By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News
Kas Bagchi
Smooth Transaction
The transactional side of law can be thrilling and rewarding, according to Kas Bagchi, a shareholder at Maddin, Hauser, Wartell, Roth & Heller, who manages risks for clients in loan, real estate and asset-based transactions.
“Sorting through due diligence makes every deal unique as you try to put the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle together to develop a comprehensive picture for your client,” she says. “Drafting and negotiating documents in a manner that protects your client’s interest without upsetting the deal also is challenging in today’s market, and a skill that I get to practice every day.
“Once the deal closes, it’s a really great feeling because you feel like a productive contributing member of the community. After all, I’ve just helped someone buy a business or other asset that is critical for his or her own entrepreneurial journey.”
Bagchi has been helping business owners expand their operations, recently closing on a loan transaction where a company doubled the size of its operations by acquiring a business division of another company. She is now working on a project where a real estate holding company is acquiring additional properties for its portfolio.
“What makes these transactions interesting is again the unique set of due diligence for each deal,” Bagchi says.
Bagchi enjoys the relationships she forms with clients.
“I make it a point to really get to know who they are, what makes them tick, what their objectives are and what’s stopping them from obtaining their goals,” she says. “By getting to know them beyond just the scope of the assignment at hand, it allows me to better advise and counsel them.”
Bagchi, who joined Maddin Hauser in 2000, enjoys working in a mid-size firm that understands the needs of growing businesses.
“I enjoy the variety of the work, and terrific community of colleagues who are willing to bounce ideas and strategies with you,” she says.
Bagchi earned her undergrad degree in political science, with honors, from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).
“As a high school student, I really enjoyed writing and participating in debate competitions,” she says. “At UCLA, I was able to continue to hone in on those skills as a political science major and take pre-law classes that introduced me to the concept of legal research and writing.”
She went on to earn her juris doctor, cum laude, from Tulane University School of Law in New Orleans.
“Originally I wanted to be a litigator and continue to do research, writing and oral argument but through time I found myself more drawn to the transactional side.”
As a first-generation Indian-American, Bagchi is passionate about volunteering in organizations that emphasize that every person has access to or can connect with resources within their community that can help them achieve the “American Dream.” She was drawn to TiE Detroit because it allowed her to meet an entire community of entrepreneurs and service providers that believed in this same philosophy. She served as Events Committee Chair in 2009 and 2010.
“My objective was to put together monthly programming that connected aspiring and existing business owners to other entrepreneurs who could mentor or service providers that could be part of the business team,” she says. “These monthly events culminated in two successful annual TiE conferences, where again the purpose was to promote and foster entrepreneurship through connections and collaborations.”
Now Bagchi is volunteering on the board for the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, to help with event planning. As an added member benefit, and apart from larger monthly events, she wanted to start a event where business owners and resource providers could mingle and ask questions in a much smaller setting to make real connections.
The result — The Meet Market — is not about passing around business cards to everyone in the room or seeing how many business cards you can collect, she explains.
“It’s a forum where we take the time to identify your target customer or supplier and/or the obstacles preventing your business from getting to the next level and, from that discussion, look into sharing our own experiences or networks to help you reach your target or work your way through that obstacle.
“So far the response to The Meet Market has been overwhelmingly positive. The smaller group setting really allows people to get to know each other in a more meaningful way.”
The most valuable thing Bagchi has learned from her volunteering experience is how reluctant the average person or business owner is to reach out to an attorney and ask questions.
“The best way for me to deal with that reluctance is to remain accessible and gain the trust of that individual over time so they are comfortable enough to pick up the phone and tell me what’s going on with their lives.”
Born in Kolkatta, India, Bagchi immigrated to the United States in 1973 and lived in Jersey City, N.J., for 7 years before moving to San Dimas, Calif.
“That was a culture shock!” she says.
After graduating from UCLA, she went to law school in New Orleans then worked in New Jersey before getting married and settling in Michigan. She and her husband Hemant — who has a doctorate in mechanical engineering and works at the University of Michigan — live in Farmington Hills where their 6-year-old daughter Mandira is a first-grader at High Meadows.
“Having lived in the east coast, west coast, and the south, I can honestly say there is no place I would rather be then in Southeast Michigan,” she says. “It’s a great place to provide a wonderful life for your family. Michiganders are incredibly open-minded and diverse. It’s a great melting pot that encourages innovative thinking. This is the environment where all entrepreneurs can thrive.”
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