KEY QUALIFICATIONS

Athiwuth is a Senior Associate at Chandler MHM Ltd. (CMHM), and has been with the firm since 2015. Prior to joining CMHM he worked at other respected international law firms in Bangkok. He specializes in corporate law, labour law, trade competition law, compliance law, data protection law, general business agreements including other relevant legal aspects of commercial transactions. He represents a number of private and public companies, both domestic and international clients, on company incorporations, obtaining certificates or licenses, and providing legal advice. Athiwuth also has particular expertise in labour and employment law such as drafting employment agreement, termination of employment, drafting/reviewing/revising work rules and regulations and other related matters. He contributed to articles, newsletters of CMHM. Additionally, he has extensive working experience with Japanese clients.  

RELEVANT CLIENT EXPERIENCE

Some Representative Transactions:

Corporate and Mergers & Acquisitions

• the seller side in respect to a pre-merger approval deal. Gaining approval was a necessity. Timing was also critical as the transaction was multi-jurisdictional. Careful analysis of the data on the nature and scope of the products across many jurisdictions was conducted.

• the original owners of a household appliances appliance sale and leasing business on the disposal of the business to a Thai listed company.

• a Japanese multinational corporation and a major producer of machinery components and electronics devices in conducting a legal due diligence exercise on an auto part and accessory manufacturer.

• Frutarom Industries Ltd. - advising Frutarom Industries Ltd., a company listed on the Tel Aviv stock exchange, to acquire a majority share interest in two Thai food ingredient manufacturing companies.

• Developers and providers of online literature business - advised developers and providers of an online literature business comprising written works such as novels, articles, literary texts, fiction and non-fiction in Thailand, in its internal due diligence process for potential share swap transaction and additional investment by investors.

• a leading technology company from Germany - representing and acting for a leading technology company from Germany in relation to advising on human resource matters, reviewing employment agreements and related human resource agreements.

• a worldwide fitness business company with its registered capital of approximately Baht 313 million, on corporate secretarial work and providing regulatory advice as general counsel of the Company on its key businesses including assisting on obtaining operational licenses.

• an Israeli company - advising an Israeli company, listed on the Tel Aviv stock exchange, to acquire a majority share interest in Mighty International Co., Ltd., and Maharaj Food Co., Ltd. The target companies are major manufacturer/exporters of food ingredients in Thailand and the ASEAN region.

• foreign investors in Thailand on conducting due diligence for regulatory compliance, licenses, permits and government approvals in connection with numerous industrial projects. Also, advised on share or asset acquisitions, M&A, and transfer of business, both partial and entire business transfer transactions.

• Thai and international clients on performing corporate secretarial work in addition to providing regulatory advice, as general counsel of various companies, on key businesses activities.

• Thai and foreign clients on data protection laws including providing in-house training on compliance, anti-trust, anti-bribery, and data protection law.

Labor and Employment

• a leading group company in plastic moulding, in a court dispute where the company was sued by its ex-management for unfair dismissal and severance pay. The court of first instance ruled in favour of the client by totally dismissing the plaintiff’s claim.
• a beauty product business in relation to an internal legal audit and an anti-corruption matter that involved an employee who held high-level management positions holding full authority as representative of the local entity. This resulted in increased complexity in planning and conducting the relevant processes from a Thai legal perspective.
• Ansell (Thailand) Limited in relation to advising on human resource matters.
• Soneva Kiri in relation to an employment issue during the Covid-19 situation and legal requirement for termination of employment.
• a leading industrial machineries provider in preparation of the rehabilitation plan, clarifying reasons to a Labour Official, police and public prosecutor to convince them to proceed further with a criminal case due to no statutory payments being made during the automatic stay process.
• an engineering service provider in the oil and gas industry (which provided engineering services to support crude oil and natural gas exploration and drilling) in relation to compensation claims from former employees (following a reduction of manpower). The compensation claim includes missing portions of severance pay, unfair dismissal damages and overtime payments under Thai labor law.
• a leading technology company from Germany on human resource matters, reviewing employment agreements and related human resource agreements.
• a Japanese subsidiary in Thailand in relation to labor union matters and employment matters related to the transfer of a business.
• a Thai company in relation to employer obligations arising from restructuring and business rehabilitation in Thailand.
• a leading logistics company in relation to negotiations with employees. The negotiations related to employee layoffs resulting from restructuring.
• Thai and foreign clients, both individuals and business entities, in court proceedings and in discussions with labor officials regarding labor and employment matters, such as, unfair termination, disputes regarding employee and employer privileges under employment agreements, and disciplinary action. Also, preparing legal documents relating to employment matters, for instance, employment agreement, termination letter, warning letter, mutual separation agreement and company’s work rules and regulations.

EDUCATION

• New York University School of Law (LL.M., 2020)
• Chulalongkorn University (LL.B. with 2^nd Class Honors, 2012)

QUALIFICATION

• Thai lawyer license, 2013

MEMBERSHIP

• Ordinary Member of Thai Bar Association
• Member of the Lawyers Council of Thailand
• Member of Notarial Services Attorney

OTHER EXPERIENCE/PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

• Lecturer for a business law certificate program at the Faculty of Law, Chulalongkorn University, 2022
• Speaker for the webinar on “how to terminate the employment and how to prepare a notice of demand including some information about COVID-19”, 2022
• Lecturer for CMHM internship program on “Employment Law”, 2022 
• Speaker for the seminar on “Employment Law” at Soneva Kiri, 6 stars luxurious resort in Koh Kood, Trad Province, 2021