How your application is assessed.
You are entitled to know what is being measured, who decides, and what happens to your information. This page sets all three out.
The criteria
Every application is assessed against the same criteria, in the same order, whether it arrives on the first day of an intake or the last. We do not publish the exact pass mark. What we will tell you is which criteria carry the most weight, because that should change how you spend your time on the application, and it is not a secret worth keeping.
- Legal reasoning, highest weight. Can you identify the real issue, weigh evidence honestly, and reach a defensible position rather than the one the client wants?
- Written expression, high weight. Structure, precision, and economy, including the email you are asked to rewrite. Most of a litigation trainee's output here is written.
- Attention to detail, high weight. One question is a document with planted errors. Finding them is the job.
- Judgement and integrity. Two scenarios have no right answer. We are reading for instinct and honesty, not rules knowledge.
- Academic record, considered. Relevant, but it will not outweigh weak written answers, and a modest transcript will not sink strong ones.
Where AI is used, and where it is not.
We use an AI-assisted first read. We are telling you that plainly rather than burying it, because you should know how your application is handled.
Reads and scores every application
Each application is scored against the published criteria and given a short written reasoning note explaining the score. Every application gets this, none are skimmed or skipped.
Decide whether you are hired
The score is a sorting aid, not a verdict. It ranks and summarises. It does not issue outcomes, and it is not the last word on any application.
A person at the firm
Every assessment is reviewed by a person here, who can override it in either direction, before any outcome is sent. Borderline and unusual applications are always read in full by a human.
If you would rather not be assessed this way
Tell us. Write to careers@thomasphilip.com.my and ask for a manual review, and your application will be read by someone at the firm from the start, without the AI-assisted first pass. Asking will not count against you.
What happens, and when.
No application disappears into a void. Here is the sequence from the moment you press submit.
You submit
Your application reaches the firm's hiring team straight away and is confirmed on screen.
Assessed and reviewed
Scored against the published criteria, then reviewed by us who confirms or overrides the result.
You hear back, either way
Candidates we take forward hear from us, and may be asked, as a first step, to message our Managing Partner directly on WhatsApp. Candidates we are not taking forward receive a written decline. Nobody is left waiting on silence.
A place on the programme
Candidates taken forward are offered a place on the four-week litigation trainee programme, with a named supervising lawyer. There is no separate interview stage. The assessment and your documents are what the decision is made on.
What we hold, and for how long
Your application is held by Thomas Philip Advocates & Solicitors and used only to assess you for the role you applied for, in line with the Personal Data Protection Act 2010.
- What we hold: your contact details, IC details if provided, education, written answers, resume, transcript and cover letter
- Why: solely to assess your application and, if you are successful, to prepare your offer and onboard you
- Who sees it: the firm's hiring team and the lawyers involved in your assessment
- How long: six months from the outcome, or 12 months if you asked us to keep you on file
- Your rights: you can ask to see, correct, or delete what we hold at any time
Now you know how it works.
Spend your time on the written answers. They are what decide most applications.