On April 20, three attorneys from Tilleke & Gibbins’ corporate and commercial group—Gvavalin Mahakunkitchareon, associate; Nopparat Lalitkomon, senior associate; and Pongpalin Chantrapirom, associate—offered a Thai-language webinar entitled “Personal Data Protection Compliance Preparation.” During the session, the three speakers gave a comprehensive overview of Thailand’s data protection regulatory regime to assist attendees in complying with the Personal Data Protection Act BE 2562 (PDPA), which will come into full effect on June 1, 2022. In particular, the speakers covered the following topics: Key principles of personal data collection; PDPA compliance considerations for insurance companies; Notification of data collection and data processing in accordance with the law; Managing personal data collected prior to the effective date of the PDPA; Penalties for noncompliance with the PDPA; and Comparative case studies involving the EU’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). A recording of the webinar (in Thai) is available on the Tilleke & Gibbins YouTube channel.

On April 8, Nopparat Lalitkomon, senior associate in the firm’s corporate and commercial group in Bangkok, took part in a webinar titled “Be Ready for Thai PDPA,” cohosted by Cisco Systems. The virtual event aimed to assist businesses in preparing for enforcement of Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), which takes full effect on June 1, 2022. In his presentation, which was titled, “Get Ready for PDPA: Timeline, Regulations and What’s to Come,” Nopparat outlined the key principles of the PDPA and its related regulations, and highlighted necessary steps that Thai companies need to take as the deadline draws closer. At the conclusion of the session, He provided attendees with practical advice they can use to help their companies effectively manage their internal system to comply with the PDPA in June.

On April 8, Tilleke & Gibbins took part in a webinar titled “Be Ready for the Thai PDPA,” cohosted by Cisco Systems. This virtual event aimed to assist businesses in preparing for enforcement of Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), which is set to take full effect in June 2022. In a presentation titled “Timeline, Regulations, and What’s to Come,” Nopparat Lalitkomon, a senior associate in the firm’s corporate and commercial group in Bangkok, outlined the key principles of the PDPA, considered the overall readiness of the country’s business community, and highlighted necessary steps that companies active in Thailand should take immediately as the law’s effective date draws closer. Nopparat concluded the session with practical advice to assist companies to manage their internal systems effectively to comply with the PDPA when it comes into force in June.

Tiziana Sucharitkul, managing partner and director of Tilleke & Gibbins’ dispute resolution group, provided in-depth insights on diversity and inclusion and law firms for a recent article in Asia Business Law Journal (ABLJ) on diversity and inclusion in law firms across Asia. In the article, which was published on March 30, 2022, Tiziana offers insights gained in her years in senior leadership at Tilleke & Gibbins and as a longtime advocate for law firm diversity and inclusion initiatives. The article begins by contrasting the demand for greater diversity among Western law firms—especially by corporate counsel—with attitudes in Asia, where questions of expertise and service often take precedence when it comes to legal work. The writer then quickly shifts to investigating the reasons for this, as well as exploring the current state of diversity in the Asian legal industry today. This section of the article leads with Tiziana’s explanation that leadership of Asian law firms are in a very different context than the social tensions that catalyzed many diversity initiatives in the West. However, this does not necessarily mean that diverse representation has lagged in this part of the world. Rather, as Tiziana points out, “Southeast Asian countries have some of the highest proportions of women in senior business leadership in the world.” She also notes that markers such as gender diversity and respect for minority rights can vary widely across Asia. Elsewhere in the article, other senior law firm leaders express similar observations and provide details on the diversity challenges in their countries of focus. For example, an expert on diversity in the Indian legal profession notes that local diversity concerns must also consider caste discrimination, and a partner at a global firm in Singapore speaks about the challenges of developing diversity policies that fit each local context. Tiziana agrees that localizing diversity policies is essential, explaining that the process needs to start with a detailed look at the makeup of the company or individual office, comparison to the diversity present in the wider social context in that location, and determination of the causes of any discrepancies. Overall, the article concludes that firms need to develop and follow through on policies that create an inclusive atmosphere that welcomes all types of diversity at every level. The full article is available on the ABLJ website.