What are the opening hours?

Monday 09:00 - 18:00 Tuesday 09:00 - 18:00 Wednesday 09:00 - 18:00 Thursday 09:00 - 18:00 Friday 09:00 - 18:00

Alfred Chong, Shah Alam (2026)

27/04/2026

“You are either a winner or a loser. Which one are you?”

I used to think this way.

🧭 Lessons from Practice — From Aggression to Judgment (Part II)

Early in practice, I saw everything as a contest.

For me to win, someone else had to lose.

So I carried that mindset:

into court,

into negotiations, and

into every interaction.

Looking back, it made sense.

Because winning felt important — especially after failing the CLP multiple times.

It was hard enough to get here.

So I wanted to win.

But over time, I started to see something different.

Not every matter needs a winner and a loser.

There is another path:

Settlement.

At first, it sounds counterintuitive.

How can both sides win?

But in practice, a well-structured settlement can be one of the best outcomes.

Because:

both parties control the terms;

both parties understand the risks; and

both parties choose the outcome

A consent judgment or mediated agreement is not a compromise of weakness.

It is:

a deliberate decision based on clarity and judgment.

In these situations, our role as lawyers changes.

We are not just advocates.

We become:

advisors on consequences;

translators of risk; and

architects of terms.

We ensure our client understands:

what they are agreeing to;

what may happen next; and

what risks remain.

When done properly, these agreements are rarely challenged.

Because both parties agreed: not just legally but in substance.

Of course, not every case can be settled.

And when it cannot, the Court will decide based on the merits.

But when settlement is possible, it is often the most efficient and sustainable outcome.

This was also when I began to see opposing counsel differently.

Not as enemies.

But as fellow professionals working toward resolution.

Stay the course.

Because not every matter needs to be fought to the end —
sometimes the better outcome is the one both sides can live with.

(Refined with AI based while reflecting on my journey in legal practice. Ai picture inspired by the post)

changeistheonlyconstant

25/04/2026

🧭 Lessons from Practice — For Lawyers and Students Who Feel Lost

I have had conversations recently with lawyers who feel uncertain about their path.

Let me say this upfront:

Most of us don’t always have all the answers either.

Most of us are not operating from perfect clarity.

Most of us are figuring things out… as we continue walking the path.

Nothing really prepared most of us for what is coming — COVID, legal tech, artificial intelligence, shifting regulations, and a chaotic world order.

The only difference is this:

All of us were once beginners who refused to quit.

And we kept going.

When I started, I did not have everything mapped out. I learned as I went. I set a direction and moved.

Along the way:

I read beyond the profession;
I spoke to people from different industries;
I sought mentors; and
I learned from lawyers I respected

There was no single formula.

Over time, I realised something important:

There is no one-size-fits-all answer in this profession.

Only choices.

The word decision comes from the Latin word, decidere which means: “to cut off”

To decide is to cut off other options.
To commit.

At some point, you have to stop searching endlessly for the “right answer” and start choosing a path.

Because clarity does not come before action. Clarity comes from staying on a path long enough.

You have to decide what game you are playing.

Are you:

A. Coming into traditional practice with new perspective(s)?
B. Building something outside the traditional path?
C. Combining law with something else?

There are many paths.
But you still have to choose one.
You cannot outsource that decision.

No mentor, no senior, no system can decide it for you.

If you feel lost right now, that is okay.

Take your time.

But do not stay in that state forever.

Choose a direction.
Commit to it.
Learn as you go.
Adjust along the way.

Because in the end:

The ones who stay, learn, and adapt
become very difficult to replace.

Stay the course.
Go the distance.

Refined with Ai while reflecting on my journey in practice. Picture taken when I first started my firm at Subang.

23/04/2026

I used to fight every point — because I thought that was my job.
Now I think differently.

🧭 Lessons from Practice — Knowing What to Fight For

Early in practice, I believed:

If it is arguable, fight it.
If there is a weakness, press it.
If there is a technical point, use it.

Over time, I realised something:

Not every point is worth fighting.

Because every fight comes with a cost.

So I started asking a different question:

"What actually determines the outcome?"

I once came across a matter involving a purchaser trying to recover an earnest deposit.

The transaction had gone wrong.

There was a delay in completion.

The owner insisted the deposit was forfeited.

The matter escalated.

The purchaser was advised to commence legal proceedings.

I was asked to give a third opinion.

So I went back to the document.

Not everything.

Just the part that mattered.

The deposit clause.

