Despite the, at times, intimidating nature of legal matters, legal awareness is vital for professionals in the working world, where contracts and signatures can be the bread and butter of everyday life.

The intricacies of legal matters were dissected as part of B/NDL Studios and The Jakarta Post’s Knowledge Series webinar titled “The Legal Jedi: Navigating Disputes for Non-Legal Professionals”.

Held on Aug. 31, the webinar featured legal professional Natasha Nababan, founder of the Jakarta-based law firm NABS & Partners, with The Jakarta Post president and chief revenue officer Maggie Tiojakin moderating.

Natasha, who has more than 20 years of experience in the legal world, likened the value of legal awareness to the importance of finances and health, even for those with no background in law.

She used a metaphor of a headache. How might one know whether a headache was minor enough to take some over-the-counter medicine or whether it warranted making the call to go to the hospital if they aren’t a medical professional?

In this sense, Natasha continued, an educated legal instinct was essential to one’s daily life, from employment contracts and credit card applications to asset inheritance.

“By having an educated legal instinct, we become wiser in making decisions,” she said.

To develop this instinct, Natasha suggested stepping back and thinking more about the matter while asking the necessary questions. If the answer was unclear or seemed off, she recommended seeking a legal expert for assistance.

Should disputes happen with you at the receiving end, the first thing to do is to stay calm and buy time.

“This is so that we can process our feelings. If you receive a summons, as you want to buy time, you should notify the other party that you have indeed received the summons and that you will require time [for your next steps],” Natasha explained, adding that you would want to be conservative with the time frame, even if you are the one launching the legal action.

The second step is to get your story and facts straight, as perceptions may differ even though the facts are well established.

“Take the time to sit down and write what actually happened, because amazingly, whenever we ask a client to start writing down, they sheepishly admit to some facts they may have missed.”

Following the establishment of the story and facts, the next step is to consider whether you want to negotiate or dispute, which relates to whether you are the one sending or receiving the summons.

“Nobody’s 100 percent right, so now when you come look into the position, ask again whether you want to negotiate or go on with the dispute, as they can be costly in terms of finances and energy,” Natasha said.

Should the dispute proceed, Natasha emphasized the importance of clear communication, referring to a quote attributed to Albert Einstein: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough”.

“Your communication during the matter can be used against you, so communicate judiciously.”

In addition, participants should focus and calibrate their tactics accordingly during the course of the dispute, while also keeping in mind the moral high ground.

“I do think if you keep your standards up there, that will, in turn, influence how things unfold,” she concluded.

For more information on future Knowledge Series events, subscribe to The Jakarta Post’s newsletter at /newsletter.

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