Regional Southeast Asian law firm Tilleke & Gibbins is pleased to announce the promotion of two exceptional lawyers to the firm’s partnership, effective January 2023. Chuyen Hong Huu Le  is based in Tilleke & Gibbins’ Ho Chi Minh City office, where she is a trusted commercial adviser to some of the most prominent international companies doing business in Southeast Asia—particularly in the aviation, life sciences, and hospitality sectors. A seasoned and practical corporate attorney with a wide range of expertise, Chuyen is particularly adept at matters relating to foreign investment and market entry, labor and employment, commercial transactions and M&A, compliance and investigations, anti-bribery and anti-corruption, and antitrust and competition. Chuyen has particular expertise in the healthcare sector (including pharmaceuticals, medtech and consumer health), where she has advised many top multinational companies on doing business in Vietnam. She also has extensive experience in the aviation sector, and assists clients with aircraft leasing/financing, aircraft-related interest registrations, and repossession. Chuyen is a Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional – International (CCEP-I) and is regularly engaged by companies to conduct compliance investigations and audits, as well as to provide compliance training sessions for staff and business partners. She has also built extensive in-house experience through secondments as chief legal counsel in Vietnam for the world’s largest three-sector healthcare company, and as an in-house counsel for Vietnam at a world-leading medical device company operating in orthodontics. In 2021, Chuyen was recognized in Euromoney’s Rising Stars Awards Asia-Pacific. Noppramart Thammateeradaycho  is an experienced Thai litigator with over 20 years’ experience of trial and appellate advocacy at all levels of the Thai courts, and of international arbitration including cases in Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, and Singapore. She is particularly sought after for her experience in arbitration and is known for her skilled navigation of both international

Thomas J. Treutler, partner and managing director of Tilleke & Gibbins’ Vietnam offices, was recently appointed co-chair of the IP Practice in the Far East Committee of AIPLA (American Intellectual Property Law Association). Thomas will serve a two-year term in this capacity, through October 2024. AIPLA, which celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2022, is a U.S.-based professional organization for intellectual property practitioners that provides professional support and promotes an effective and balanced IP system through advocacy, education, training, and community outreach. While the association’s primary constituency is American lawyers, AIPLA also welcomes international members and encourages the cross-border exchange of information on IP practices. The IP Practice in the Far East Committee, in particular, is a resource, forum, and network for AIPLA members interested in the IP laws and systems of Asian countries. In his role as co-chair, Thomas will help the committee build relationships with IP associations in countries in east Asia, including Vietnam, and provide research reports on the local IP laws and practices of those countries, while also sharing information on U.S. IP law and practice.

On December 8, Tilleke & Gibbins’ dispute resolution team in Bangkok delivered an in-person seminar on employment law at Latkrabang Industrial Estate. The event provided key legal updates on employment conditions and termination of employment. The first part of the presentation, which focused on employment conditions, was delivered by Chusert Supasitthumrong, partner and director of the firm’s dispute resolution department. During the session, he explained the scope of labor law in Thailand and shared ways employers can effectively change employment conditions and terms of employment.  He also touched upon labor disputes, submission of claims, negotiations, strikes and lockouts, and unfair termination and practices. The second topic, presented by Piyawat Vitooraporn, an associate of the same department, covered key considerations on termination of employment, including potential consequences, statutory termination payments, possible sanctions, and principles of unfair termination. This session at the Latkrabang Industrial Estate was part of a series of trainings and seminars that Tilleke & Gibbins’ employment specialists are organizing at industrial estates in Thailand to increase companies’ understanding of Thailand’s employment laws and the benefits of complying with these regulations.

Tilleke & Gibbins held the 2022 Annual Employment Law Forum Webinar Series from November 21 to December 7. The 2022 forum offered 7 sessions, covering a range of labor law applicable to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. In addition to the Thai-language sessions described below, the forum this year also featured several sessions in English. During the first week, dispute resolution team in Bangkok led the following sessions in Thai: On November 21, Chusert Supasitthumrong gave a presentation on an overview of unfair termination and unfair acts (video recording available here), and provided relevant recent case studies. On November 23, Chitchai Punsan highlighted criminal proceedings relating to Thailand’s Labor Protection Act B.E. 2541 (1998). The session (video recording available here) covered potential responsible parties, different types of criminal offenses, and criminal proceedings. On November 24, Suruswadee Jaimsuwan and Pathanin Sornchangwat discussed complex procedural laws in labor disputes (video recording available here) with a focus on class actions and arbitration. On December 1, Pimvimol Vipamaneerutand Ketnut Pukahuta presented a Thai-language session on Termination of Employment in Thailand (video recording available here).