It stated that the deposit was to be held by the owner as stakeholder pending completion.

That changed everything.

Because a stakeholder does not hold the money as their own.

They hold it in trust subject to the terms being fulfilled.

From that point, the issue became clear.

Not emotional.
Not procedural.

Just one key question:

"Was the owner entitled to treat the deposit as forfeited?"

We issued a letter of demand.

The matter settled shortly after.

Not because we fought every point.

But because we focused on the right one.

In practice:

Some points are noise.
Some points are leverage.
Some points decide everything.

Judgment is knowing the difference.

Stay the course.

Because strength is not in doing more,
it is in choosing what matters.

Figure it out. In time, you will find your own answers.

(Refined with Ai while reflecting on my journey in practice. Picture taken of me when I first started my firm giving a talk for Strata owners and first time house buyers)

changeistheonlyconstant

21/04/2026

I used to think being a good lawyer meant being difficult — because I thought winning required it.

🧭 Lessons from Practice — From Aggression to Judgment

Early in practice, I believed:
Act for the client.
Fight hard.
Never give way.

I would:
point out every mistake;
magnify every error; ans
object on technicalities.

I once rejected the opposing side's cause paper because it was filed after 4pm.
It caused unnecessary trouble for my ex-boss.
The opposing counsel wrote a strong letter saying it was the first time she had experienced such treatment in her decade of practice.

In court, I fought every point.
I was disagreeable.
I thought that was strength.
In reality, I was making enemies.

I later learned that behind the scenes, others were helping to smooth things over. I didn’t even know.

A few years later, I attended an event by the Selangor Bar.
I met a very senior criminal counsel.
He said something simple:
“We are brothers in law, not enemies.”
He shared how lawyers help each other:
sharing authorities
giving pointers
managing matters professionally.

That stayed with me.
I began to reflect.
Because acting aggressively at all times did not mean I was serving my client better.

It often meant:
escalating conflict
closing off solutions
damaging relationships

So I changed.
I toned down my ego.
I act firmly when needed — but reasonably.
I don’t object unnecessarily.
I don’t make life difficult for the other side without purpose.

Something changed.
Because when you act in good faith, people respond in kind.
Over time:
more matters resolved through mediation;
more settlements; and
more consent judgments.

And something unexpected happened. I began to build relationships with opposing counsel.

We now:
have coffee;
share meals; and
refer work to each other.
That never happened before.

Looking back:

Winning at all costs was not strength.
It was short-term.

Judgment is knowing:
when to push
when to hold
and when to resolve

Stay the course.
Because in time, you will learn that how you practise matters just as much as the outcome.

(Refined with Ai while reflecting on my journey in legal practice)

19/04/2026

My “secret” was never talent — it was staying long enough, because that’s when luck starts to find you.

🧭 Lessons from Practice — Staying Long Enough

I used to think people succeed because they are smarter.

Now I think differently.

My “secret power” is simple:

I stayed in the game long enough.

Because I stayed, I got the opportunity to:

work with mentors

work alongside worthy colleagues

build alliances and teams

Because I stayed, I was trusted with bigger matters.

Because I stayed, I worked with senior counsel(s) twice my age — in their 70s and 80s — and together we took on other senior counsel(s).

Because I stayed, I was involved in resolving difficult cases for clients.

Some may call it luck.

Maybe it is.

But I think it is this:

“Luck finds you when you stay long enough to be found.”

I am reminded of a scene from Kung Fu Panda.

Po’s father finally reveals the secret ingredient to his soup.

There is no secret ingredient.

It is just soup.

What makes it special is belief.

Practice is not so different.

There is no shortcut.

No hidden formula.

Competence comes from going through the fire:

handling pressure

making mistakes

learning from them

and continuing anyway

Over time, people begin to trust your judgment.

Not because of one moment.

But because you showed up — consistently.

Stay the course.

Be consistent. Be persistent.

Because in time:

what looks like luck is often just the result of not leaving the game.

(Refined with AI while reflecting on my journey in practice. Ai pic inspired by this post)

changeistheonlyconstant

15/04/2026

🧭 Lessons from Practice — Do the Job. Do It Well.

Your reputation compounds quietly because people remember how you work — and how you leave.

Early in my career, I kept things simple.

I showed up every day.
I went to the office.
I did the work.

Nothing dramatic.
Nothing fancy.

Just consistency.

Over time, things got difficult — like they always do in practice.

I took the hits, I learned.
I improved where I could.

