2015 to 2020. It was ranked the 9th largest industry, with 432,000 workers in 2020. 

(5.0) Conclusion

In conclusion, this article may be biased toward the finance and medical sector, as the entertainment, manufacturing, IT-Computer and oil & exploration industry. Again, others may not emphasise too much on money, but would be any lawyer in any field due to their passion and interests. Money comes second.

Everyone has their own view when it comes to money and life. If someone loves money and want to spend, it is their life. If we want to be frugal and enjoy our career without stressing on money, then that is fine too. Everyone has a choice and decision to make in their life, do what makes us happy. 

(6.0) References;

https://www.hasnerlaw.com/what-are-the-highest-paid-types-of-lawyers/

https://moneyinc.com/the-five-types-of-lawyers-that-make-the-most-money/

https://ringgitplus.com/en/blog/career/the-most-overpaid-jobs-in-malaysia.html

https://www.jobstore.com/careers-blog/2022/03/15/how-much-do-lawyers-earn-in-malaysia/

https://www.michaelpage.com.my/advice/market-insights/market-updates/top-10-highest-paying-jobs-malaysia-2022

https://lawrina.com/blog/what-type-of-lawyers-make-the-most-money/

https://www.educationmalaysia.in/jobs-and-career

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