The latest “Women in Law” report from Asia Business Law Journal (ABLJ) includes a profile of Tiziana Sucharitkul, co-managing partner and director of the Tilleke & Gibbins’ dispute resolution group. The special report includes profiles of 20 highly accomplished female legal professionals from the Asia-Pacific region. Tiziana is the only person from Thailand to be included in the feature. Titled “View from the Top,” the profile of Tiziana focuses on her many leadership roles—not only at the helm of Tilleke & Gibbins but also in executive and advisory positions for various global legal associations. For instance, in 2018–2019 Tiziana served as chair of the board of Lex Mundi, the world’s leading global network of independent law firms, and she currently sits on the board of the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation and is an active participant in the organization’s Women’s Initiative Network to Success. Tiziana also sits on the International Bar Association’s Law Firm Management Committee, which functions as a global forum for leadership and management in the legal practice. Tiziana also spoke with ABLJ about the increasing profile of women lawyers that she has witnessed during her career, noting that she observed the concern about female representation in law firms grow throughout the 1980s and 1990s all the way until the present day, when more women can be seen in management positions, but are still somewhat underrepresented at the managing partner level overall. To read the full “Women in Law” report, please visit the ABLJ website.

Two associates from Tilleke & Gibbins’ Hanoi office shared their thoughts on the impact of blockchain technology on intellectual property in an in-depth article published by Asia IP magazine.

Dr. Ross Taylor, head of Tilleke & Gibbins’ regional financial services industry group and counsel in the firm’s corporate and commercial team in Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand, provided the basis for a recent article by OneTrust DataGuidance on certain legislative changes in Myanmar since the military’s seizure of power in the country on February 1, 2021. Specifically, Ross described changes to the country’s laws governing privacy and security, as well as legislation on electronic transactions. The Supreme Administrative Council, the highest executive authority in Myanmar’s military government, made amendments that allow the government to conduct surveillance and investigations in a range of situations, while also eliminating certain safeguards of individual privacy and widening the state’s ability to obtain personal data from private operators. A versatile foreign consultant who provides legal guidance across multiple jurisdictions in Southeast Asia, Ross has extensive experience in Myanmar advising local and international companies on banking and finance, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, energy and infrastructure projects, real estate, regulatory compliance, and other corporate legal matters. For more details, please see the full article on the OneTrust DataGuidance website.

In the annual meeting of the ASEAN Intellectual Property Association (ASEAN IPA) on May 19, 2021, Darani Vachanavuttivong, co-managing partner of Tilleke & Gibbins and managing director of the firm’s IP group, was announced as the next president of the ASEAN IPA. She will lead the association for a two-year term concluding with the annual meeting in 2023. The ASEAN IPA, which was founded in 1996 and granted official NGO status by the ASEAN Secretariat in 1998, brings together private-sector actors in the intellectual property space in the ASEAN region to promote the development and protection of intellectual property in ASEAN countries. The association organizes meetings and other events to spread awareness of intellectual property challenges and successes in the region, monitors and compiles relevant business and legal information, liaises with governmental parties and intergovernmental organizations regarding intellectual property concerns, and studies and proposes improvements to the legal and regulatory environment for intellectual property in ASEAN. The association has over 200 corporate and individual members from all 10 ASEAN member countries. Darani is widely recognized as one of the foremost intellectual property attorneys in Asia. She has served in executive and advisory roles for a number of national, regional, and global intellectual property associations, and for the ASEAN IPA has previously served as country head for Thailand and as a council member. For more information on the organization’s work and activities, please visit the ASEAN IPA website.