GMAP Internship Report / GMAP インターンシップ報告書
No. 2022-05
I. Basic information / 基本情報
1) Name / 名前：Megumi Kinoshita
2) Enrolled year / 入学年：2021
3) Period of internship / インターン期間：19th August 2022 – 15th September 2022
4) Place of internship / インターン場所：JEFF LEONG, POON & WONG (JLPW), Litigation Dept5) Person who accepted your internship / インターン受入担当者：Mr. Jeff Leong
6) Content of work in your internship / インターン中の作業内容：
・Attending client meetings and court hearings
・Reading case files
・Drafting legal documents such as a letter of demand・Legal research・Lectures by lawyers about some legal issues such as civil procedure in Malaysia
・Helping documents check
II. Details and impressions / 詳細と感想
1. Working Experience at JLPW
Since one of my purposes for this internship was to understand the situation of dispute resolution inMalaysia, I was assigned to the dispute resolution department. Three lawyers and one paralegal wereassigned to supervise me, but the whole dispute resolution team helped my internship. They all kindly
took care of me and arranged observation of court hearings and client meetings. I was given some tasksdepending on the court cases they had, while other interns in the corporate team were given tasks to workon throughout the internship. Thus, although I had to find my jobs myself from time to time, I could workon cases that were actually happening at that time and get involved in a wide range of jobs, such as drafting
legal documents, legal research, and observing hearings and client meetings.
Drafting a letter of demand was practical, but I could get some points that will be useful for my future
legal career. First, I read a case file and checked all emails, letters, and bills. Then, I made a chronology ofthe case to sort out. After that, I wrote a letter of demand and discussed how to improve it with mysupervisors. Thanks to this task, I could learn practical legal English and how to write easily
understandable legal documents using abbreviations.
I was asked to research some legal proceedings and precedents. It was the most difficult task for me,
but I could ask questions anytime and see real documents to deepen my understanding. For example, after1

I researched the garnishee proceedings by reading the rules of court and some articles, I explained it to mysupervisors, and they checked my understanding and added some explanations. Then, after I researched
it again, I asked a lawyer to show me documents of the garnishee proceedings filed and served in a realcase. Thanks to these documents, I could see firsthand how the procedures I researched were actually
carried out, what kind of paperwork was involved, what kind of timeline was involved, and what roles thecourt and representatives would play in the process. More fortunately, I could observe an examination of
a judgment debtor in the court, which is one of the steps related to the garnishee proceedings. One of thebiggest advantages of the internship is that we can learn how a case proceeded through reading real
documents and attending hearings.
In addition, I had an opportunity to observe an online hearing. Due to the pandemic of COVID-19,
online hearing is often used in Malaysia, contributing a lot to time and cost savings. I could learn how
online hearings proceed and how they affect lawyers working styles compared to physical hearings. Inaddition to online hearings, I learned about digitalization’s development in Malaysia’s litigation. For
example, they have an e-Filing system, and parties can file and download all documents from that system.
More surprisingly, in minor cases, the representatives can chat with judges online to reduce the effort ofgoing all the way to court for a short hearing. I was very interested in this e-Filing system, and mysupervisors kindly taught me how to use it and to chat with judges.
I was quite lucky because I could learn how a caseproceeded by attending client meetings and court hearings.
Moreover, I accompanied lawyers to three court hearings andcould feel the adversarial court proceedings. Thanks to mysupervisors, I could also observe criminal, intellectual property,construction, and federal court hearings.
(The Federal Court of Malaysia)
2. Interaction with Locals
During the internship, I had many opportunities to interact with the locals and deepen myunderstanding of Malaysian culture. For example, I participated in sports events weekly, in which we
played badminton, bowling, and tennis with JLPW lawyers. In this event, I could communicate withlawyers in other departments where I did not have enough opportunity to know each other in daily work,
so it was important for me to broaden my network.
In addition, they brought us some interesting places after work and even on weekends. For example,
I experienced a tour to Ipoh, a night market, a night tour to Putrajaya, Batu Cave, a Malay wedding
ceremony of JLPW staff, drinking in Chinatown, and so on. Sometimes I felt anxiety in local restaurants
and shops because the staff spoke Malay and the menu was written in Malay and Chinese, the ordering2system was unique, and there were a lot of unknown foods. However, thanks to the lawyers’ help, I fully
enjoyed them. I had plenty of time to communicate with them and had a very good time exchanging ourcultures.
I was also supported by Kobe University alumni living in Kuala Lumpur. We had dinner together
and exchanged our opinions about Malaysian culture fromthe perspective of the Japanese. They have lived in KualaLumpur for a long time, so I could get some advice,including information about delicious restaurants. This
opportunity to talk directly with alumni who aresucceeding overseas helped me to set goals for my future
work and broaden my horizons.
3. For My Future
I would say this internship will be my treasure in life and help me in the future in four aspects.
First, I could understand more about the common law system. As I mentioned, it was a niceopportunity to understand the common law system in Malaysia. I have studied common law, which wasmainly about English law, so I could compare English law and Malaysian law, and I noticed a strong
connection between English law and commonwealth laws. In the future, I will be involved in common
law systems in business because English law and New York law dominate international commercial
contracts, so a better understanding of common law will help me in my work.
Second, it was a great opportunity to make friends in Malaysia, as there are many excellent lawyers
in JLPW who are almost the same age as me. Even after the internship, I continue communicating withthem via SNS and enjoying the cultural exchange. Since they are lawyers, we can exchange legal opinions.
Third, through practical experience in JLPW, I found an area of particular interest in disputeresolution. I am thinking of deepening the curious points I found in the internship in my master’s thesis.
Furthermore, I felt the gap between studying theory and practical work, so I noticed that considering
practice in writing my master’s thesis is important. I believe that this internship will make my studies more
fulfilling.
Finally, I became confident communicating with foreigners in English and living in foreign countries.
It was the first time I had lived in a so-called developing country for more than one month, so before
starting the internship, I was worried about life in Malaysia and my health. Although I was sometimes
confused by the difference in hygiene levels from Japan, I spent about a month in Malaysia without any
major problems. Also, when I had problems with my housing, I could communicate with the local people
and solve them smoothly. Thus, this experience and confidence will support me if I have the opportunity
to work overseas in the future.
34. Conclusion
In conclusion, I am extremely happy to have had this internship opportunity at JLPW. However, I
could not complete it without the support of lawyers and staff of JLPW, Kobe University, and my family.
I sincerely thank everyone who supported my internship. I will definitely use this experience in my futurestudies and work.

(With my supervisors in the Dispute Resolution department)（Date / 記載日: 28th September 2022）

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