About
The Thailand Bail law firm is the oldest and largest bail law firm in Thailand. With over 40 years of experience working in the Thai prison and court systems, our team of Bangkok lawyers and Pattaya lawyers is experienced in and focused on the bail process in Thailand.
The firm started with founding lawyer Khun Sanchai Wattanabunyakul in 1971, posting bail for American GI’s who found themselves in police or court custody in Bangkok and Pattaya while on R&R from the Vietnam War. From the 1970’s until the 2000’s, Khun Sanchai kept his legal team concentrated on bail processing and negotiation for Thai defendants as well as foreign prisoners. The firm made a name for itself among prisoners who saw their fellow inmates being released on bail quickly and without any major issues. Word-of-mouth kept the business going, and new bail cases came in regularly.
In each subsequent decade, more and more foreigners have been coming to Thailand to travel, to work, and to live. As the number of foreigners coming to Thailand started to increase, the number of foreigners being arrested also increased. Starting in the late 1990’s, the Thailand Bail law firm case specialists and lawyers realized through their frequent visits to the Klong Prem Bangkok Remand Center and the Pattaya Remand Center Nong Pla Lai that many foreigners were stuck in jail. The embassies were providing limited support, and the number of shady, expensive lawyers that were coming to visit made the situation even more dire. Khun Sanchai and the team started to realize that they should do something to improve the conditions for foreign prisoners in Thai jail. They found that even if they charged the same fees as they did for Thai clients, they could still maintain a going business while also helping foreign prisoners.
In the 2000’s and 2010’s, Thailand Bail started to change, as many of the original lawyers accepted positions at large law firms around Thailand. They were lured away by 1,000,000 THB salaries and 500,000 THB legal fees at the international Bangkok lawyer offices; in contrast, Khun Sanchai wanted to keep the core philosophy of Thailand Bail the same – offering affordable, reliable legal services to foreign and Thai clients in Central Thailand. Instead of raising the legal fees, Khun Sanchai looked for a way to increase the number of people he reached and therefore helped get out of jail in Thailand.
In 2009, Khun Sanchai met younger lawyers and started discussing ways that Thailand Bail could reach more people. Physical visits to Klong Prem, Bang Kwang, Nong Palai, and other facilities limited the Bangkok and Pattaya lawyer teams from increasing the number of people the firm could help. Khun Sanchai wanted to keep the business model the same – helping good people who made bad decisions – and do so at a price that clients could afford. Khun Sanchai also wanted to keep the team tight and focused, in order to ensure reliability and consistency in the Bangkok and Pattaya lawyer teams. A year later, in 2010, Thailand Bail started its online outreach, privately consulting with clients in the USA, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Singapore, and beyond about getting their loved ones out of Thai prison. Many times, Thailand Bail encountered foreigners who wanted to help their Thai girlfriend or boyfriend get out of jail. Instead of paying for a last-minute air ticket to fly around the world to try to handle it, our clients found that they could entrust us to handle the bail process for them quickly and effectively. Family members also started to contact us in order to help get their son, daughter, brother, or sister out of Thai jail.
In an effort to modernize its legal services, Thailand Bail launched its website www.thailandbail.com in 2012 in order to reach a broader audience and allow for a more responsive service to potential clients. Our initial discussions and consultation are still free, and we are able to reply instantly by phone or within an hour via email in most cases. We are backed by our registered company Equity Law Group Co., Ltd. and dba Thailand Bail. Now, many of our clients contact us through the website and either send us an email or call us to receive a free consultation. This provides a more open and transparent legal service.
The problems with Bangkok lawyers still persist – there are many so-called legal professionals who show up at the prison, use scare tactics to command high prices from prisoners and their concerned families, and then provide bad service. In contrast, Thailand Bail offers what others do not – fast, clear communication and legal services in English and Thai language, low legal fees, and reliable service based on more than 40 years in the business.
