“There are only two kinds of lawyers: those who know the law and those who know the judge.”

- Anwar Ibrahim, speaking at the Law Asia conference in Brisbane, Australia, on March 22, 2005.

COMMENT | Perceived or otherwise, it was a suggestion that some lawyers rely on their understanding of legal principles while others may leverage personal relationships with judges.

Although Anwar Ibrahim was a nobody in 2005, his words implied that knowing the judge could be a more effective strategy than understanding the law in certain situations.

However, having witnessed all the drama, the conspiracies, the twists and turns in his trial, perhaps he was qualified to make that statement.

As he said in the same conference, he noted...