On July 7, Tilleke & Gibbins’ administrative law group, in conjunction with the Thammasat University Faculty of Law, delivered the first webinar of a two-part Thai-language series on business interruptions caused by COVID-19. This first session focused on government liability and damage claims caused by related emergency decrees. The webinar began with an introduction by Suruswadee Jaimsuwan, counsel in Tilleke & Gibbins’ dispute resolution department, before Dr. Munin Pongsapan, dean of the Thammasat University’s Faculty of Law, welcomed attendees and addressed the main topic of the webinar. Thawat Damsa-ard, partner and chief litigator in Tilleke & Gibbins’ dispute resolution group, then gave an overview of administrative law and court prosecution procedures in Thailand. Dutsadee Dutsadeepanich, associate at Tilleke & Gibbins, then gave a presentation that addressed the regulatory measures related to managing the COVID-19 outbreak, discussed government liability for failure to manage the COVID-19 outbreak by reference to the emergency decree and other related legislation, and explained the process of prosecution for a wrongful act by officials—which falls under the jurisdiction of the Administrative Court. Speakers also provided an overview of public law, the Constitutional Court, and the prosecution of issues related to constitutional legitimacy and emergency decrees. A full video recording of the session (in Thai) is available on the Tilleke & Gibbins YouTube channel.

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.

Charunun Sathitsuksomboon, a partner in Tilleke & Gibbins’ corporate and commercial group in Bangkok, was recognized as a top practitioner in financial and transactional law in Thailand in the recently released IFLR 1000 Women Leaders 2021, a list of the most prominent female lawyers handling financial and corporate transactions, and contract, licensing, and regulatory project work in their jurisdiction. With her deep experience and expertise in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, due diligence, foreign direct investment, cross-border transactions, corporate restructuring, and related work, Charunun is one of just six lawyers listed in the Thailand section. The IFLR 1000 Women Leaders is determined through careful research and analysis of casework from the past year, along with lawyer interviews and a survey of clients. International Financial Law Review (IFLR) is a publication offering legal insights and analysis for capital markets, corporate, and finance lawyers. For more information on the IFLR 1000 Women Leaders 2021 and to see the full list for the Asia-Pacific region, please visit the IFLR1000 website.

Tiziana Sucharitkul, co-managing partner and director of the Tilleke & Gibbins’ dispute resolution group, has been invited to speak at a webinar on May 7, 2021, on diversity and inclusion (D&I) policies and practices at law firms. The webinar is organized by the International Bar Association (IBA) Law Firm Management Committee and will feature insights from several members of IBA leadership as well as other senior professionals from leading law firms and companies around the world. Tiziana, who sits on the committee’s advisory board, will focus especially on how Tilleke & Gibbins develops and implements D&I policies. Her presentation will also be informed by her extensive experience fostering cooperation among law firms and legal practitioners at the international level through her work with IBA, her leadership of the Lex Mundi network, and her firm-to-firm relations as a co-managing partner of Tilleke & Gibbins. The growing push for effective law firm D&I practices not only comes from internal developments but also is driven by investors who demand that companies have sound D&I policies. Law firms have been responding to these various pressures by setting D&I strategies for their own operations as well as by incorporating a D&I perspective into their client advice. This webinar will therefore delve into the practicalities of developing D&I policies for law firms and successfully carrying out those policies. For more details on the webinar, please visit the IBA website.