24 May, 2019
Tilleke & Gibbins is pleased to announce that three partners will join the firm's corporate and commercial department as of June 3, 2019, along with two counsel and four associates.
Two of the new partners—Joseph Tomkiewicz and Supasit Boonsanong—will together head the firm's energy industry practice, acting for national and international operators in the petroleum industry, as well as companies focused on new energy technologies and renewables, such as wind and solar power. Their efforts will be focused not only on Thailand’s well-established oil and gas industry, but also on the emerging energy industry opportunities across Southeast Asia through the firm’s offices in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam.
Profiles of the new partners are provided below.
Joseph Tomkiewicz is a seasoned energy industry counsel with over 28 years of managerial, transactional, and litigation experience in the world’s largest companies. Prior to joining Tilleke & Gibbins, Joseph was General Counsel for Chevron Asia South Limited, where he oversaw all legal affairs for upstream operations across several jurisdictions, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Japan, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. He has also served as general counsel for Chevron affiliates in Nigeria and Bangladesh, advising on upstream, midstream, and downstream operations. His roles prior to joining Chevron included over a decade with Mobil, where he managed a team of over 250 members responsible for the USD 85 billion merger of Exxon and Mobil, and held several positions in the Middle East.
Supasit Boonsanong has over 35 years of experience as an oil and gas industry lawyer in Thailand, and one of the most sought-after authorities in the Thai energy sector. He has
previously held positions at some of Thailand’s most well-respected law firms, and at the headquarters of a major Thai petrochemicals and energy organization. He specializes in banking and finance and mergers and acquisitions, and provides advice to leading energy and natural resources companies with a focus on project, joint venture, licensing, supply, construction and financing agreements. He regularly advises on complex, cross‐border transactions.
Prisna Sungwanna specializes in corporate law, commercial transactions, and labor and employment, and is particularly known for representing major Thai, regional, and international organizations in complex merger and acquisition matters, including intricate joint ventures. She also has extensive experience in advising foreign investors on establishment of legal entities in Thailand, obtaining foreign business licenses and certificates and Board of Investment promotion, and ongoing business issues. Her employment practice involves regularly advising on work permits and visas, and she is also adept at handling high-value real estate matters.
The new partners will be accompanied by two counsel, Charuwan Charronchitsathian and Tanadee Pantumkomon, who each have over a decade of experience handling a broad range of corporate and commercial matters at some of Bangkok’s most prestigious firms, including Chandler MHM and Baker McKenzie. They will also be accompanied by four associates.
Commenting on this development, Piyanuj (Lui) Ratprasatporn, partner and head of the firm’s corporate and commercial practice, stated that “this marks an exciting new chapter in Tilleke & Gibbins' almost 130 year history. As a result of the new hires, Tilleke & Gibbins now boasts one of Thailand's largest corporate and commercial teams, the broadest range of transactional experience, and the most impressive energy industry offering of any firm in the region.”
Tiziana Sucharitkul, co-managing partner and director of the firm’s dispute resolution practice, added that the new members of the team “…bolster Tilleke & Gibbins’ corporate and commercial offerings to further cement our position as Thailand’s foremost full service firm. We look forward to working closely with them to add significant value to the services that we offer to our clients going forward.”
With these appointments, Tilleke & Gibbins now has 30 partners (14 of whom work in the firm’s regional corporate and commercial team) and over 150 associates across Southeast Asia.
