Since the Advocates & Solicitors Ordinance 1947 the Selangor Bar has catered for all Legal Practitioners in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor making it the largest State Bar in the country.When the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur was established in 1974 the Selangor Bar continued to cater for members practicing in the Federal Territory.

It was not until 1992 that the Legal Profession Act was amended thus enabling the Kuala Lumpur Bar to cater solely for and look after all the practitioners in the Federal Territory. With the split, various issues had to be addressed ranging from the distribution of the physical assets down to electing new members of the Committee.

Kuala Lumpur having more members in its fold walked away with the lion’s share of the assets leaving the Selangor Bar with just 338 members and a small part of the assets. The Committee was fortunate enough to be given space on the second floor of the Perangsang Building at Shah Alam which also housed the Selangor High Court.

Undeterred by a small budget and little physical assets the Bar Committee set about managing its affairs as best as it could. With the passage of time the numbers grew and this in turn helped the Committee in embarking on more ambitious projects. The Selangor Bar now has its own library that is equipped with basic text books and law reports that are widely used particularly by the younger members.

Membership of the Selangor Bar has also swelled in 1999 to almost 1600 and is increasing annually (2499 members in early 2008). Selangor Bar is also seen as one of the most active Bar in the country in terms of programmes and activities for its members being arranged on a regular basis. Short courses, seminars on various topics ranging from developments in Islamic laws to civil appeals and talks by Shah Alam judges have attracted healthy attention.

Sports which features quite often whether they be the tripartite games with the Negeri Sembilan-Malacca Bar or the Bench-Bar-ITM meet are keenly contested earning Selangor Bar the envy as a closely knit family.

The Government's recent announcement that the new court house in Shah Alam will be completed in March 2000 has been received with great jubilance by everyone as this would mean more elbow room in the court-rooms and the Bar Secretariat. The Selangor Bar Journal (now named Ad-Rem) which was launched in 1998 also enjoys a wide readership being circulated all over Malaysia and some Commonwealth countries.

Chairmen from inception of the Selangor Bar: The late Mr. Jeffery Fernandez 1992-1994, Mr. S.S. Muker 1994-1996, Mr. S.S. Ravichandran 1996-2001, Mr. Steven T C Tai 2001-2003,Mr. George Varughese 2004-2006, Mr. Lingam 2007 & Mr. Rajpal Singh 2008-Present.

Enquire on your next visit or call (603) 5519 6219 / 5513 0211 for further information.