Background
Chaninat and Leeds is a Bangkok-based international law firm handling cases throughout Thailand.
Chaninat and Leeds was first established as a Limited Partnership in 1997 by Thailand and American attorneys with decades of litigation and consulting experience. The firm was later incorporated as a Limited Company in 2001. The firm was originally located in the Nai Lert Building on Sukhumvit Soi 5. Due to expansion, the firm relocated to a larger office in the Trendy Building on Sukumvit Soi 13 in 2008. The firm is entirely attorney-owned and is operated by qualified Thai, US and UK lawyers.
Chaninat and Leeds' practice adheres to Bar Association Codes of Conduct and Professional Responsibility. Our focus is on providing dedicated professional services and maintaining long term relationships with our select clientele. We often provide litigation services and consultant services on Thailand legal matters to law firms, courts and agencies throughout the world. We advise Thai and international based corporate clients with their businesses and projects within Thailand as well providing assistance to private individuals with legal matters in or concerning Thailand.
1) Who are you?
We are a full-service Thailand law firm composed of licensed lawyers from Thailand and the United States. Our lawyers have decades of experience in both Thailand’s legal system and the legal systems of the USA, UK and other nations. We handle cases for businesses as well as individuals both in and outside Thailand.
2) Does your law firm employ Thai licensed lawyers? If so, are they experienced?
Our law firm hires only licensed lawyers and our senior partners are certified Thai barristers who have been practicing in Thailand for many years. Our senior litigators are battle-hardened courtroom veterans who are well-recognized experts in their respective fields. Some of them have published scholarly articles and provided advice to the legal community while others lecture at the top law universities in Thailand.
3) Are your attorneys fluent in both English and Thai?
Our lawyers as well as legal assistants are fluent in both English and Thai. This is especially important when the cases involve Thai and foreign nationalities.
4) Are your attorneys experts in their respective fields?
Our senior partners have written many law journals as well as legal publications in areas of their expertise. These publications have been widely used for legal research by many in the legal field. Examples include: textbooks on labor law, criminal procedure and evidence and family law. For more information, please visit the individual pages of our partners.
Background
Generally speaking, if you or your spouse is lawfully residing in Thailand you can file for a divorce in Thailand courts. For parties who have a marriage registered in Thailand, non-contested (or consensual) divorce is available in five Thailand district offices. An official Thailand divorce, whether ordered by a Thai court or registered through a district office, is recognized internationally based on the principle of international law termed "comity."
If only one spouse is legally residing in Thailand, or if either party is unwilling or unable to continue in the divorce proceedings, a court ordered divorce may still be obtained. However, the divorce complaint and summons must be lawfully served upon the defendant spouse residing outside of Thailand. However, if the divorce is uncontested, both parties will still need to appear at the district office to register the divorce.
Our Experience
The attorneys at Chaninat and Leeds have successfully filed hundreds of both court divorce and uncontested divorce cases in Thailand. We have litigated international divorce involving the following nations: USA, UK, Australia, Germany, France, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, Switzerland and Israel. Our attorneys have successfully recovered million of dollars in funds deemed to be the separate property of our clients, including real estate assets held by a Thai spouse in the client's name.
Thailand Divorce Law
Thailand divorce law allows for couples to file a divorce at the Thailand district office if one of the spouses currently resides in Thailand provided the requirements for grounds of divorce are met.
An administrative divorce registration can be filed if the marriage had originally been registered at the local District office (Khet or Amphur) and only if both the spouses agree to the divorce, making it an uncontested divorce.
However if spouses are not in agreement over the divorce, a simple administrative procedure will not be possible and the divorce will be handled by the Thai Courts rather than the District Office and the divorce is a contested one.
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Background
Possession, consumption, distribution and importation of narcotic and addictive drugs and medicines are controlled by the Thailand Office of Narcotics Board (ONLB), various divisions of the Thai police and by other regulatory agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration and the pharmacy board.
Drugs, medicines and plants can be prohibited without exceptions, such as with marijuana, heroin and cocaine, for example. However, the unauthorized possession, consumption, distribution and importation of prescription medicines may also be prohibited.
Drug offenses involving importation of narcotics into the Kingdom have the severest penalties. "Hard drugs" such as amphetamine, heroin and cocaine also may carry sever penalties. However, there are alternative treatment programs that may be available and drugs considered less harmful, such as marijuana, are dealt with less harshly than hard drugs, such as heroin or amphetamine. Nevertheless, a drug arrest in Thailand for any drug is a serious legal problem.
Our Experience
Chaninat and Leeds' attorneys have assisted defendants charged with methamphetamine offense, amphetamine arrests, marijuana arrests and other drug offenses. Marijuana arrests are very common in certain tourist areas. Undercover informants are often involved in initiating drug arrests.
Persons arrested of drug offenses may be requested to sign statements or admissions. Persons under arrest should contact a qualified attorney before engaging in discussion with police. Thailand's legal system does not have the extensive constitutional rights for drugs arrests that are found in various Western legal systems.
Background
Thailand Real Estate Law shares many similar concepts to the Land Law in Western Jurisdictions. However, there are some important practical differences including the following:
The most significant issue for non-Thai nationals when seeking to acquire legal rights to land in Thailand is normally the general prohibition on foreigners owning freehold land in Thailand. However, there are some basic legal exceptions to this rule which include special rights granted by the Thai Board of Investment and special rights granted to non-Thai citizen heirs who receive land pursuant to an inheritance from a Thai relative.
