Headquarters Bangkok, Thailand No. of attorneys Over 130 | No. of offices 7 Date founded 1890 | |
Major practice areas Corporate/Commercial, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Regulatory Affairs | ||
Tilleke & Gibbins is a regional law firm in Southeast Asia, with offices in Bangkok, Hanoi, Ho Chih Minh City, Jakarta, Vientiane, Phnom Penh, and Yangon. The firm's core practices are commercial transactions, mergers and acquisitions, dispute resolution, litigation, and intellectual property law.
Contents
History
In 1890, William Alfred Tilleke, a Ceylonese solicitor, began a new practice in Siam (now Thailand). In 1894, Tilleke gained recognition when he successfully defended Phra Yot Muang Kwang, a Thai provincial governor, who had been accused of murdering a French military officer. In the face of colonial pressure by the French and before a French Court conducted in Thailand, Tilleke exonerated Phra Yot through affirmative evidence and all seven judges presiding returned a "Not Guilty" verdict. Ralph Gibbins, an Englishman, joined the firm in 1902 and later became a legal adviser in the Siamese Ministry of Justice, before serving as a judge of the International Court in 1916.
Samuel Brighouse and Reginald Atkinson led the firm from 1911 until Thailand’s involvement in World War II in 1941. During the war, the firm ceased operations. Some of the company documents were safeguarded by Ina Jorgensen, the former secretary of Victor Jaques who had fled abroad. In 1946, Mr. Jaques reestablished the firm as the sole partner remaining after the war had ended.
In 1951, Albert Lyman purchased the firm from Victor Jaques for $2,500. Mr. Lyman and his wife, Freda, ran the firm with a Thai partner, Rojvit Periera. The Lymans’ son, David, joined the firm in 1967 and took over Tilleke & Gibbins’ operations after his father’s death in 1984.
Practice areas
Tilleke & Gibbins, a full-service law firm that has core practice areas focusing on commercial transactions and M&A, dispute resolution and litigation, and intellectual property. In total, the firm offers 18 areas of expertise:
The firm employs over 100 lawyers and 250 support staff. It is headed by David Lyman, Chairman & Chief Values Officer. Darani Vachanavuttivong and Tiziana Sucharitkul are the Co-Managing Partners of the firm.
Offices
Tilleke & Gibbins’ main office is in Bangkok, Thailand, with other offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Jakarta, Indonesia, Vientiane, Laos, Phnom Penh, and Yangon, Myanmar.
Awards and rankings
The Tilleke & Gibbins intellectual property practice has been ranked as the top IP practice in Thailand in various legal directories, such as Chambers Asia and The Asia Pacific Legal 500. The firm has also been named Thailand IP Firm of the Year by Managing Intellectual Property. and has won the Asia Women in Business Law award in 2011 by Euromoney.
Memberships
Tilleke & Gibbins is active in several international associations of independent law firms, such as Lex Mundi, Multilaw, Pacific Rim Advisory Council, State Capital Law Firm Group, and TransAtlantic Law International.
Museum of Counterfeit Goods
The firm's Bangkok office is the site of the Tilleke & Gibbins Museum of Counterfeit Goods, established in 1989. The museum’s collection includes more than 3,500 pieces of infringing trademark and copyrighted goods, in categories such as clothing, footwear, watches and eyewear, accessories, cosmetics and perfumes, food and household products, drugs, alcohol and cigarettes, copyrighted works, stationery and office supplies, automotive parts, tools, electrical devices, and miscellaneous products. The museum has been featured on CNN and BBC in documentaries on counterfeiting in Thailand. The Christian Science Monitor and TIME magazine also have profiled the museum.