Moritz Bandler was born in 1879 in Sušice, from 1907 he lived in Most, where he first became a trainee and in 1910 a lawyer. His wife Hedvika came from České Budějovice, and the marriage was childless.
František Josef Kohner was born in Podbořany/Podersam in 1898. His father was one of the leaders of the local Jewish community. Soon after being seriously wounded on the front of the First World War, František moved to Most and worked his way up to become a partner in the law firm of the social democrat Moritz Bandler. With his wife Edita, who came from Trutnov, they had two children, Dina and Ruth.
The Bandler and Kohner law firm followed the basic rule that everyone, even the worst person, is entitled to a full-fledged defense. So, in addition to regular legal work, including for the Most Jewish community, they defended those accused of violent fornication (as rape was called at the time), murderers, spies, and led bankruptcy proceedings for companies destroyed by various embezzlers (as "tunnelers" were called at the time).