Man of the Month – Franck Fougere – Ananda Intellectual Property

I started my career in Thailand after following my then-girlfriend from Europe to Thailand. I had never planned to work in Asia or to become an entrepreuner, but I had always been interested in Intelelctual Property (IP).

Although was still a new thing and a bit of a foreign concept when I arrived in Thailand in 2000, I was lucky enough to find a job in IP and proceed to grow from there. What I find most fascinating about IP and still enjoy is the opportunity to learn new things everyday, new inventions, brands as well as to conduct investigations and litigation into fake products and IP infringements.

It was also great that I could quickly make friends and create a nice work atmosphere at the office. My Thai colleagues are fast learners and share our company values of: being ethical, strategy oriented, and client focused. The camaraderie among our team members is what I am the most proud of, it helped make us one of the top IP law firms of Thailand.

We currently employ a ration of 1:3 male to female lawyers at Ananda IP.

Female lawyers have a much more challenging career than their male counterparts. Although females make up the greater portion of law graduates and lawyers in the earlier career stages, males tend to dominate the profession, especially among law partners, in later career stages

This is mostly due to the nature of the job’s demands — it is difficult to maintain a healthy work-life balance and succeed as a lawyer. Female lawyers tend to leave law firm practices after getting married or having children.

There is still room for improvement in our profession. We can do more to eliminate discrimination and ensure that people can succeed in both their professional and personal lives.

First of all, we apply the principle of same salary for same position.

Second, we try to ensure, as much as possible, that our employees do not work overtime. We have also schedule flexibilities that female staff with children often benefit from. As a father myself, I know how important it to be able to take care of a sick child or be able to spend time with family.

The attitude we try to encourage is responsibility. As a manager I feel responsible for my colleagues and expect them to feel responsible for their work and to be proud of their achievements.

This is mostly due to the nature of the job’s demands — it is difficult to maintain a healthy work-life balance and succeed as a lawyer. Female lawyers tend to leave law firm practices after getting married or having children.

There is still room for improvement in our profession. We can do more to eliminate discrimination and ensure that people can succeed in both their professional and personal lives.

I very much enjoy working with women in the legal profession because, generally speaking, they are highly reliable and loyal. Men tend to be hard workers as well, but they are more ambition-driven and less detail-oriented. In the past, I’ve seen many women handle high stress situations much better than the men.

I have not encountered any specific challenging issue in working with female colleagues, except maybe for sometimes having to fulfill a surrogate father role, by listening and giving advice, regarding personal.

I realized that being a manager in Thailand goes well beyond the role of a manager in Europe. You need to care for your employees, not just at a professional level, but — very importantly — at a personal level. In Thailand, you need to listen, try to understand, and be open to employees’ needs.

No, I never heard of such opinion except for litigators in court were men are often preferred by clients as they think that a male lawyer will be more aggressive in defending their interest. But I have also seen many assertive female lawyers in court. And, of course, a large proportion of judges are women.

The must have skills are to be responsive, client-focussed, and strategy-oriented. A good lawyer (whether male or female) needs to have a critical mind and must excel in building a sound strategy. Women lawyers are generally better at managing the client-attorney relationship whereas male lawyer are sometimes less shy in thinking out of the box and in more strategic ways. But when it comes to paying attention to detail, women usually perform better.

We run a paper less office which is something we are very proud of. Not only is it good for the environement but it forced us to adopt modern tools such as a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. By using the CRM, we also save a great deal of storage space and, therefore, rent.

One challenge we have is that the number of connected users to our online CRM and cloud can sometimes make internet speed an issue. But I would still choose the current set-up over having to search for a physical file.

As an intellectual property consultant I recommend that everyone document and timestamp every new idea or expressed idea. Copyright protection is free and can be protected at any time. Inventions and designs, however, require a patent application before disclosure if it they are to be protected.

Among our clients are very successful business women who are inventors of new technologies, designs and trademarks. In the fashion, cosmetics and pharmaceutical fields we see women not only generating intellectual property but also managing entire departments and IP portfolios.

One challenge we have is that the number of connected users to our online CRM and cloud can sometimes make internet speed an issue. But I would still choose the current set-up over having to search for a physical file.

Maybe the lack of political will of Thai authorities to truly put intellectual property and innovation at the core of their development and priorities. There is too little domestic innovation and, unfortunately, little support for local inventors, including academic institutions. This is in comparison to IP development support in places like Singapore.

I wish to see Thailand realize that intellectual property is not a foreign concept, but very much something that can benefit Thailand and Thai entrepreneurs. I have seen some promising changes in the right direction in recent years.

My wife, absolutely, and not just for this month. We have been married ten years this month. She is a US-trained lawyer and mother of my son Ananda. She advised me to name the company after our son’s name and that was the best advice ever.

Everyday, I am reminded of the purpose of my I work, to raise my child and take care of my family. My wife not only takes care of the family and home, she is the most precious person to provide me with advice on running the company and handling employee and client issues. And when I have a complex contract to draft or to review, guess who comes to the rescue?