25 March 2020, Bangkok – Aawut Law Firm is delighted to announce the appointment of Douglas Mancill as Of Counsel.

Douglas has represented and advised companies and individuals on a wide range of commercial law issues. He brings with him over 20 years represented U.S., European and Japanese companies with operations and subsidiaries. including the representation of:

  • IBM in the sale of its PC business in Thailand to Lenovo.
  • Bain Capital in its acquisition of a majority stake in a Thai public company.
  • Japanese companies such as ITOCHU and Matsushita (Panasonic) in local transactions and debt restructuring matters, including, among others, ITOCHU’ acquisition of Dole’s operations in Asia (acquisition of Dole’s businesses in Thailand).
  • A dispute concerning the Yadhana pipeline between Thailand and Myanmar.
  • A major Japanese trading firm in its efforts to recover over USD100 million from a major Thai steel mill.
  • Several large Japanese corporations in the corporate restructuring of their local Thai subsidiaries.
  • A major oil company in its acquisition of a local company involving approximately 50 branches throughout Thailand.

Douglas is dual national (Thai and America) and understands the cultural, and he has handled major transactional and arbitration matters in the U.S. and Asia. This experience not only makes Douglas a strong and effective advocate when disputes arise, but also adds depth to his transactional practice.

Douglas has a recognized strong anti-corruption practice that includes substantial experience with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).  He has authored articles and spoken on anti-corruption issues in Thailand and abroad. Mancill has locally supervised scores of internal compliance investigations and routinely advises compliance.

His practice also clients emphasizes debt and corporate restructuring matters. Douglas has handled several high profile restructuring matters in Thailand after the 1997 financial crisis.

Douglas holds leadership positions in committees and task forces of the American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (AMCHAM) and the American Bar Association (ABA). He has spoken at numerous events organized by, among others, the ABA, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), LawAsia, the British Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (BCCT), the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, AMCHAM, CAL-Asia, the Japanese Institute of International Business Law and the Japanese Ministry of Justice. He has also published articles om U.S. and Thai law.

Most recently, Douglas wrote the Thai chapter to the ABA’s International Joint Ventures: A Guide to U.S. Lawyers.

Before joining Aawut Law Firm in 2020, Douglas was a Senior Consultant at DLA Piper, a global international law firm where he has handled scores of compliance matters and investigations involving the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Prior to that Douglas was a partner at PriceSanond formally known as “Deacons” one of Thailand’s oldest international law firms from 1998 until 2018, and he was partner from 1992 until 1998 in the US law firm of Graham & James (now Squire Patton Boggs), which was then affiliated with PriceSanond. He was an associate at Graham & James from 1986 until 1991. Douglas worked in the legal department of Bank of America and Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton’s Banking and Finance Department.  He graduated with a Juris Doctorate from the University of Law (California), Berkeley in 1984.

Aawut Somsak, Managing Partner said, “We are proud to have Douglas as our integral part of our firm. We are only as good as the quality of our members and Douglas make us stronger and better able to meet the needs of our clients in the region and worldwide. We look forward to continuing to provide clients with our services across our expanding global network.”

About Aawut Law Firm

Aawut Law Firm is a full-service law firm serving a broad range of foreign multi-national and Thai corporations. The Firm became a member of International Law Firms (ILF), an international association of independent smaller and mid-sized law firms serving their clients’ needs in cross-border business legal issues. ILF has approximately 70 firms from 50 countries worldwide in the same year.

In 2017, the Firm became the exclusive Commercial Litigation Member in Thailand with IR Global, the world’s largest exclusive network of advisory firms and the fastest growing professional service firm network in the world; providing legal, accountancy and financial advice to companies and individuals across 150 jurisdictions.

In addition to IR Global, the Firm is a member of Nextlaw Global Referral Network is the client-focused legal referral network created by Dentons, the world’s largest law firm. This enables the network to connect clients of member firms to the best lawyers with the appropriate experience in the locations where clients need legal counsel. The network utilizes a proprietary technology platform to help member firms research, contact and rate the performance of network members in order to guarantee that clients receive the highest quality legal advice and business solutions.