Apichart serves as Head of Thai Litigation practice, where he provides critical direction in significant litigation.

Apichart has conducted banking, commercial and employment lawsuits and white-collar criminal lawsuits at all levels of the Thai courts.

Apichart was most recently with the dispute resolution and litigation practice at Herbert Smith Freehills. Before joining Herbert Smith Freehills, he was a partner with Mayer Brown, JSM in Bangkok for 12 years.  He is an experienced attorney representing clients in high-profile dispute resolution proceedings especially in class actions, administrative, bankruptcy and reorganization cases.

Relevant Experience

• Akara Resources Public Company Limited (Akara) – in charge of (i) an administrative case against government authorities in relation to a dispute on metallurgical license renewal of Akara’s gold mine operation; and (ii) – the defense of the civil lawsuit and the petition for a class action, in which the ground of the claim is relating to the allegations of supposed wrongful acts contravening the Enhancement and Conservation of National Environmental Quality Act B.E. 2535. The Plaintiff and her class members, totaling 398 persons, claimed that they suffered from the environmental effect and contamination of chemicals and heavy metals from the gold mining operation.
• A global automotive producer – in charge of the defense of the civil lawsuit and the petition for a class action against the client and its affiliates, totaling 4 persons, as the Defendants. The ground of the claim is relating to the defective products or unsafe product and misleading advertisements in relation to the Product Liability Act, the Consumer Protection Act and the class action law. The Plaintiffs and their class members, totaling 534 persons, claimed that they are the Defendants’ customers who suffered damage from low quality, sub-standard, defective products or unsafe products or are not in accordance with the Defendants’ advertisement.
• KfW Bankengruppe (KfW) – in charge of the defense of the Baht 190 billion (approximately US$ 5.8 billion) claim against KfW, as a member of the creditor committees of Thai Petrochemical Industry Public Company Limited (TPI). The ground of the claim is tort committed during the reorganization process of TPI, a leading petrochemical company, and its shareholders/guarantors.
• Capital Nomura Securities Public Company Limited (CNS) – in charge of the defence of a criminal case lodged against CNS, its employees and others, as the Defendants. The charges asserted by the Plaintiff are on the ground of fraud and violation of certain sections of the Securities Law.

• Marubeni Corporation, Bangkok Office (MC) – in charge of (i) the defense of labor disputes brought by MC’s former employee against MC claiming severance pay and unfair dismissal from the company; and (ii) representing MC to institute a claim against MC’s employee in respect of a breach of the employee’s obligations.
• Total Access Communication Public Company Limited (DTAC) - in charge of administrative claims against the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (state telecommunications and broadcasting regulator) in relation to (i) the alleged non-compliance with the regulator’s order regarding the required information related to prepaid service users; (ii) the regulator’s notification regarding the foreign dominance in telecoms business; and (iii) a dispute regarding the 3G commercial services race.
• Advance Info Service Public Company Limited (AIS) - in charge of administrative claims against the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission in relation to the regulator’s order imposing an administrative fine against AIS on the alleged non-compliance of the prepaid service regulation.
• Digital Phone Co., Ltd. (DPC) - in charge of administrative claims against the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission in relation to the regulator’s order imposing DPC to deliver its incomes during the protection of the consumers period.
• APICO (Korat) Co., Ltd. (APICO) - in charge of the defense of an administrative case in relation to an environmental claim on the ground related to environmental impact resulting from petroleum and natural gas drilling and exploration activities.
• Thai Petrochemical Industries Public Company Limited (TPI) - in charge of advocating the business reorganisation petition of TPI and its six subsidiaries, on behalf of the petitioning creditors and the Committee of Creditors. These cases involved total debts of approximately 3.4 billion US dollars.
• TPI Polene Public Company Limited (TPI Polene) - in charge of advocating to remove the Plan Administrator of TPI Polene Pcl on behalf of a member of the Committee of Creditors.
• The Bangkok Mass Transit System Public Company Limited (BTS) - in charge of advocating to oppose the business reorganisation petition of BTS on behalf of a major creditor. This case involved total debts of approximately 49.5 billion Baht.
• TT&T Public Company Limited (TT&T)- in charge of advocating to oppose the business reorganisation petition of TT&T on behalf of a group of foreign financial creditors. This case involved total debts of approximately 30.5 billion Baht.
• Morgan Stanley’s AMC in Thailand – in charge of the defense of several civil claims and criminal charges brought by the AMC’s customers and their related parties, totaling about fifteen cases.

Education
MA, Economic Law, Chulalongkorn University, 2000MA, National Institute of Development Administration, 1997Graduate Certificate in Comparative Law, University of Technology, Sydney, 1993Barrister-at-Law, Institute of Legal Education, Thai Bar Association, 1985LLB, Faculty of Law, Thammasat University, 1983