Tiziana Sucharitkul, co-managing partner of Tilleke & Gibbins and director of the firm’s dispute resolution department, spoke in two International Bar Association (IBA) webinars on law firm management and strategic direction. Tiziana appeared in her capacity as a member of the IBA Law Firm Management Committee, first in an IBA Global Showcase session on October 28, 2021, and then again at an IBA Officers’ Briefing on November 9. The first event brought together two panels of law firm managing partners from around the world to discuss the matters of greatest concern to the legal industry in a session titled “What is the Future of our Law Firms?” Together, the panelists discussed issued such as the return to physical offices, how best to serve clients, how to encourage and support collaboration among lawyers, and what pricing strategies will look like in the future. This session formed part of the week-long IBA Global Showcase—a global conference sharing knowledge and celebrating successes in law firm policy and practice. In the second session, open only to officers of the IBA, Tiziana was one of three guests interviewed about law firm transitions and strategy. Alongside managing partners from leading firms in India and the USA, Tiziana discussed how established family-run firms can evolve into regional powerhouses, taking examples from her own experience with Tilleke & Gibbins’ regionalization and growth over the past two decades. For more details on the IBA and the 2021 Global Showcase, please visit the IBA website.

Tilleke & Gibbins will hold the 2021 edition of its popular annual Employment Law Forum, which will comprise multiple online sessions, from November 17 to 30, 2021. This year’s forum brings together leading employment law experts from Tilleke & Gibbins’ Bangkok, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City offices, and will feature a variety of sessions in three languages—four in English, three in Thai, and three in Vietnamese. The installments will cover key legal updates and practical guidance on recent employment law issues in Thailand and Vietnam, and will be of particular interest to in-house counsel, executives, and human resources professionals with operations in these jurisdictions. Some of the topics addressed will include transfer of employment, work permits and visas, termination of employment, resignation issues, COVID-19-related considerations, and others. To read more about each of the sessions and to register, please see the full schedule, which includes details of the sessions separated by language.

Andrew Stoutley, chief operating officer of Tilleke & Gibbins, provided a lengthy quote to Asian Legal Business (ALB) for a recent feature on how law firms in Southeast Asia are increasingly using data analytics and information to drive their business strategy. The article featured contributions from a number of partners and executives from firms across Southeast Asia on the different ways that their firms are applying data to their operations and incorporating information and analytics into their strategic decision-making processes. In his contribution, Andrew explained that as technology has become central to virtually all operations at Tilleke & Gibbins, metrics and data have been harnessed to inform decisions at all levels. To illustrate this, he gave the example of a broad strategic planning process that the firm has undertaken to lay out strategy for the coming years. Identifying and gathering key quantitative and qualitative data points was crucial to the process, which considers every element of the firm’s planned operations for the next several years. Andrew went on to discuss the importance of determining how best to share the data with the relevant stakeholders, such as through visualizations or dashboards that allow staff to monitor the progress of operations. The other informants for the article reported a similar uptick in reliance on data—such as in competitive intelligence, billing, and matter management—and emphasized the necessity for firms to recognize the value of data as a resource that must be protected and used wisely. The full article is available on page 4 of the September 2021 issue of ALB.

On July 20, Chusert Supasitthumrong, partner and head of Tilleke & Gibbins contentious employment practice, and Jamorn Pornponwat, an associate in the firm’s dispute resolution group, teamed up to present a practical online session entitled “Employment Contract Basics – Key Considerations for Thai Employers.” Hosted jointly by Tilleke & Gibbins and True Digital Park, one of Southeast Asia’s largest tech and startup hubs, the webinar provided an overview of the core elements found in employment contracts in Thailand, including in-depth discussions on: the importance of non-competition clauses for innovative companies and other standard employment contract clauses; the distinction between employees and freelancers and how Thai companies can prepare contracts for freelancers; and, the legal process for terminating employees in Thailand. A recording of the webinar, which was presented in Thai, is available on Tilleke & Gibbins’ YouTube channel.