Description
CPD Direct Access is a mentorship programme that aims to help young lawyers achieve their potential through guidance and constructive feedback from senior lawyers who will support their professional development and personal growth.
Each session will feature different mentors who will offer opportunities for young lawyers to expand their knowledge and network across diverse practice areas. Mentorship is a reciprocal process in which both mentors and mentees learn from each other. Mentees can learn from their mentors’ which both mentors and mentees experiences and knowledge, while mentors can learn to see things from their mentees’ perspectives.
Come and join us in this live webinar session of CPD Direct Access!
Speaker
PANELLISTS
(1)
Steven Thiru is the Managing Partner of Steven Thiru in Kuala Lumpur,with over 30 years of experience in legal practice. His areas of practice include general litigation, constitutional and administrative law, employment law, corporate law, contract and tort law, energy law, and native title law . He holds an LLB (Hons) degree from the University of Leicester, England and an LLM degree from the University of Malaya. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales (Middle Temple) in 1991 and admitted as an advocate and solicitor of the High Court of Malaya in 1992.
Steven is widely recognised in legal directories including Chambers AsiaPacific, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, asialaw and Benchmark Litigation, where he has been noted for his professionalism in dispute resolution and employment law. He is known for his balanced, practical and commercially focused legal advice.
Furthermore, he served as the 31 President of the Malaysian Bar (2015–2017) and is currently President of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association and Vice-President of LAWASIA.
(2)
Larissa Ann Louis graduated from the University of Reading, UK and was called to the Bar of England and Wales (Middle Temple) in 2014. She was subsequently admitted as an advocate and solicitor of the High Court of Malaya in 2016.
She is currently a partner at Azri, Lee Swee Seng & Co, where she heads the firm’s Pro Bono Unit, focusing on human rights and access to justice. In addition, she is a Bar Council member and CoChairperson of the Bar Council Human Rights Committee.
Beyond this, she founded HaKita (our rights), where she works on initiatives to empower communities with human rights knowledge. Larissa also regularly speaks at national and international forums, sharing platforms with ministers, commissioners and legal leaders. She actively contributes to law reform and policy development, with a strong focus on legacy, purpose and people.
In 2024, she was a recipient of Cardiff University’s 30(ish) Awards in the Social Impact category, an honour that recognises individuals making a difference within the global alumni community. She was also recognised as one of Malaysia’s Top 50 Female LinkedIn Creators in 2025 for her authentic content.
(3)
Idza Hajar Ahmad Idzam is a partner in the Dispute Resolution, Corporate Liability and Risk Management practice group at Zul Rafique & Partners. She is also an accredited mediator with the Malaysian International Mediation Centre (MIMC).
Idza’s main areas of practice are corporate and commercial litigation and arbitration. She has been involved in shareholder, boardroom and corporate disputes including insolvency, restructuring and fraud matters, as well as several landmark decisions on novel principles of law in Malaysia. Idza has been a “Recommended Lawyer” for Dispute Resolution (2019, 2023 and 2026) in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific. She was also named a “Future
Star” (2019–2024) and “Litigation Star” (2025) by Benchmark Litigation AsiaPacific; “Outstanding Lawyer” for asialaw Client Service Excellence 2020; one of the Asian Legal Business Malaysia Rising Stars 2022; and “Distinguished Practitioner” for Dispute Resolution in asialaw’s 2025 Leading Lawyers.
MODERATOR
Desmond Ho Chee Cheong was admitted as an advocate and solicitor of the High Court of Malaya in 2001 and is a partner at Richard Wee Chambers. He has been actively involved in the Malaysian Bar. He has been actively involved in the Malaysian Bar, including having served as a Bar Council member for six years and held key roles such as Chairperson of the Bar Council Court Liaison Committee and Co-Chairperson of the Bar Council Corporate and Commercial Law Committee.
He has also served on various State Bar Committees, including as Chairman of the Malacca Bar Committee (2015–2016) and Honorary Secretary of the Selangor Bar Committee (2021–2022).Desmond currently serves as Chairperson of the Bar Council International Professional Admissions Committee, Co-Chairperson of the Bar Council International Policy and Practice Committee (2025/26) and has held roles in committees relating to international professional services and trade in legal services.
Terms and Conditions
Event Policy
Places are limited and registration is on a first come, first served basis. The registration for this session will
close on 10 June 2026 (Wednesday), at 12:00 pm.
For events with registration fees, all payments must be made in advance, including bank charges. Registration will be confirmed once proof of payment is provided by email or fax, and full payment is received.
The organiser reserves the right to modify, cancel or postpone the event, should circumstances arise that
make such action necessary, whereupon all registration fees paid will be refunded.
Cancellation
Cancellations must be made in writing.
Please note that there will be no refunds for cancellations, but substitutions are allowed. Kindly inform us
in writing with the relevant details at least three days in advance.
If you have failed to inform the organiser on your cancellation for three consecutive times, you may be
blacklisted for future events.
Transferral
You are allowed to transfer your place to another participant, but you must notify the organiser with the
necessary details at least three days in advance.
Attendance
CPD points for the CPD Scheme will not be awarded to lawyers and pupils in chambers from Peninsular
Malaysia who arrive more than 15 minutes late, are not present throughout the event, or leave before its
scheduled end.
Privacy
The personal information that you provide to the Malaysian Bar, whether now or in the future, may be used, recorded, stored, disclosed or otherwise processed by or on behalf of the Malaysian Bar for the purposes of facilitation and organisation of this event, research and audit, maintenance of a participant database for the promotion of this event, and such ancillary services as may be relevant.
Disclaimer
Materials (if any) will be emailed only.
- No printed notes will be provided.
- No recording of the event is permitted via any means at any time.
- No part of the event content may be used / reproduced in any form without the written and explicit
consent of the Malaysian Bar and speaker(s)
