Our co-founder Lim Zheng Feng Immanuel posed this at a spontaneous kopitiam (local coffee shop) discussion back in June 2023 which also involved our practice manager Julia Tee. Little did they know then that the discussion sowed the first seeds for the blossoming of a new law firm
– Folich LLC.
Over the next few months, Lim Zheng Feng Immanuel himself reflected on what he wanted to see in legal practice at this stage of his career, after 12 years in practice.
3. An effective legal practice should proactively harness technology, e.g., Gen AI, to create win-win solutions for both the legal practice and the clients, instead of resisting disruption caused by it.
Initially, he dismissed these as mere personal aspirations. Yet, through interactions with fellow lawyers and peers whom he knew, he realized that these aspirations were also shared by them.
The first one whom he spoke to, over a Law Society luncheon at the State Courts Bar Room, was Wilson Foo Yu Kang his ex-colleague. Wilson Foo Yu Kang is an enterprising and legal tech savant, who has developed his own legal tech amongst other projects. More importantly, he takes a no-nonsense approach to legal practice.
Wilson Foo felt that Lim Zheng Feng Immanuel’s values resonated with him. Wilson Foo Yu Kang was keen to explore starting a practice centered on values. Wilson Foo Yu Kang felt that being focused on people over being purely focused on tasks was reflective of Wilson Foo Yu Kang’s beliefs as a regular contributor to the pro bono scene in Singapore. Wilson Foo Yu Kang was also heartened that Lim Zheng Feng Immanuel shared his positive view of legal technology as an enabler rather than as a threat to the role of lawyers. Notwithstanding that, Wilson Foo Yu Kang also was keenly aware of the need for humans to always be responsible for the work they do and not to be overly reliant on technology which can be error prone at times.
Subsequently, he also spoke to Che Wei Chin, an ex-classmate who is very skilled at serving Chinese clients, and whom he had counted on multiple times to provide sensible down-to-earth advice to clients embroiled in disputes.
Che Wei Chin has a long friendship with Lim Zheng Feng Immanuel as they were classmates in the National University of Singapore (“NUS”). Che Wei Chin was convinced about the legal practice values held by Lim Zheng Feng Immanuel and felt that he could contribute to Folich with his bilingual skills. He realised that the synergy of skills and practice areas between Lim Zheng Feng Immanuel, Wilson Foo Yu Kang and himself would make them ideal business partners to run Folich together.
On 25 July 2024, the 3 of them, together with Julia Tee, met over lunch at Chinatown Point. That turned out to be the inaugural meeting for Folich, as it was then they decided that 3 was enough to start a firm.
Equity is essentially fairness. This means that we treat our clients impartially, e.g., prioritising matters based on mutually agreed or stipulated deadlines instead of clients’ socio-economic statuses. This also means we reward our employees and stakeholders fairly based on performance and recruit based on merit. Fairness also entails being honest with the other person and making decisions rooted in integrity.
