With more than 55 years of legal professional experience to his name, David Lyman has found much success as the chairman of Tilleke & Gibbins, a leading regional law firm in Southeast Asia.
BANGKOK, THAILAND, November 12, 2019 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present David Lyman, Esq., with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Mr. Lyman celebrates many years' experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
With more than 55 years of legal professional experience to his name, since 2006 Mr. Lyman has found much success as the chairman of Tilleke & Gibbins, a leading regional law firm in Southeast Asia. He has contributed for the majority of his career at Tilleke & Gibbins in Bangkok, advancing from an associate partner to the chairman and the chief values officer between 1967 and 2006. When he first started, the law firm had one office in Bangkok with 33 staff members. Now, under his leadership, Tilleke & Gibbins, Thailand's oldest and largest independent law firm, has seven offices across Southeast Asia, in Bangkok, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Phnom Penh, Vientiane, and Yangon, employing over 570 staff and professionals. As of October 2019, Tilleke & Gibbins' active client base has grown to over 15,000. Apart from providing legal advice to multinational individuals, corporates and nonprofits, on a variety of areas such as company establishments, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, maritime, and anti-corruption issues, Mr. Lyman is widely known in Thailand as a "go-to" lawyer for cases of extraordinary facts. On one case, he proved that a client, the head of a company commissioned to tow a historical submarine from Europe to Asia, was innocent in a criminal fraud case, having saved him from a lengthy term of imprisonment. On another, Mr. Lyman defended a group of maritime treasure hunters over the rights of their found treasures.
Admitted to practice law by the State Bar of California in 1966, he began his career as an associate at Fitzsimmons and Petris from 1965 to 1966 and Lempres and Seyranian from 1966 to 1967, both of which were based in Oakland, California. Mr. Lyman also served in the United States Navy for many years, excelling in the roles of a midshipman and served on a minesweeper; and in submarines among various other positions.
Additionally, Mr. Lyman found success as the director of Triumph International (Thailand) Limited from 1972 to 2012, the director of Goodyear (Thailand) Public Company Limited from 1967 until 2006, the founding member of Prime Minister of Thailand's Foreign Investment Advisory Council (known today as the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Thailand) in 1975, and the founder of the Thailand branch of the International Chamber of Commerce, contributing as a member of its board between 1999 and 2017. Moreover, he was the president and a decades-long governor of the American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand and currently works as a senior adviser to the aforementioned organization's board of governors. Mr. Lyman has held key positions at the World Economic Forum's Davos Annual Meeting for 18 years, in the International Chamber of Commerce's Commission on Corporate Responsibility and Anti-Corruption since 1996, and on the Advisory Council of the International Crisis Group from 2003 until 2013.
Mr. Lyman gravitated toward his professional path because both of his parents were lawyers, as were two of his uncles and grandfather. However, he did not initially want to become a lawyer. His father, who served in the United States Navy during World War II, encouraged that he follow in his military footsteps. While he was a student at Duke University, Mr. Lymanenlisted in the US Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps then on active duty in the US Navy Submarine Force and advanced through the ranks, but he found himself unsatisfied in his path.
Upon graduating from Duke University with a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering in 1958, and 4 years active duty in the US Navy he attended the University of California Hastings College of the Law, where, after his first semester, he realized he wanted to pursue the legal field, despite having avoided the profession for some time. He earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1965 and obtained a diploma in foreign and comparative law from the Parker School of Foreign and Comparative Law at Columbia Law School in 1974.
Outside of his primary responsibilities, Mr. Lyman found much success in his written work as well, authoring "Lyman's Laws for Lawyers (And Everybody Else, Too!)" in 2006 and contributed numerous law-based articles to professional journals over the course of several decades. In 2018, he received the American Embassy Gold Award from Greg Wong, the then-United States Commercial Counselor for his service to, for, and on behalf of both the Thai and American communities in Thailand. This accomplishment was one of several accolades he has accrued over the course of his career. Mr. Lyman has been recognized as the Boss of the Year by the Women Secretaries and Administrative Professionals Association of Thailand in 1997, with a Plaque of Appreciation from the American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand in 2006, with an American Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Service Award in 1990, with the Thai Prime Minister's Certificate of Achievement in 1990 and 1992, and with a United States Naval Institute Prize in 1958.
Mr. Lyman established the Tilleke & Gibbins Museum of Counterfeit Goods in 1989, as educational tools for public viewing, with an initial collection of 100 items of clothing, leather goods, electronics, and toiletries. Now the museum houses over 4,000 items of infringing goods, making it one of the largest of its kind in the world. With the purpose to preserve mainland Southeast Asia's textile heritage, Mr. Lyman also created the Tilleke & Gibbins Textile Collection in 1987, which currently holds over 2,000 textiles kept in museum-quality conservation storage.
As a mark of his dedication and deep devotion to Thailand, the country he calls home, he has received, among others, the Thai Suan Luang Rama IX Commemorative Coin, presented by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn in 1988, a Miniature Cartridge Pouch Pin of the First Infantry Regiment, the King's Own Bodyguard in 2003, the "Phra Dulyathipat" Badge, awarded by the Council of the Judge Advocate General's School in 2014; and an award in 2016 bestowed by Thailand's National Legislative Assembly for devotion to help and protect abandoned animals.
Mr. Lyman has extended his services to numerous groups throughout the years, including the American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand Charitable Foundation, the Environmental Business Exchange, of which he was the founder, the Foreign Chambers of Commerce Working Group, the International Oceanographic Foundation, the Thailand Business Coalition AIDS Association, which he also created, the Royal Bangkok Sports Club, the Heritage Club, the American Bar Association, and the California Bar Association. Mr. Lyman is also a lifetime member of United States Naval Submarine League and the US Naval Institute. He has been a certified dive master with the National Association of Underwater Instructors since 1979.
For Mr. Lyman, a highlight of his career occurred when he worked as the secretary general for the Thai Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and received a phone call in which it was reported that a local elephant was in danger of being killed and having its remains used to produce strong glue. He took it upon himself to save the animal by purchasing it. In his care, it passed away a few short years ago from old age. Married to his wife since 2007, Mr. Lyman enjoys swimming, scuba diving, taking photographs, and traveling in his spare time.
About Marquis Who's Who®
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis® now publishes many Who's Who titles, including Who's Who in America®, Who's Who in the World®, Who's Who in American Law®, Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare®, Who's Who in Science and Engineering®, and Who's Who in Asia®. Marquis® publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who® website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
# # #