Founded by Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Thomas Jayasuriya, formerly Acting State Attorney-General, Cabinet Minister and Malaysian High Commissioner, the Firm commenced operation in Kota Kinabalu (then known as Jesselton) in the year 1967 by the name of Thomas Jayasuriya & Co. Two years later, Mr. John Kah joined the Firm and it was subsequently renamed Jayasuriya Kah & Co.
The Firm is located in Wisma Sabah, a multi-storey building centrally located in the financial and commercial hub of Kota Kinabalu.
In the nearly 50 years since its establishment, the Firm has expanded in not only the number of its personnel to 9 Partners, 10 Legal Assistants and a total of over 35 supporting staff but also in terms of the range of legal works the Firm has undertaken.
The Firm's practices cover commercial, banking and finance, insurance and litigation sectors and all matters associated with corporate and commercial law, including Islamic and non-Islamic banking documentation, conveyancing, privatisation, project development, joint ventures, company acquisition and restructuring. The Firm has acted on behalf of numerous banking and financial institutions in syndicated loans and complex lending transactions.
In the litigation field, the Firm deals with disputes ranging from debt recovery to commercial litigation. The Firm has represented a wide range of clients including individuals, banking and financial institutions, government authorities, mining and petroleum companies, to name a few. The litigation lawyers in the Firm appear in cases before the Magistrates' Court, Sessions Court, High Court, Court of Appeal and Federal Court. They also act for clients in Alternative Dispute Resolutions such as arbitration and adjudication and have worked and appeared with senior counsel from West Malaysia and Queen Counsel from the UK.
Even though the Firm is based in Kota Kinabalu, the Firm accepts instructions from all over and appears in courts in other districts in the whole of Sabah such as Tawau, Sandakan, Lahad Datu and Labuan.