At the annual general meeting of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA) on March 24, Pimvimol (June) Vipamaneerut, a partner in the firm’s corporate and commercial group in Bangkok, was elected as IPBA’s jurisdictional committee member for Thailand. In the role, Pimvimol will be responsible for membership issues in Thailand, and will be the key point of contact for matters concerning activities in the jurisdiction. She will serve as Thailand’s jurisdictional committee member for three years (2022–2025). The IPBA is a prestigious international association of business and commercial attorneys active or with a strong interest in the Pacific region. The IPBA has a membership of more than 1,500 legal professionals from over 65 countries and jurisdictions. Through its activities, the IPBA provides lawyers interested in the Asia-Pacific with opportunities to discuss legal, business, and policy issues affecting the region and grow in their legal practice through professional networking. For more information on the IPBA and its activities, please visit the IPBA website.

On March 29, Tilleke & Gibbins collaborated with True Digital Park (TDPK) to offer a webinar on online gaming regulations in Thailand. In the webinar, Nopparat Lalitkomon, senior associate, and Gvavalin Mahakunkitchareon, associate, both the firm’s corporate and commercial group, were guest speakers jointly addressing a number of topics related to online gaming in Thailand, including: An overview of current laws and regulations on online gaming in Thailand; Recent and potential regulatory developments; Strategies for compliance with Thailand’s regulatory regime for online gaming; and Enforcement trends in Thailand. With the rising popularity of the online gaming industry, companies need to understand the regulatory framework fully before making any significant investment. The insights from Nopparat and Gvavalin during the webinar were valuable in helping attendees become familiar with the relevant legal concerns and strengthen their plans for business operations in Thailand’s online gaming industry.

On March 28, two lawyers from Tilleke & Gibbins’ corporate and commercial group—Nopparat Lalitkomon, senior associate, and Gvavalin Mahakunkitchareon, associate—spoke at an event titled “PDPA Is Coming: What Should I Be Doing Now?” hosted by the Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce (NorCham) in Bangkok. During the in-person session, Gvavalin and Nopparat presented on the following topics: Impact of the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) on Thai companies; Advice on how to prepare and implement PDPA compliance procedures; Overview of PDPA subordinate regulations; and Penalties for failure to comply with PDPA provisions, and key lessons from the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU. As the PDPA is set to come into effect on June 1, 2022, after repeated delays caused by the pandemic, the session was very well attended by representatives of companies looking to ensure that their data protection policies and practices are in line with the new law.

On March 10, Nopparat Lalitkomon, a senior associate in Tilleke & Gibbins’ corporate and commercial group in Bangkok, was featured in the Lexology Connect: Philippines 2022 webinar to address regulatory risks and data management in Thailand. Nopparat appeared in the webinar session titled “Redefining Data” to give perspectives on data protection practices and trends elsewhere in the region. During the discussion, he provided an overview of the data privacy framework in Thailand, shared useful tips for managing and preventing data leaks, and addressed key elements of cross-border data transactions. His presentation assisted legal professionals in the Philippines to have a better understanding of the differences between the two countries’ data protection regulations, so that legal practitioners in Philippines could better serve clients who have concerns related to data management in Thailand.