Insurance disputes lawyer Suraphon Rittipongponchusit, a former partner at Kennedys and DLA Piper, has joined the Bangkok firm Siam Premier International Law Office as a senior consultant.

Suraphon was most recently at Kennedys, which shuttered its Bangkok office last month.  He had moved from DLA Piper, where he was a senior partner, to set up Kennedys’ office in the Thai capital in 2017.

Apart from Suraphon, Siam Premier has hired three other former Kennedys lawyers: Special counsel Tassanu Chutikanon, and associates Sukollapak Klungmontri and Niti Wanichworranan. Another former Kennedys partner, Ian Johnston, has moved to Clyde & Co to launch that firm’s Bangkok outpost.

Suraphon has more than 40 years of experience in commercial litigation and arbitration, particularly in contentious insurance claims and subrogation claims, bankruptcy and restructuring-related proceedings.

With the additions of the ex-Kennedys quartet, Siam Premier now has 61 lawyers, including 15 partners. They include corporate partner Maythawee Sarathai, who joined from Hunton Andrews Kurth in July.