“Choosing the right legal counsel who understands business and the uniqueness of Indonesian culture is very important,” says Tony Budidjaja, BIL’s managing partner. “Driven by integrity and reliability, we always strive for excellence and have a vision by 2020 to become Indonesia’s trusted one-stop provider of world-class legal solutions that satisfy the needs of clients while also generating a positive impact on society.”

Established in 2007 as Budidjaja & Associates, the firm has rapidly grown to offer an extensive range of legal services in seven distinct practice groups led by different partners. These cover matters such as bankruptcy and corporate restructuring, commercial dispute resolution, energy, infrastructure and project finance, corporate mergers and acquisitions, employment relations, foreign direct investment, joint ventures, intellectual property rights, insurance and electronic commerce.

With a deep understanding of Indonesia’s legal- and business-oriented operating environments and expertise in cross-border legal work, the firm changed its name to Budidjaja International Lawyers last year as a fitting milestone celebrating its 10th anniversary.

More than 70 per cent of BIL’s clients are international clients coming from a vast range of industries such as manufacturing, banking, engineering, real estate, health care, information technology and non-profit organisations.

Highly committed to client satisfaction, the firm established an independent legal and business support centre in 2016 with the aim of assisting client needs – from translation, research and sophisticated data gathering to the procurement of business-related licences. This legal support centre also has a pool of experienced lawyers based in numerous cities around Indonesia, including Bali, Batam and Surabaya, who can be called upon when required by clients.

BIL also has an emergency service hotline for client concerns.

“BIL has come this far because it has always innovated. Our goal is to help our clients achieve satisfaction in obtaining their commercial objectives,” Budidjaja says. “Clients rely on us because of our expertise and experience within and beyond our core service offerings. We also help clients outside the court by spearheading negotiations or other means of resolution.”

Focused on the continuous improvement and professional development of its personnel, BIL also upholds a strong sense of social responsibility. Every lawyer at BIL is required to find time to participate in community-related service activities. Some provide legal services for free to eligible individuals, while others teach at universities.

“What makes us different from other law firms is our human capital – we have a strong, passionate team of professionals who can provide common sense and empathy,” Budidjaja says. “We are proud to have people that enable our firm to define and then satisfy our clients’ needs as a one-stop shop for high-calibre legal services.”

Because of its independence, BIL is able to offer a flexible, cost-efficient and competitive fee structure. Supported by its strategic affiliations with a number of select best-in-class legal professionals from all over Indonesia and correspondence offices in Guangzhou, Seoul, Singapore and Sydney, the firm is equipped with the resume to become Asia’s legal partner-of-choice as it aspires to further broaden its presence in Asean countries such as Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos.

“We believe that Indonesia is unique, not only because we are very nationalistic, but because we believe that no other foreign firm or lawyer can understand our culture better than we do,” Budidjaja says.