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A woman to herself, a lawyer, a boss, an entrepreneur, and a mom—all these things define her. To her, it’s because women have endless possibilities and she chooses to do and have it all for her happiness, even if society may think otherwise. Graduated in the top 5 from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Faculty of Civil Law and with a Master’s Degree in Entrepreneurship from the Ateneo Graduate School of Business, Atty. Kathrina Mishael C. Sadsad-Tamesis specializes in litigation, specifically civil and criminal litigations, with a focus on family law, adoption, guardianship, nullity of marriage and legal separation, and judicial recognition of foreign divorce.  Known as Atty. KCS to the firm, Sadsad-Tamesis is a Partner of Sadsad Tamesis Legal and Accountancy Firm (STLAF) and the CEO of Metro.KST Enterprises, Corp., (MKST), the flagship company of her two operating businesses: the Massagedaily.ph and Metrobaby.ph. “For me, it’s just [about] finding the right balance,” she said in an interview. “It’s basically how you see your happiness and how you balance it. […] Life is hard and it’s hard to balance [responsibilities] but at the end of the day, you will [be the one to] choose. Ikaw yung pipili. Choose your happiness and accept the consequences of your choices.” Women in Law One of her sources of happiness comes from the fulfillment of helping people and winning cases for her clients as a lawyer, which has always been her dream job. After passing the Bar Examination in 2013, she worked as a corporate lawyer of several groups of companies, then practiced in PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Philippines, an audit and tax firm. However, it is only in her third job where she practiced litigation as a junior associate that she truly enjoyed her work.  “I enjoy meeting people, going to court, appearing before the judges and solving other people’s cases. When I win a case, I’m very happy,” said Sadsad-Tamesis. “Whether I’m for the accused or the complainant, for me, it’s like a puzzle. You solve it, you look into the details. Tignan mo kung ano yung defenses mo, or saan yung mga matters na malakas ka and you solve it. I love the challenge and I enjoy doing it the most.” In 2016, Sadsad-Tamesis and fellow Partners formed a law firm in Bulacan—the De Guia, Tamesis & Sadsad Law Firm, which was more of a part-time job to them. When she got pregnant and had a hard time going to her then-job, she resigned and focused her efforts towards their law firm.  Around 2019, she and her husband, Atty. Chris Tamesis decided to open another law firm in Quezon City—the STLAF. “Why? Because that’s what I wanted to do. Dun ako nag-e-enjoy. That’s the job that motivates me to wake up in the morning […] That’s what inspires me the most.” This is especially true when it comes to family law cases, her specialization. “Favorite ko yung family law because it gives you a sense of fulfillment once you resolve the case,” she beamed. “For me kasi, lawyering is not just about getting money, it’s about helping other people [too].”  For her, it’s the connection with the clients that matter. “It’s full of emotions. Mas masaya, actually. Iba yung connection sa client in family law cases because you get to know them,” explained Sadsad-Tamesis, specifically pertaining to annulment and adoption cases. “Nase-serve yung purpose ko as a lawyer, as a woman.” Lawyering, like other careers, is not just for men; it hasn’t been for a long time now, she emphasized. For her, the legal industry has evolved to not only recognize but also showcase women’s excellence. “When I was in law school, mas marami nang babae […] Before kasi diba, parang pag lawyer, mostly lalaki. But for me, ngayon, nagiging pantay na,” she recalls. “Sa MTC, RTC, ang dami nang babaeng judges. So talagang pantay na for me. Lawyering is really [not just] for men, it’s also for women and maraming nag-e-excel na mga babaeng lawyers. Women in Business A respected lawyer in the firm, Sadsad-Tamesis is also an entrepreneur and CEO of the fast-growing company MKST. MKST houses Massagedaily.ph (MDPH), a home service spa with 39.5k followers on Facebook and Instagram, and its events division, the Luxe Lounge by MDPH.  “I really love massages since college. I also grew up kasi na merong nagho-home service sa bahay namin for my lola,” told Sadsad-Tamesis, recalling her memories. “[Although], before di ako fan ng home service; I go to the spa mismo. Then may isang beses, we tried home service and really liked it since you don’t have to travel home after getting your massage.” According to her, it’s convenient and effort-efficient. However, because of demand, her favorite home service spa was always fully booked, so she thought, why not take advantage of it? “Parang naisip ko, ‘Edi ako na lang mag-p-provide’. Naisip ko, ako na lang magbu-buo ng business na yon. I’ll build my own home service spa,” she chuckles. “Feeling ko meron [kasing] malaking market na hindi nase-serve…” On navigating leadership and decision-making As a Partner lawyer and CEO of a business, Sadsad-Tamesis approaches leadership and decision-making with professional finesse, consideration, and proficiency. Between the top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top strategy, she prefers the former.  “For me kasi mas mabilis yung top-to-bottom, communication is more direct and efficient but at the same time, I am still making sure that the decision is okay with everybody, hindi yung I’ll decide and impose. I do not want to impose on my people kung anong gagawin nila, I want to still give them the freedom to suggest and I honestly listen to those suggestions.” Sadsad-Tamesis greatly values her people’s perspectives and inputs. To her, they are the heart of an organization. “People [who] compose our organization, I believe, is the heart of the organization, not the leader. Kumbaga, ikaw leader ka, kung wala ka namang tao, wala kang followers, how can you lead right?” She points out, “[V]ery important sa akin yung mga tao sa