On December 15–16, Kasamesunt Teerasitsathaporn and Pongpalin Chantrapirom of the firm’s dispute resolution group in Bangkok offered a two-part Thai-language webinar series titled “Violations of the Personal Data Protection Act and Case Studies in Europe” to equip Thai businesses with proper knowledge and understanding before Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act comes into full effect in June 2022. In the webinar series, Kasamesunt and Pongpalin provided a comprehensive overview of obligations of the data controller and data processor; discussed civil liability, criminal offenses, and administrative penalties; addressed enforcement structures; covered complaint proceedings; and shared case studies from Europe to highlight mistakes that Thai companies should learn from. Video recordings of the two parts (in Thai) are available on the Tilleke & Gibbins YouTube channel.

Asia Business Law Journal (ABLJ) has published a story on Tilleke & Gibbins’ recent addition of Derrick Khoo to the Tilleke & Gibbins regional corporate and M&A team. As the article notes, Derrick came to Tilleke & Gibbins after several years as a general counsel handling a wide variety of international corporate legal matters. He is particularly experienced in cross-border transactions and M&A deals, growth equity investments, pre-IPO investments, corporate real estate, and other corporate and commercial legal matters. In the article, his arrival at Tilleke & Gibbins is welcomed by Kobkit Thienpreecha, partner and director of the firm’s corporate and commercial group, who explains that Derrick is joining the firm at the same time that Thailand has been taking steps to support regional financial integration and cross-border investment opportunities. With the addition of Derrick’s expertise in these areas, Tilleke & Gibbins is broadening its capability to facilitate a greater variety and volume of these activities, in keeping with an anticipated uptick in associated transactions. For more details on this development, please see the ABLJ website.

Dr. Vinh Quoc Nguyen, a partner in the firm’s Ho Chi Minh City office,  has been formally recognized by Vietnam’s Ministry of Justice as a key contributor to the development of the country’s legal profession. In Decision No. 1709/QD/BTP dated November 12, 2021, the Minister of Justice issued commendations to 13 groups and 40 individuals for their “exceptional achievements in the process of implementing and summarizing 10 years of the strategy for developing the lawyer profession and the scheme for developing a team of lawyers to serve international economic integration through the year 2020.” Dr. Vinh, who in addition to his work for Tilleke & Gibbins has served as a lecturer at the Judicial Academy for many years , was one of only 14 private-practice lawyers among the 40 individuals highlighted, the majority of whom are employed by the Ministry of Justice or other government agencies.  

On November 18, John Frangos, partner and deputy director of Tilleke & Gibbins’ dispute resolution and litigation group, spoke in an online session for the Practising Law Institute (PLI) titled “Investor-State Dispute Settlement: Strategic Enforcement of Arbitral Awards.” The session was part of a three-day PLI program on international investment law and settlement of disputes between investors and the state. The program was organized to provide an overview of the relevant law and practice in the area of international investment disputes, and to facilitate consideration of dispute resolution mechanisms such as international arbitration proceedings against states under international investment agreements. During the session, John was joined by experts from Europe, the Americas, and Africa and the Middle East. Each outlined strategic enforcement of arbitral awards in their respective region, and shared insights on how enforcement of arbitral awards can bring a conclusion to long-running international investment disputes with state actors. In attendance were attorneys and others investor representatives from around the world who were looking to better understand the process of international arbitration proceedings in investor-state disputes. For more details on the program, please see the PLI website.