And when the time came for me to leave, I made a decision:

I left respectfully. I set up my own law firm, Messrs A. Chong & Co.
But I was also clear and firm in my direction.

What happened next surprised me.

Work came in — from my former boss.

Not only that, we eventually found ourselves collaborating in certain areas of practice. I cross referred work to my former boss as well.

We trusted each other’s judgment.
We understood how each other worked.

And yes — we both made money together and separately.

That was when the lesson became very clear to me:

"Your reputation compounds quietly,
because people remember how you work,
and more importantly — how you leave."

The cases that came through those referrals were not just work.

They sharpened my thinking.
They tested my judgment.
They built my practice.

Looking back, it was never about one moment.

It was about showing up, over and over and over again
and doing the job properly.

Because in this profession:

People are always watching.
Not only what you are doing
But how you do it.
And how you carry yourself when it matters.

Stay the course.

Do your job.
Do it well.
Figure it out

In time, it will come back to you in ways you don’t expect.

(Refined with AI reflecting on my time in practice. Picture taken in 2017 when I first started practice)

changeistheonlyconstant

13/04/2026

🧭 Lessons from Practice — Hearing the Whole Symphony

I came across a post by Oleg Vishneposky that stayed with me.

It made me think:

"At the end of our lives, will we finally hear the full symphony?"

In the moment, life does not feel like music.

It feels like fragments.

A difficult phase.
A delay.
A failure.
A period where nothing seems to move.

For me, the last few years in practice often felt like winter.

Slow.
Uncertain.
At times, heavy.

But looking back now, I see it differently.

It felt like winter because I could only hear parts of the music.

What I did not see then was this:

Those years were not empty.

They were preparation.

They were building judgment, resilience, and clarity.

They were shaping how I think and how I practise.

We often plan:

3 years ahead
5 years ahead
even 10-year trajectories

But along the way, we only see pieces.

Not the full composition.

And that creates doubt.

Over time, I have come to accept this:

"We do not hear the full symphony because we are still inside the performance."

What matters is not whether we can see the whole picture.

What matters is whether we continue playing our part well.

There will be seasons:

Winter
Spring
And everything in between

But each part has its role.

Even the difficult ones
And perhaps one day, when we step back, it will make sense.

The scattered notes.
The pauses.
The tension.

All part of something complete.

Stay the course
because the full picture is not meant to be seen all at once.

In time, you will hear your own symphony.
(Refined with AI reflecting on my time in practice. Ai picture inspired by the post)

11/04/2026

🧭 Lessons from Practice — Growing With Your Clients

I agree with Brett Bruneteau on this:

Founders should find a lawyer or law firm they can grow with.

Not just someone to handle a task.

But someone who:

understands the business

sees the bigger picture

and brings in the right people when needed

I’ve had the opportunity to do this for some of my clients.

As a micro firm, we don’t try to do everything ourselves.

Instead, we work with other firms when necessary —
especially in more complex matters.

We collaborate.
We resolve.
We reach settlement.

And once the matter is concluded:

we scale back accordingly;
until the next phase or project.

This model works.

Not just for the client.

But also for the lawyer.

What is often not discussed is this:

The growth of the lawyer along the way.

When I first started doing this, I was only in my second year of practice.

Working alongside lawyers with 15–30 years of experience changed me.

how I think;

how I assess risk; and

how I approach strategy

Their guidance mattered.

Their experience accelerated my learning.

Over time, I realised:

"Growing with your client also means growing through the people you work with."

In the long run:

The best lawyers are not those who try to do everything alone.

They are the ones who:

understand their role;

build the right team;

and continue to evolve.

Stay the course.
Grow with your clients.
In time, you will find your own answer.

(Refined with AI while reflecting on my journey in practice. Picture created by AI and inspired by picture from Brett Bruneteau's post in linkedin)

changeistheonlyconstant

10/04/2026

🧭 Lessons from Practice — Crafting, Not Processing

I have been thinking about what it takes to build a firm that lasts.

I believe it is this:

" You do not build a lasting firm by doing more work.
You build it by doing the right kind of work."

There is a difference between:

bulk work

and premium work.

Bulk work is volume-driven.
Premium work is personally hand crafted by the master.

I was reminded of this when I thought about Starbucks back then.

Years ago, what made them different was not just coffee.

It was the experience.

You could customise your drink.
They paid attention to detail. They spelled your name on a cup.
They created what they called a “third place” — somewhere between home and work.

People stayed.

