A voyage marked as a milestone often begins in solitary advance, and for him, it began in the year 2018. This journey was rarely unhindered, but he remained to his objectives and in the process, constructed a new bodacious stream of life, an endeavour that has furnished floods of pursuit and revitalised the art of advocacy amongst students.
Stemming from his personal passion with the mooting fixture, the esteemed Taylor’s Mooting Society was accouched. Founded on precisely the 28th of January 2019, a day perpetually recollected, the mooting society provides simulations of court hearings in which participants dissect an issue, investigate the rules of law, compose written submissions, and present oral arguments. For external spectators, the mooting society is a mere portrayal of the dull hues of a courtroom, the sombre regards to the Lords and Ladies, mooters’ supplication of appearances and the to and fro between opposing parties.
However, the Taylor’s Mooting Society is so much more than its monochromatic setting: it is bursting at the seams with spirited psychedelic colours, signifying its committee’s fervent determination and strength. His passion alongside his comrade, Lucas Issac, in formulating an alternate route of learning processes and chiselling novices with a specialised application of the art of persuasive advocacy, allured many, with the Taylor’s Mooting Society standing tall at a membership of 225 aspiring legal practitioners.
Working towards the empowerment of others through the sharing of his experiences, he is one who is endeared and regularly sought for his honourable exhortation. Attributed for being ebullient and humbling, walking behind in a role of support and steady nature, this is his tale.
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My journey in Taylor’s Law School started on the 23rd of August 2017. Being in my final semester, and looking back, time has flown by. Truly it has been a bittersweet journey and writing this article has caused me to reflect on my time as a law student and the amazing three years I have experienced. Given that this article is premised on my time as President of the Taylor’s Law Society, perhaps that would be the most appropriate starting point. First and foremost, I need to express my utmost gratitude for my vice president and partner in crime, Lucas Isaac. Throughout our time as the figureheads of the Taylor’s Law Society, we have had our ups and downs but at its core, it all came down to two things; perseverance and determination.
We took up these positions knowing it would be all or nothing. We genuinely wanted to make a difference in the Taylors’ Law School. We took note of all the obstacles we had to overcome as first-year law students and used that as a starting point in planning out our goals for Taylor’s Law Society. We had three main objectives; break down the barriers within the law school (be it between lecturer and student or student and student), integrate students of the Taylor’s Law School into the Malaysian Legal fraternity and start the Taylor’s Mooting Society. Additionally, the Annual Taylor’s LawBall was the landmark event of the year for the Law Society. It would take too much time to deep dive into all the above but to say the least, it was a mission accomplished. The icing on the cake was the organization of the biggest ever LawBall from hundreds of coconuts to Hawaiian Lei and a turnout of 170 lecturers and students. However, my proudest moment as President has to be the successful launch of the Taylor’s Mooting Society and the subsequent organisation of the Taylor’s Inaugural InterVarsity Mooting Competition.
Organising the Taylor’s Inaugural InterVarsity Mooting Competition was an uphill battle. We had big plans to organise a competition with participation from prominent members of the Malaysian Bar and Judiciary as well as mooters from various prestigious institutions. Unfortunately, and understandably so, it was a very busy time for the Law School and so my organising committee and I took up the challenge to do it independently. My proudest moment was then standing on the stage during the closing ceremony, presenting awards to the Champions from the Taylor’s Mooting Society alongside legends of the Malaysian Bar and Judiciary. But perhaps even more so, was watching our very own mooters in action who developed their skills via hours of training sessions held by the Taylor’s Mooting Society. It was truly a remarkable moment, to witness numerous students take the leap and participate in what was their first mooting competition, for the majority of them. I could go on for pages on this but I should probably move on.
On to the juicy bits; controversy. Throughout every tenure in a position of leadership, conflicts are bound to happen. It absolutely cannot be avoided and I learnt the hard way that you will never be able to please everyone. The important thing is to be on the same page with your committee and make decisions through a proper process that would result in decisions being made in the best interest of the students. Trust me, I learnt this the hard way. This is exactly why it was so important for my committee and I to put ourselves in the positions of the students of Taylor’s Law School and proceed to make the most appropriate decisions from there.
The second thing that I learnt was the importance of keeping personal and professional relationships separate. One of the fundamental reasons I was able to work so well with Lucas was because we were able to have transparent conversations without it affecting our personal friendship. I have had my fair share of professional conversations affecting personal relationships which looking back, could’ve been avoided. I tend to micro-manage and be overly controlling of the methods in which things are to be done (I am not proud of this). From this, I learnt to trust in the capabilities of my peers and loosen the reigns of control over the way things were to be done.
I have to say, it is impossible to prepare for a position like this till you’re on the job, especially in instances where you have big goals and milestones planned out for more than 300 students. Decisions have to be made; conflicts WILL arise. Deal with it, diplomatically and openly. At the end of the day, these things only prepare us better for the future and develop us as humans. I have been asked countless times why I constantly choose to take on new challenges and pack my schedule to the brim. Students have also wondered how I have found the time to dedicate so much to the Taylor’s Law Society and the Taylor’s Mooting Society alongside the never-ending stream of degree work. To answer this, I would like to quote Alexander Pope, or the man who has played a significant part in my law school journey, Mr. Harcharan who introduced me to this quote; ‘fools rush in where angels fear to tread’. Look up this quote and you may find that it means something completely different, but to me, this quote means that sometimes the most rewarding journeys are the ones that would have seemed daunting and reckless to the reasonable mind.
For students out there looking to deep dive into the world of managerial positions and around-the-clock work, do it. It will definitely be worthwhile and you’ll come out of it a different, and better person. Take it from me. It is a path of endless work but it will change your lives for the better and allow you the platform to stamp your mark within the legal fraternity. Pick a capable and compatible committee and take the leap. You miss all the shots you do not take and with a little bit of help, you may end up hitting the bullseye on the one shot you do take. More importantly, it is crucial that you do not graduate Law School looking back and regretting lost opportunities.
All in all, my time as President of the Taylor’s Law Society was truly a remarkable one. I would sincerely like to thank everyone who has put up with my shenanigans while working with me and it warms my heart that the Taylor’s Law Society is now in good hands. I truly hope that I was able to impact the lives of these passionate students as much as they have impacted mine. This is only the start of an immensely long journey that is life and I look forward to the next phase of it post-graduation.
Like I always say,
Godspeed Everyone.
Ami.