We incorporated our firm when we got the letter from the Bar Council in early September and the date of 20.9.00 is still fresh in my mind as the date we opened for business. The name of that firm was KAS&Co.
I introduced my parents to my new partner which made my mom raised her eyebrow as she dressed more like a model than a lawyer. I explained that I have been her friend for so long that I didn't think we would be more than that. I think my mom was relieved when I married someone else in 2003 as she really believed business and marriage shouldn't mix.
Anyway, we started small by using the address of our would-be office in Sunway but started our operation in Kuala Lumpur Satellite Centre in Wangsa Maju, sharing the office of M&S. We didn't even have a desk with computer and such but kind of hang around their small reception area which had a sofa and a small desk. We even borrowed their computer for the small amount of work that we have. I was still commuting from Seremban and it was tiring sometimes which made me slept over at either M's or S's houses which were just 10 minutes drive from their office.
As M&S was also new then, we kind of supported each other and even helped with work. Most of the time, we just hung around either in the office, playing computer games and even playing pool or snooker at a snooker centre at the back of the office building. I was actually being supported by my parents in two ways which were with an allowance of RM1,000-00 per month and a supplementary credit card worth a thousand. Spoilt brat, huh? My partner was surviving from a bit of her savings but she was living in her parent's house which was paid for. Only her car is her liability. She drove a Proton Satria then and I was driving a sponsored Proton Iswara.
When the client who promised us an office space managed to complete his office, we moved to Sunway. The office was an open concept office where everyone was within each other sight and ear. There was a wall to separate us from a pantry and a room, which was built-in, where my client use as his main office. We shared their fax, phone and mailbox. I even used the office as my place to sleep on days I was too lazy to go back to Seremban.
Please be in mind, both, the sharing of one legal firm with another and the sharing of a legal firm office with their client, is not allowed by the Legal Profession Act, 1976. My client allowed me to use his room as if it was my firm's office to show the separation of our offices. As for when we were in M&S office, we were already using the address of the office in Sunway.
Time was hard then for us that the only thing that we worried about was how much money we need to pay off our liability but the office was not one of it. I am now kind of in a bad terms with my then client but I am always thankful he was there then when we needed him. He paid for everything first but the office rental and the other overhead like electricity and water supply were totally borne by him. We only paid for phone calls and the courier service. Most of the despatching were done by either me or my partner. I even asked a
We actually suffered losses in our first 5 months until I met with a friend of mine who was from the same university, like my partner, and we decided to partner together, merging our firm, to create a new legal firm. He was having problems to get into banks as panels and he had baggages which he took over when he took over a big legal firm.
That was in March 2001, when a new chapter was entered...
2 comments:
I experienced a similar problem. When I bought my iPhone, I first checked with “Got Reception?” (Gotreception.com) It’s a great resource for finding out where reception problems are most likely to occur BEFORE you lock yourself with a specific carrier.
I experienced a similar problem. When I bought my iPhone, I first checked with “Got Reception?” (Gotreception.com) It’s a great resource for finding out where reception problems are most likely to occur BEFORE you lock yourself with a specific carrier.
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