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January 5, 2026

Tilleke & Gibbins Appoints New Partners in Thailand, Further Boosting Dispute Resolution Bench Strength

Tilleke & Gibbins is pleased to announce the promotion of Chitchai Punsan and Suruswadee Jaimsuwan to partner in the firm’s Bangkok office, reinforcing the strength of the firm’s dispute resolution practice.

Chitchai has over 15 years of experience representing multinational corporations in complex disputes throughout Thailand and Southeast Asia. With a broad-ranging practice of contentious matters, he brings particular depth in customs violations, economic crime and regulatory investigations, product liability disputes, and civil and criminal litigation. Beyond his client work, Chitchai is recognized as a thought leader on customs and trade disputes, regularly sharing his insights as clients look to navigate a complex, geopolitical environment.  He has also provided his expertise to a wide range of research projects for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank, playing an active role in shaping policy discussions on legal and regulatory issues impacting the region. Chitchai holds an LLB from Ramkhamhaeng University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Kasetsart University, and is a member of the Lawyers Council of Thailand and the Thai Bar Association.

Suruswadee has been serving clients with Tilleke & Gibbins since 2020. A former judge of the Thai Courts of Justice, she has extensive legal experience on and off the bench, bolstered by a deep knowledge of Thai law and court procedure. She uses her expertise to help clients develop strong and practical legal strategies, as well as to provide flawless advocacy in the courtroom. She is recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a commercial and transactions Litigation Star in Thailand and by Asialaw as a dispute resolution Distinguished Practitioner in Thailand. Suruswadee holds an LLM from Monash University, an LLM from King’s College London, and an LLB from Thammasat University. She is a barrister-at-law qualified by the Thai Bar Association, a notary public, an arbitrator on the rosters of both the Thai Arbitration Institute and Thailand Arbitration Center. She has been actively involved in legal education and policy engagement, including teaching law and providing substantive commentary on proposed legislation, and also supports a number of important diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Tilleke & Gibbins managing partner Darani Vachanavuttivong said, “Chitchai and Suruswadee exemplify the proactive, results-oriented advocacy that our clients rely on across courts, tribunals, and regulatory forums. Their promotion reflects our commitment to delivering exceptional dispute resolution services, and we are delighted to welcome them to the partnership.”

Tilleke & Gibbins managing partner Tiziana Sucharitkul said, “Chitchai and Suruswadee are trusted advisors to businesses navigating complex disputes across Southeast Asia. Their commercial acumen and deep legal expertise further strengthen our full-service capabilities and reinforce Tilleke & Gibbins’ reputation in dispute resolution.”

RELATED INSIGHTS​ 

July 1, 2022
On June 30, 2022, Tilleke & Gibbins collaborated with Anderson Mori & Tomotsune to offer a Japanese-language webinar titled “Dispute Resolution in Thailand: Litigation, Arbitration, and Mediation” to spread awareness of dispute resolution principles in Thailand. In this online session, Chieko Tsuchiya, a consultant in Tilleke & Gibbins’ dispute resolution department in Bangkok office, provided a comprehensive overview of traditional and alternative dispute resolution in Thailand, covering litigation, arbitration, and mediation. Additionally, she guided attendees through procedures for each type and highlighted effective ways to enforce settlement agreements. At the end of the session, Chieko welcomed Chitchai Punsan, an experienced litigator from the same department, to assist in fielding queries and sharing practical advice with Japanese clients.
June 2, 2022
Michael Ramirez, a counsel in Tilleke & Gibbins’ dispute resolution group in Bangkok, will provide the Thailand legal outlook at a Thailand Regional Forum meeting to be held at Sasin School of Management on June 9, 2022. The event will be a special relaunch meeting of the Thailand Regional Forum, an initiative established by Dataconsult some 35 years ago. After a hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, the forum is restarting with Sasin School of Management as its new home. The Thailand Regional Forum at Sasin plans to hold regular meetings from July onward. The meeting will consist of forecasting panel presentations and roundtable discussions. In addition to Michael’s presentation of the legal outlook for Thailand, other speakers will offer insights into Thailand’s political, risk, economic, and human resources outlook in the coming year. Following the presentations, the speakers and attendees will participate in a roundtable discussions and Q&A to address any questions that came up during the session and to consider various potential scenarios. For more information on the Thailand Regional Forum, which offers memberships on a corporate basis, please see the Dataconsult website.
June 1, 2022
On May 31, 2022, Tilleke & Gibbins continued its collaboration with Anderson Mori & Tomotsune to offer a webinar entitled “Compliance Considerations in Thailand: What Companies Should Know.” During the session, which was translated into Japanese by Chieko Tsuchiya, a consultant in Tilleke & Gibbins’ dispute resolution department in Bangkok, John Frangos, partner and director of the department, addressed the following areas: The importance of compliance in Thailand; Key principles that make an effective compliance program, including the National Anti-Corruption Commission’s internal guidelines, risk assessments, policies and procedures, communication mechanisms, and audits and evaluations; and Case studies and practical considerations on how companies can reduce risks of wrongdoing activities.
May 17, 2022
Kobkit Thienpreecha, partner and director of the firm’s corporate and commercial group, and Nutavit Sirikan, an associate in the same department, authored an article published in the January–April issue of Dunlaphaha, the prestigious Thai-language journal of Thailand’s Court of Justice. With an English title of “The Challenges of Applying Trade Competition Act, B.E. 2560 (2017) to Digital Platform Businesses,” the article examines the challenges of applying the Trade Competition Act B.E. 2560 (2017) to digital platform businesses. As the authors explain in the article, digital platforms have a number of characteristics and idiosyncrasies that present unique difficulties when it comes to competition. The authors then go through the various regulatory proposals and academic discussions on potential legal solutions addressing competition issues involving digital platforms. As they point out, however, debates over the best approach to take toward these issues have persisted for decades, even in jurisdictions with mature legal and regulatory antitrust or competition regimes. It is thus fair to question whether the existing provisions of the Trade Competition Act are in fact able to address emerging legal concerns related to the operation of digital platform businesses in Thailand. By considering examples from other jurisdictions, the authors ultimately conclude that Thailand may need to amend some aspects of the Trade Competition Act and its subordinate legislation, even though the act’s existing provisions are sufficiently flexible in terms of interpretation and application to address some of the concerns relevant to digital platform businesses. Nevertheless, any future amendments or reformulations of criteria under Thailand’s competition law must be based on a thorough and accurate understanding of the market conditions for digital platforms. The full article (in Thai) can be downloaded through the button below.   This article was first published in Dunlaphaha: Journal of the Court of Justice, Issue 1, Year