In 1890, William Alfred Goone Tilleke, a 31-year-old Singhalese solicitor, came to Siam (now Thailand) to build his legal career. Within four years, Tilleke made an international name for himself through his successful defense of the Siamese military commander Phra Yod Muang Khwang, whose prosecution for killing a French officer was demanded by the Franco-Siamese treaty.
Through the early twentieth century, the firm was stewarded by several British partners, including Ralph Gibbins, Samuel Brighouse, Reginald Atkinson, and Victor Jaques. Like Tilleke, each partner played a key role not only in the firm’s success, but also in the development of the Thai legal system. The firm’s partners served the Kingdom of Siam in many capacities, including as advisors to the Ministry of Justice and the Thai Royal Family.
Following World War II, Tilleke & Gibbins was acquired by American lawyers Albert and Freda Lyman. Along with their Thai partner, Roland (later Rojvit) Periera, the Lymans oversaw the growth of the firm’s international client base, while ensuring that the firm remained a pillar of Thai society by contributing to the founding of the American Association of Thailand (now the American Chamber of Commerce) and the Bangkok Stock Exchange (now the Stock Exchange of Thailand).
In the 1980s, David Lyman succeeded his father as the firm’s senior partner. During this period, the firm expanded internationally, with the opening of offices in Vietnam and membership in leading international law firm networks, beginning with Lex Mundi in 1989. In 2006, Tilleke & Gibbins appointed Darani Vachanavuttivong and Tiziana Sucharitkul as Managing Partners of the firm.
The history of Tilleke & Gibbins is one we share with our clients, our community, and the Kingdom of Thailand.
Tilleke & Gibbins serves both international clients wishing to acquire operations in Asia and domestic clients wishing to invest in businesses abroad. We help companies structure and implement strategic transactions to achieve their business goals.
Our global and regional expertise in mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate restructuring, and other vehicles for equity investment accelerates integration and partnerships that span industries. With international legal experts throughout Southeast Asia, we are able to assemble a team for each matter that is tailored to the exact needs of each client. Our clients also tap into our worldwide network of associated law firms to assist with cross-border transactions, and benefit from our unique ability to negotiate and draft strong contracts in languages including Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese, and English.
Our renowned one‐stop center for strategic legal advice and assistance on all corporate needs affords clients convenience and economy of costs. We specialize in the mechanics of starting and operating a business across Southeast Asia, including registration, licenses and permits, company secretarial services, tax matters, employment, immigration, regulatory affairs, and property.
Tilleke & Gibbins is a stalwart advocate for companies facing disputes in Southeast Asia, as well as those seeking to mitigate risks from their Southeast Asian operations. From high-value commercial litigation to complex intellectual property rights management, we secure results for our clients before trial and appellate judges, arbitrators, and government adjudicators, and at negotiation tables across every area of legal practice.
We treat our clients as the most valuable members of our litigation teams, partnering you with the most appropriate litigators, specialized practitioners, and international dispute tacticians to give you the best possible support in difficult situations. We collaborate with each client to develop a strategy that matches your particular goals and budget, and staff our litigation teams with multilingual attorneys to ensure fluent, effective client communication.
Our size and experience allow us to handle an active caseload covering the full spectrum of civil and criminal matters, as well as alternative dispute resolution proceedings including arbitration, mediation, and conciliation. Whatever the problem, our team of dispute resolution practitioners stands ready to protect your interests.
Business conditions, labor sentiment, and new opportunities evolve swiftly in the growing economies of Southeast Asia. Tilleke & Gibbins’ first goal is to help employers formulate long-term, yet flexible, strategies on conditions of employment, labor-management relations, and other critical employment issues. When conflict cannot be avoided, we assist our clients with employment claims in court.
We combine the strength of our dispute resolution and litigation team with the expertise of our employment attorneys to offer the following services:
We help creators strategically position, protect, and profit from intellectual assets in diverse markets worldwide. Our success on our clients’ behalf has led to global recognition as a leading intellectual property practice by such surveys as Asialaw Profiles, Chambers Asia Pacific, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, Managing Intellectual Property, Practical Law Company, World Trademark Review, Asia IP, Asian Legal Business, and others.
We are versatile practitioners—well-educated in the overlapping fields of science, technology, and the law by top universities and real-world practice in one of the toughest IP regions in the world. Our IP group includes lawyers and patent agents with backgrounds in chemistry, biology, computer science, food science, materials science, and physics; support personnel including investigators and government/police liaisons; and technical specialists in various scientific fields, on an as-needed basis.
Tilleke & Gibbins provides efficient, cost-effective, business-oriented representation on real estate transactions in Southeast Asia. We work with domestic and multinational companies to develop tailored solutions for regional investment and global growth.
In addition to advice on contractual and conveyancing matters, our team provides a holistic approach to property transactions, advising on joint ventures, licensing and permits, zoning, insurance, tax, and, when necessary, dispute resolution and litigation. We are also one of the most trusted authorities on environmental law in the region, helping clients to ensure that their developments are compliant and sustainable.
We help clients across industries, from manufacturing to hospitality, capitalize on opportunities for business success in the region. Whether helping a manufacturer acquire land to build a new factory, securing licenses and permits for a developer to start construction of residential or commercial real estate, or advising investors on land deals, Tilleke & Gibbins is proud to be a catalyst for the smart and sustainable development of Southeast Asia.
