An article in Global Restructuring Review on the Thai court’s approval of Thai Airways’ business rehabilitation plan features insights from John Frangos, partner and deputy director of Tilleke & Gibbins’ dispute resolution department. The article reports that the airline’s rehabilitation plan has received court approval, over objections from two of the creditors. This step will now allow the airline—which has received over 13,000 debt repayment claims—to implement plan under the control of five administrators. John, who co-leads the firm’s regional aviation practice, explained a number of issues to the article’s author, including the Thai government’s unwillingness to bail out the financially troubled company, the challenges facing Thai Airways (and the Thai aviation industry as a whole) during the pandemic, and the historic nature of this bankruptcy case. John is representing many creditors of Thai Airways, and he shared their general reaction to the rehabilitation plan, noting that most were not necessary happy with it but did not object because they figured it was “the best deal they are going to get.” The full article is available on the Global Restructuring Review website.

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.

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.

On March 22, John Frangos, partner and deputy director of Tilleke & Gibbins’ dispute resolution group, together with aviation lawyers and bankruptcy specialists on the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) Aerospace Council and Legal Committee, presented a webinar entitled “Bankruptcy Issues in the Aviation Industry.” In the session, John discussed airline bankruptcy, addressed debtor and creditor rights in Thai bankruptcy reorganization proceedings, explained how other aviation industry stakeholders have fared in Thai bankruptcy reorganization proceedings, and offered a comparative look at how other countries handle airline bankruptcies. As co-head of Tilleke & Gibbins’ dedicated aviation practice, John is well versed in the procedural and technical issues surrounding aviation-related disputes in Thailand, Vietnam, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. He is frequently sought out by foreign and domestic media to comment on high-profile aviation disputes.