Managing Your Cash Problems

When we are running our own Boutique Law Firm there are times that you have to seek  ways how to solve your cash flows. It is like other business, where you have to evaluate and start marketing yourself and shop around to your customers and show them that you are there to render the legal services which maybe required by your prospective client. Today I went to several of  my customers. After having been 11 1/2 years independent running my firm, now called Suleiman Agung & Co I realize that we have to manage your health and stamina in order for us to keep on  being independent as a Business Lawyer. Every institution or person regardless of the size of their firm, may  face some cash flow problem once a while  in their life time.

The significant element is that every person who are in this earth has a unique life experience where he or she has to struggle to keep on living. There is a motto : You are what you are. You are not changed by the outside infrastructure condition of your business, since the inner power is planted inside you by ALLAH The ALL MIGHTY and not outside you. Of course if you are lucky enough your outside infrastructure may be great. By becoming more old you tend to believe that every person has its own unique life journey, where he or she must  detect the best way to response every test or problem they are facing.

Yes, we really have to be honest and not run away from the problems that you are facing.  You have to have faith in life.You must be patient, tough and not easily surrendering yourself to  the down side  condition which you may face in your life. By writing in this Blog I am actually self talking to myself as a method to seek the answer which has to be  explored and founded by me in solving this cash problems.But talking to oneself is not enough. You must do the correct and  proper action to solve a certain unpleasant situation. 

There may be people who are lucky to succeed in their financial condition. During  the 11 1/2  years  being self employed,  there are some fruitful financial years but there are also some hard time in terms of cash in. Since you are conducting services done by  person, this really depends on the physical and stamina condition of your body. There is no free lunch in this world, nobody will help you but you yourself  has to rise back and take your grip and identify the action that has to be taken.

You must have gained lots of experiences during such time.Frankly speaking sometimes you feel really tired,  since there is no automatic continuous Clients who  always  use  your legal services. In reality there is no automatic on the air situation where Clients will always need your legal services. There is always a risk that you have to take and there are always the subsequent consequences you must face in the real life.  

You have to be really tough and patient. In terms of experiences of providing legal services I really have  a lot of experiences in rendering legal services  to various Business Clients. If you are running your own business legal firm, you have to remember that there are many competitors  who are also rendering  legal services that you are providing. So the competition is really tough, and networking might be a significant element.

One of the business strategy that I am doing as a Business Lawyer is writing legal aspects and your  real life experiences so that you can detect the phase of your life journey to cope with the problems, ups and downs of running you independent life as a Business Lawyer.

Legal Fee pricing of your legal services may also play a significant role, where frequently, Clients may request for a cheap and lesser price, which may be really hard for you to handle and manage your cash  flow.   It appears that Clients really do not care how your overhead expenses are. What they want is receiving legal services with cheap and lesser legal fee.These are my  cash flow experiences in running a boutique law firm in Indonesia now called Suleiman Agung & Co

I am not talking about theoretical cash flow here,  but really factual 11 1/2 Years experiences in running a self employ legal firm. Since I started from scratch and bottom rock, my only problem in running and continuing this self employ Legal practices is how to reduce my operational  expenses to enable balancing the cash in and cash out of my Legal Firm.

In terms  of rendering professional legal services, since I have 30 Years experiencing  working as legal professional Lawyer, I really feel confident in handling and providing the effective and efficient legal services. However in terms of cash flow I really have to combine the need of proper legal fee to cope with my needs  in maintaining healthy cash flows so that I can survive in feeding my family and the continuation of my self employ Legal Firm.                      

          

Legal Justice Versus Legal Certainty

The above issue appears to merge in Indonesia at this present moment. The people in Indonesia has the perception that the Legal Enforcement only applies to the powerless people. Whereas for the Big Powerful person or institution,  since they can hire Lawyers they feel that the are immune and untouchable by the law.

These perceptions was demonstrated by the Prita Case where a patient who makes complaint upon the hospital service through internet had been sued by the Hospital claiming that their good name was being damaged by Prita's writing in the Internet media.

