Asialaw Profiles
The Guide to the legal markets of the Asia-Pacific

The corporate and commercial team at Tilleke & Gibbins is led by veteran partner Piyanuj (Lui) Ratprasatporn. The team also includes experienced partners Cynthia M Pornavalai and Santhapat Periera. Tilleke & Gibbins recently represented leading metal manufacturer and distributor Amcor in its acquisition of five of the subsidiaries of Alcon Packaging from Rio Tinto.

Tilleke & Gibbins increases in prominence as a full service law firm, and partner Cynthia M Pornavalai leads the property practice advising on sales, purchases, mortgages, leasing, property due diligence, and property development work. The firm’s construction and real estate practice is largely run from the firm’s office in Phuket, which is led by partner and managing director John Howard. Tilleke’s strong disputes practice also actively represents clients on real estate-related disputes.

Pornavalai recently advised on building and construction regulations, contract drafting, financing, and all legal and regulatory aspects of a major condominium project in Pattaya. Tilleke’s team also served as counsel on financing transactions and sales agreement drafting for a condominium project in Bangkok.

From its roots defending major clients against intellectual property infringement, Tilleke & Gibbins has grown a large and competitive dispute resolution practice. The firm is able to handle trial work and also represent clients in arbitrations and alternative means of dispute resolution of all levels. The general disputes team staffs 22 lawyers, while the specialised intellectual property disputes team has six additional specialists. Co-managing partner and director of the dispute resolution department Tiziana Sucharitkul leads the practice along with partner and chief litigator Thawat Damsa-ard and partner John Ellis King.

The firm continues to advise several multinational corporations on high profile criminal customs disputes that involve the assessment and calculation of customs duties and penalties worth over US$1 billion.

Tilleke & Gibbins stands out among IP firms in Thailand for its leading full-service IP practice nestled within a one-stop-shop for domestic clients and international corporations. The firm’s large, Bangkok-based IP practice consists of 48 lawyers, seven of whom are specialised IP litigators and nine are patent agents with backgrounds in chemistry, biology, computer science, food science, materials science, or physics.

Alan Adcock and Nandana Indananda joined the IP team as partners in February 2011. Indananda has experience as a judge and is a leading expert and contributor to IP publications.

In one highlight case, the IP litigation team advised a Japanese company in a civil action against the subsidiary of another Japanese company. The dispute involved the infringement of a material-science-related technology patent. Tilleke’s team simultaneously defended the client against a counterclaim of patent invalidity filed by the opposing party.

Practice leader Sriwan Puapondh has over two decades of experience on tax matters in Thailand, including spending 10 years with Thailand’s Revenue Department. Puapondh’s experience has led to the creation of a practice with deep experience in interpreting Thai tax law, and one that is able to advise on a wide range of matters. These include excise tax, customs duties, transfer pricing, petroleum income tax, double taxation treaties and tax planning.

This past year, Tilleke’s tax team represented global furniture retailer Inter IKEA Holdings Services S.A. on Thai import legislation. The team also advised on ASEAN-China Free Trade Area tax issues and analysed multiple scenarios for sales and catalogue supply for the company’s Thai franchisee.

The banking and finance team at Tilleke & Gibbins has developed a solid reputation and has received praise from both clients and peers. “They are all very competent and seasoned professionals”, says one client. “I think the firm offers innovative solutions.” The firm assisted a major foreign bank in its offshore loan to a company in Vietnam. This complex loan was successfully registered with the State Bank of Vietnam after overcoming security difficulties.

The corporate M&A practice at Tilleke & Gibbins is “excellent in terms of knowledge and expertise, with the ability to provide viable options when necessary”.

The firm is acting for a Subway franchise owner in selecting an appropriate business form and setting up a franchise business in Vietnam. This project requires the firm to provide day-to-day advice on Subway’s business operations regarding legal contracts, employment law and taxation.

Another transaction has seen the team representing Merck Sharp & Dohme in its day-to-day business affairs, which include regulatory and commercial issues relevant to the pharmaceutical industry.

Tilleke & Gibbins works with domestic and multinational companies to develop tailored solutions for regional investment and global growth. The firm’s seasoned practitioners specialise in solutions that synthesise relevant business issues and clients’ requested goals.

The highlight for the practice over the last year was advising on the licensing and due diligence for a landmark real estate project worth US$4 billion. The firm also acted for a major foreign hotel management and advised on the due diligence and entry into hotel management agreements in different cities.

Tilleke & Gibbins is recognised for excelling on anti-counterfeiting, commercial and litigation IP disputes. “This very active firm has continued its tremendous rise in the IP sector,” says one rival partner. Led by partners Thomas J Treutler and Nguyen Thi Phi Nga, the Tilleke & Gibbins team has continued to improve in the rankings.

The firm successfully represented leading electronics and appliance producer Panasonic against Vietnamese companies that unscrupulously attempted to register the trade marks PairSONIC, PASSONNIC and PASSIONIC.

Another notable transaction was successfully representing a leading Australian pharmaceutical company in an action against a Vietnamese company that registered a multitude of trade marks with the apparent hope of ‘warehousing’ back to the pharmaceutical company.