Sat 3 Feb 2007
Q. How many years have (both of) you been in practice?
Bazul (BA): Thian Seng has been in practice for the past 13 years and I have been in practice for 8 years.
Q. When (both of you) you first set out as lawyers, what did you do and what kind of working environment were you in?
Thian Seng (TS): I did my pupilage in a large law firm before moving to a mid-size firm and thereafter to a small firm before ending up in the same firm as Bazul. In a large firm, there is usually a well-established hierarchy with pupils, legal associates, senior legal associates, junior partners and equity partners. The norm was for pupils to work for the legal associates and senior legal associates. There was generally less direct contact with the partners.
I can safely say that being a pupil/legal associate in a large firm probably gives you less contact time with the partner running the file than a pupil/legal associate in a mid-size or small firm. It may also be difficult to actively participate in the day-to-day running of the files.
Q. What made you want to set up your own firm? What sort of inspirations, considerations and vision did you have?
BA: I felt that there was a need for a younger and more dynamic law firm — a firm that could reach to the commercial industry’s needs quickly and constructively. I believed that we could offer flexibility and a personal touch to our clients. The vision for the firm is for it to grow in size to be a midsize or large firm. As you can see, from just the 2 of us and within 4 years, we now have 5 partners, 2 pupils for the 2006 intake who have been retained, 2 paralegals, 10 staff members and 2 pupils for the 2007 intake who will be joining us in June this year. These are exciting times for the firm and those who join us!
Q. What brought the 2 of you together as partners?
TS: Well, before we started the firm, we worked together in our previous firm for some years. We were able to communicate with each other on the same wavelength and we have a huge amount of respect for each other. We shared the same vision of starting our own firm, moulding its culture and making it successful.
Q. Do you think there is a certain entrepreneurial streak in you which led you to strike it out on your own?
BA: Definitely. Starting a new firm entails quite a bit of risk-taking. It involves asking questions like can I get clients? Can I make ends meet? Can I pay the salaries? Can I manage the firm? What if I fail? Only someone who has an entrepreneurial streak would be prepared to take such risks. As an employee, you would not have to face these questions as they are always taken for granted. However, we make it a point to teach anyone who works with us how to think like an entrepreneur. This is important as I believe that learning how to run a firm makes you more responsible, a better lawyer and a more well-balanced person. Those who work with us gradually start feeling a sense of belonging to the firm as well as a sense of ownership.
Q. What difficulties did you encounter in the initial period?
TS: We must say that we have been very lucky. We did not encounter much difficulty at all. By the time we started our practice we had already earned the respect in the industry and it was not difficult to get work. Once we started doing work, it brought us more work. We also did not encounter much difficulty in recruiting as we pay as much as the large firm with the same benefits. Our philosophy of wanting to train interns and pupils has made it attractive for those just starting out to want to join us as they see our firm as a place where they can receive proper training and really learn how to become a good lawyer. It is encouraging to see that our efforts are appreciated by the interns who have joined us. Many have informed us that they would like to continue with the firm as pupils.
Q. What qualities do you think a practitioner should possess before he /she considers setting up his own practice?
BA: One fundamental quality is the ability to put clients’ interest above yours. If you start a firm purely to make more money, you are likely to fail. Money will come if you are first able to properly discharge the duties that you owe to the Court and to your clients without any hesitation.
Q. TS Oon and Bazul is a (small) firm very specialized in areas of practice, namely Maritime Law/Banking and Aviation. We understand that this is a rather unusual case. Would you like to elaborate on your methodology in running the firm?
TS: We did not find this unusual. Our philosophy was to practise in the areas we are experts in. This allowed us to demonstrate to clients that we could competently handle matters relating to banking, trade finance, marine insurance, international trade, freight forwarding and aviation. This is why we have many institutional clients such as P&I Club, hull and cargo underwriters, major shipowners, banks and commodity trading houses. I should add that this is also why the cases we handle now are generally significant high value cases. For example, we successfully acted for an aircraft owner in a suit against a national carrier for a claim in the amount of US$32 million. We are also advising clients in a S$100 million joint venture agreement. We have also been instructed to act for underwriters in a RM$170 million claim involving damage to sub-sea pipelines. How were we able to achieve all this? Sheer hard work plus the fact that we earned our clients’ trust by consistently delivering the goods.
Q. What is your personal ethos as a lawyer? How would you size up your own legal career so far?
TS: Work hard. Be humble as you can; always learning whether it is from judges, opponents, clients or subordinates. No office politics. I firmly believe that the time spent in the office should best be spent doing the work and achieving clients’ objectives. As for sizing up my legal career, I think that I have achieved much in my career thus far but I think that I can achieve even more. As I said earlier, my vision is for the firm to succeed and grow bigger and better.
BA: Be honest and always sincerely care for those who work with you. Enjoy your work, then it doesn’t become a chore. That is why we try our best to motivate those who work with us to excel in what they do and to enjoy the work. When a person is happy, it makes him a better worker and colleague. How about my legal career? Well, I am very proud to say that all our efforts have been bearing fruit. We have been named as a leading shipping firm in the Asia Pacific Legal 500 for 2 years’ running. This surely is a reflection of what we have achieved in the past 4 years and the state of our legal careers thus far.
Q. What words of advice would you give to law students who are eagerly looking forward to a legal career?
TS: Study hard and always be willing to learn. A career as a lawyer is an exciting one that is as rewarding as the amount of effort that is put in.
BA: Do an internship with a law firm during your school holidays and find out what it is really like to be a lawyer. This will not only help you to decide what subjects to take in school, it would also help make what you are studying now come alive. We have had a number of interns join us during their vacations who have said that they had enjoyed their time with us. One of them is Tang Chong Jun from Durham University who wrote about his time with us in “Lex Loci”, which is a publication for law students in the UK.
Bazul and Thian Seng are partners in the boutique law firm, TS Oon & Bazul. – Juris Illuminae Vol. 3 Issue 4 (February 2007)