At the time, I didn’t fully understand it why. It was a global phenomenon. Same in the UK and in Malaysia.

Now I do.

"People don’t just pay for a product.
They pay for how it is made, and how it makes them feel"

The same applies in legal practice.

There is work that is processed.

And there is work that is crafted around the person:

understanding the real objective

thinking through consequences

guiding decisions, not just executing instructions

Not everything should be premium.

There is a place for efficiency.

Just like banks introduced ATMs, convenience matters.

But the core of the institution is still built on:

trust;

people; and

judgment.

In the long run:

" The firms that last are not the ones that do the most.
They are the ones that are worth paying for."

Stay the course.
Figure it out.
Craft your work.
In time, you will find your own answers.

(Refined with AI while reflecting on my journey in practice. Picture created by Ai inspired by Starbucks back then 20+ years ago)

gothedistance

09/04/2026

🧭 Lessons from Practice — Knowing When to Walk Away

I turned down one matter recently.

On paper, it looked like good engagements.

But something didn’t sit right.

The prospective client was frustrated with his previous lawyer.

He said the lawyer kept asking the same questions repeatedly.

He felt the lawyer was being forgetful.

From experience, I shared this:

" Those questions are not a mistake.
They are part of the process."

In practice, lawyers don’t take facts at face value.

We verify.
We cross-check.
We test consistency.

Because:

Legal advice carries responsibility.

He wanted me to proceed immediately.

Skip reviewing the evidence. Skip the legal advise. He will rely on his previous lawyer's advise. File the case. Move fast.

I couldn’t do that.

Not because I didn’t want the work.

But because:

That is not how I practise.

I also sensed that the approach was driven more by emotion than by clear objectives.

That is understandable.

But from experience:

Matters approached without clarity often cost more than they return.

So I declined.

That was when something became very clear to me:

Being your own boss means
deciding how work is done,
maintaining your standards
and being willing to walk away when those standards are compromised.

Not every matter needs to be taken on.

Stay the course. Figure it out. In time, you will find your own answers.

(Refined with AI while reflecting on my journey in practice.)

08/04/2026

🧭 Lessons from Practice — What You Choose Not To Do

Sometimes, moving forward and progress in practice is not defined by what you do.

It is defined by what you choose not to do:-

Not giving up when it gets tough;

Not taking advantage of your client in any way;
not their money;
not their vulnerabilities; and
not their trust;

Not making things harder for your opponent than is necessary;

Not misleading the court;

Not being dishonest;

Not taking credit for another lawyer’s work; and

Not taking procedural shortcuts.

These are not dramatic actions.
They don’t always get noticed.
They don’t make headlines.

But over time:

These choices shape your reputation.

Because in practice, people are always watching:

how you handle pressure;
how you treat others; and
what you do when no one is checking.

Skill may open doors.
But character determines whether those doors remain open.

And in the long run:

What you refuse to do
is just as important as what you are capable of doing.

Stay the course.
In time, you will find your own answers.

(Refined with AI while reflecting on my journey in practice.)

07/04/2026

🧭 Lessons from Practice — Pattern Recognition
Most people think law is about knowing the law.
It’s not.
It’s about recognising patterns.

I came across a post by Mark E. Need on linkedin referencing Keith Moon — not just executing, but shaping the outcome.
That stayed with me.

When you first start practice, everything feels new.
Every case looks different.
Every client sounds unique.

But over time, something changes.
You begin to see:
familiar behaviours
repeating structures
predictable outcomes

You start to recognise:
which disputes will escalate
which clients may become difficult
which clauses will cause problems later
when to push — and when to hold

At that point:
You are no longer just reading documents.
You are reading patterns.

And that’s when practice shifts.
From reacting…
To anticipating.
That is where judgment begins.

Stay the course.
In time, you will start to see what others cannot yet see.

Have you experienced pattern recognition in practice?

(Refined with AI while reflecting on my journey in practice. Picture created by Ai inspired by lawyer playing drums)

Alfred Chong

27/04/2026

25/04/2026

23/04/2026

21/04/2026

19/04/2026

15/04/2026

13/04/2026

11/04/2026

10/04/2026

09/04/2026

08/04/2026

07/04/2026

Address

Opening Hours

Website

Alerts

Contact The Practice

Shortcuts

Share

Monday	09:00 - 18:00
Tuesday	09:00 - 18:00
Wednesday	09:00 - 18:00
Thursday	09:00 - 18:00
Friday	09:00 - 18:00