Tilleke & Gibbins review: services, fees, pros and cons

Tilleke & Gibbins is an independent regional law firm headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand, tracing its roots to 1890 — making it one of the oldest continuously operating law firms in Southeast Asia. Unlike the Chicago- or London-headquartered firms that dominate the "international law firm" category in Vietnam, Tilleke & Gibbins built its own regional network outward from Southeast Asia, with full-service offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City rather than a local licence from a global partnership. That history matters in practice: the firm has advised on Vietnam market entry and property-adjacent transactions through several full cycles of the country's foreign-investment rules, not just the current Housing Law 2023 regime.

The firm is full-service — corporate and commercial law, banking and finance, real estate and construction, dispute resolution, employment and tax — but it is most widely recognised internationally for intellectual property, where its regional practice is consistently placed in the top tier by independent legal directories such as Chambers Asia-Pacific, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific and World Trademark Review's WTR 1000. That IP strength does not directly drive a residential property purchase, but it matters for buyers whose Hanoi purchase sits alongside setting up or protecting a Vietnam-registered business, since one firm can run both files instead of coordinating two separate advisers in two practice areas.

For a foreign buyer, Tilleke & Gibbins' real estate and corporate teams handle the same milestones as any serious property lawyer in Vietnam: reviewing the Sale & Purchase Agreement before you commit a deposit, running due diligence on the seller's title and the project's 30% foreign-ownership quota position, and confirming the developer holds a valid developer license and, for an off-plan purchase, a bank guarantee covering your deposit. Ownership itself is capped at the renewable 50-year term set by the Housing Law 2023, and the firm's lawyers confirm this before you sign.

Buyers who cannot be in Vietnam for every step are a routine case: the firm drafts and coordinates a Power of Attorney so a purchase can be signed from abroad, then carries the file through the buying process to Pink Book registration after handover. Where a purchase runs alongside setting up a Vietnam company, or needs coordination with a home-country bank for financing, the firm's cross-practice bench works the file without instructing a second law firm. Timelines follow the same milestones as the wider market — a reservation stage, an SPA review window measured in days rather than weeks, and registration after handover — so engaging the firm early, before a deposit is paid, is what actually shortens the process. What it does not offer is a retail, fixed-fee intake for a single small purchase — engagement starts with a scoped conversation, not an online quote.

• Housing Law 2023 (27/2023/QH15) — effective 01/08/2024; sets the 50-year foreign-ownership term and the 30% per-building quota referenced in this review.
• Land Law 2024 (31/2024/QH15) — effective 01/08/2024; governs land-use rights referenced in our due-diligence notes.
• Tilleke & Gibbins public firm profile; Chambers Asia-Pacific; The Legal 500 Asia Pacific — consulted July 2026 for firm history, offices and practice-area recognition.