There were 2 cases being filed, by the Lawyers representing the Hospital, one through the Criminal Court and the other through a civil claim. Initially the First Instance Court issued its Decision  against Prita where she was demanded to pay around Rp204 million to the Hospital. However, the public's Voices  through the support of the TV Media in Indonesia  had  made a protest against such verdict  by  collecting  coins to support Prita, where they succeeded in collecting  and raising around Rp600million. This is really fantastic amount which shows that the Indonesian People are voicing their rights for Legal Justice Treatment by the Court in Indonesia. In the progress the Criminal Court in the First Instance had rejected the Hospital claim.

This Coin Protest was actually a symbol of protest from the people against Injustice Court Treatment  that is felt  being imposed against the powerless  victims. Indonesia is a democracy society where we can freely make  protests against Injustice Legal Treatment felt by  the people being made by the Legal Institution in this Country of Indonesia.

Hospitals in Indonesia nowadays appears to be more of Commercial  rather than Social Institution, who must serve the sick people who needs medical care. Lawyers defending Hospital  against complain made by the patient must also be sensitive in handling cases like above. If there are complaints by the Patients,  the Hospital must actually appreciate such inputs for better services to its Patients. Eventually, in the progress after facing the public reaction,  the Hospital realize of their negative reaction,  for which  they  decided to revoke  their claim against Prita in the Court.

The above is really a good lesson for us  as Business Lawyers that we have to be sensitive upon issues relating to maintaining good services to its patients.     

Now Indonesia's Judicial Mafia Fight Gets Serious: SBY

----- Original Message -----
From: Loeky Harahap
To: fhui-70an
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2010 7:06 AM
Subject: [FHUI-70AN] Now Indonesia's Judicial Mafia Fight Gets Serious: SBY



President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday stressed his resolve to purge the “judicial mafia,” calling on law-enforcement agencies to commit to the fight. To boost those efforts, he said he would demand bureaucratic reforms across 13 ministries and state institutions linked to law enforcement and governance.

“Remember, in the hands of corrupt law enforcers, anything bent can be straightened and the straight can be bent. I want judicial mafia practices to cease,” said Yudhoyono at the State Palace, while introducing the 2010 budgets for ministries, government institutions and regional administrations. Law-enforcement officials, whether in Jakarta or the regions, should not manipulate the law, he said.

The president named eliminating corruption in the judiciary as one of his top priorities when announcing the government’s first-100-day program in October. Last week, he formed a six-member task force to suggest ideas for eliminating graft in the country’s courts, considered to be some of Asia’s most corrupt. The task force met with leaders of the National Police and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Tuesday to discuss the way forward. A high-profile feud between the two institutions brought judicial corruption into the political spotlight last year.


Task force chairman Kuntoro Mangkusubroto said the antigraft agency had vowed to help. “The KPK pledged to assist us through its facilities, such as its complaint-handling mechanism that enables people to report judicial mafia activities online and anonymously,” he said. Edward Aritonang, a spokesman for the National Police, said it was also forming a team to support the task force. “We leave everything fully in the control of the task force,” he said. The team would brief provincial police chiefs in Jakarta today, he added.

Yudhoyono also warned critics against judging his government’s success in fulfilling the pledges of its first-100-day program. On Monday, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa claimed, without offering evidence, that the government had completed 92 percent of its 100-day goals. “Although the government’s first-100-day program is important, it is impossible to contain all the development priorities and targets for five years. In addition, it is illogical to measure government success for the 2009-14 period by the first 100-day program,” Yudhoyono said.

But Ikrar Nusa Bakti, a political analyst at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), called the first 100 days “crucial,” saying success would boost public trust. “I’d say the success of the program is the embryo of the success of the government’s five-year program,” he said. Yunarto Widjaja, a political analyst at Charta Politika, suggested that ministers should not hesitate to admit failures. “They should convince the people that they will work harder to implement their programs,” he said. 

Yudhoyono said the economic achievements of last year made him optimistic his government could reach its 2014 economic goals: an annual growth rate of 7 percent, inflation of 5 percent, poverty at 8 percent to 10 percent, and unemployment of 6 percent. The economy grew by more than 4 percent in 2009. Inflation was 2.78 percent, the lowest in a decade.

Additional reporting by Antara


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