Both of these expressly granted rights are limited, however. Moreover, the vast majority of foreign persons seeking land in Thailand do not, unfortunately, qualify for these two exceptions to the legal prohibition on foreign persons owning land in Thailand.
The following are the more generally used methods for a non-Thai person to acquire a legal right to land in Thailand that are not prohibited by the general ban on foreigners owning land in Thailand:
In recent years, the Thailand Land Department has become stricter in investigating limited companies for the use of the "nominee" Thai shareholders (Thai persons who do not possess a legitimate interest in the company owning the land but who are used as "strawmen" to make a company appear to be majority Thai are defined as "nominees".)
Nevertheless, in spite of the increased government scrutiny, the Thai law still provides methods for a non-Thai shareholder to lawfully secure his real estate investment through a Thai limited company through legal means and procedures.
Our Experience
Chaninat and Leeds specializes in Thailand real estate law and structuring land and real estate purchases and acquisitions in Thailand since 1997. Our senior lawyers have been handling complex and routine real estate transactions for more than 40 years.
We specialize in real estate transactions for Thai people as well as foreigners. In regard to foreign investors, we have vast experience in structuring real estate transactions for non-Thais that comply with Thai law and also secure the rights of non-Thai real estate investors. Our services include: due diligence, contract drafting, consultation on real estate law, and executing land transfers and transactions.
Chaninat and Leeds is the publisher and editor of the Thai Land Law Act English language translation published in 2009. The text is available in major bookstores in Thailand and is used by major law schools in Thailand as part of their curriculum.
Background
Trademarks, collective marks, certification marks, and service marks may be registered in Thailand. Marks may include three-dimensional designs, photographs, paintings, device, design, words, letters, numerals, phrases, configurations of goods, and unique color combinations. In Thailand, there are 45 different classes of goods and services. If a trademark is intended for more than one class, a separate application is required for each class.
Registering a trademark provides legal protection against counterfeiting and infringement and expedites your ability to enforce your rights pursuant to Thai law.
Our Experience
Chaninat and Leeds law firm is comprised of licensed Thai and foreign attorneys who specialize in Thailand trademark procedures and trademark law. We have successfully assisted hundreds of foreign and local companies and organizations with trademark registration and related services in Thailand since our firm's inception in 1997.
Additional trademark registration services we also provide include trademark search services, legal opinions, appeals, renewal, objections, trademark watching, licensing agreements, and enforcement services. Our firm also assists with copyrights, patents and FDA registration and other corporate and legal services.
The statute of limitations (prescription period) or time limit for filing a personal injury claim is often shorter in Thailand than it may be in other jurisdictions. In many cases, but not all, personal injury cases must be filed within one year from the date of a personal injury. This means that fast action is required or claim could be lost through passage of time.
Normally a case to recover compensation for injuries or breach of contract is a civil case. However, suing an individual, juristic person or government agency may be a civil or criminal case or both depending on the circumstances.
As with almost all countries, it is very important that all evidence, including witness testimonies, documents, and physical evidence be acquired and organized as soon as possible.
In many Western countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and other common law jurisdictions, damages for various intangibles such as loss of consortium, pain and suffering, disfigurement and emotional distress, can often reach astronomical levels. In Thailand awards for intangible damages for a personal injury case may be more restrained. Nevertheless an individual who has been injured is entitled to the right to compensation for your damages and sometimes more based on pain and suffering, loss of consortium and other intangibles.
A foreigner who has been injured in Thailand, but is not a resident there may still be able to pursue a personal injury claim by signing a Power of Attorney to have a lawyer file on their behalf. However it is usually necessary for the injured party appear in court in Thailand on at least one occasion to give testimony.
Why does a company with a site named Thailand Lawyer offer accounting services?
In Thailand it is customary for law offices to provide accounting services. This is particularly true for law firms that deal with companies with foreign employees, since foreign companies have special accounting and regulatory requirements.
What is the advantage of hiring a law firm that specializes in Thai law as it applies to foreigners for accounting services?
To support the foreign staff's visa and work permits, accounting documents must be supplied to the Immigration police and Labour Department. Therefore, it is only sensible that a single firm handles foreigners' legal matters, company legal matters, accounting, visa and work permits. We specialize in assisting foreign companies in Thailand and we have special expertise in translating and interpreting Thai laws and business practice for foreign company directors and foreign staff.
Does your staff use licensed accountants to provide accounting services?
We have licensed accountants and auditors, as well as bookkeepers on our staff. We are able to provide accounting services and documents translated into English.
Accounting Services
Payroll Services
Background
Thailand's employment laws regulate employment and working conditions such as maximum work hours, working days, holidays, overtime, maternity leave, employee welfare, social security, termination of employees, occupational health and safety, grievances, sick leave, minimum wage and severance pay.
Employment in Thailand may be lawfully terminated for a variety of reasons, including the following:
Our Experience
Thailand Severance Pay and Termination Issues
Chaninat and Leeds' labor lawyers have successfully defended employment cases in a multitude of labor law issues, including:
Our senior partners include prominent Thailand labor law experts who provide consultation to the Thailand Department of Labor, teach Labor Law at government universities, and have published multiple professional treatises on Thai Labor Law.
Our courtroom litigators have successfully defended hundreds of clients in Thai Labor Court.
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