Practices
Dispute Resolution and Litigation

Location
Thailand

Languages
Thai
English

Education

LLB, University of Thai Chamber of Commerce

Sarawut Khongman
+66 2056 5803

Biography

Sarawut Khongman is a litigator in Tilleke & Gibbins' dispute resolution group in Bangkok. Sarawut’s primary area of practice is commercial litigation, with a particular emphasis on maritime, insurance, bankruptcy, and breach of contract disputes.

As a member of the firm’s maritime practice group, Sarawut has successfully represented global transportation and logistics providers, shipowners, underwriting agents, carriers, freight forwarders, neutral NVOCCs, and other major players in the maritime industry in Southeast Asia. He has handled complex litigation involving cargo claims, ship collisions, allegations of criminal fraud, and other maritime claims.

Sarawut also manages a large docket of breach-of-contract and bankruptcy matters, including representation of creditors in business reorganization proceedings. He has secured wins for multinational corporations and charitable foundations, with several of the favorable judgments being rendered in Thailand’s Supreme Court.

In addition to representing business entities, Sarawut acts for individual clients in tort, probate, criminal, and related litigation. He specializes in wrongful death cases and has obtained favorable out-of-court settlements on confidential terms for several individuals, including in a wrongful act case against a hospital.

Sarawut has also completed the constitutional and administrative law training program organized by Tilleke & Gibbins and led by esteemed academics, former judges, and other accomplished legal practitioners in Thailand. He is a member of the Thai Bar Association and the Lawyers Council of Thailand.


Experience
  • Proved that our client was innocent in the critical appeal of a criminal case. The court of first instance ruled that our client, the head of a company commissioned to tow a historic submarine from Europe to Asia, committed fraud, assessing a lengthy term of imprisonment. We zealously appealed this judgment. Our persuasive arguments led the appellate court to conclude that our client’s innocence was proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
  • Acted for a foreign specialty insurer and secured the dismissal of a large insured cargo claim brought by a joint-venture insurance company against a domestic freight forwarder. We successfully proved that the insured was not liable because the insured was not a carrier or actual carrier of goods.
  • Defended a logistics company against a subrogated insurance claim for THB 1.3 million. We successfully argued that our client should only pay in accordance with its liability limits and saved the client over THB 1 million.
  • Negotiated a settlement, on behalf of a shipowner, in a ship collision matter involving multiple vessels and substantial damage claims.
  • Defended one of the world’s leading neutral NVOCCs in a cargo claim brought by a top domestic insurer.
  • Represented two global freight forwarders in litigation brought by an ASEAN-based insurance company and pertaining to loss of goods.
  • Represented a client in an extradition case, liaising with the police, public prosecutor, criminal court, and Bangkok prison until the client is delivered to authorities in the United States.
  • Represented a well-known bank in an arbitration case and a construction case against a prominent construction company.