{"id":50380,"date":"2025-07-21T08:57:20","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T08:57:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/?post_type=press_releases&#038;p=50380"},"modified":"2025-07-21T08:58:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T08:58:20","slug":"blumenthal-richter-sumet-expands-regional-reach-by-acquiring-legal-asean","status":"publish","type":"press_releases","link":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/press-releases\/blumenthal-richter-sumet-expands-regional-reach-by-acquiring-legal-asean\/","title":{"rendered":"Blumenthal Richter &amp; Sumet Expands Regional Reach by Acquiring Legal ASEAN"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Leading independent international law firm Blumenthal Richter &amp; Sumet (BRS) has expanded its regional platform with the acquisition of law practice Legal ASEAN. This move further strengthens the firm\u2019s capabilities in cross-border investments, real estate, foreign direct investment and regional legal consultancy across Southeast Asia.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Legal ASEAN\u2019s founder, Mark D Alelio, joins BRS as a Partner, bringing with him\u00a0over two decades of legal practice with multin<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 1rem\">ational law firms \u00a0in Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Mark is widely recognized for his strategic counsel to international and Thai clients on market entry, real estate development, foreign direct investment (FDI), and cross-border structuring. In adding his extensive experience across<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 1rem\">\u00a0a variety of matters throughout Southeast Asia, Mark brings deep regional insights that complement and reinforce BRS\u2019s existing strengths.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Mark\u2019s practice additionally covers dispute resolution, with Mark having managed complex real estate and labor disputes, and represented clients before Thailand\u2019s Department of Special Investigations (DSI). His work further spans across corporat<span style=\"font-size: 1rem\">e, Board of Investment (BOI) promotion attainment, market entry advisory in the IT and technology sectors, and management agreement structuring between Thai developers and major international hotel brands. Known for his commercial approach, Mark remains dedicated to delivering practical solutions grounded in local knowledge and responsive to the evolving needs of global businesses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Mark\u2019s team\u2014comprising Senior Associates Sasathorn Dharakasem and Teerapun Jiamton, Associates Sireethorn Ruksachart, Pranchalee Maneerat, and Pitchayapa Rungrueng, along with dedicated support staff\u2014has also joined BRS as part of the acquisition. The team\u2019s addition effectively enhances the firm\u2019s service capacity and regional practice depth, while simultaneously contributing to the firm\u2019s rapidly growing practice.<\/p>\n<p>Reflecting on the move, Mark commented:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJoining BRS will enable me to offer my existing clients an even broader range of legal services, including access to the firm\u2019s in-house dispute resolution, intellectual property, and tax &amp; customs teams. Clients will also benefit from BRS\u2019s dedicated Japan Desk and China Desk, further enhanc<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 1rem\">ing the regional support we can provide.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Echoing this strategic perspective, BRS Senior Partner and Head of Real Estate Robert Schuler remarked:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMark\u2019s extensive experience across Southeast Asia aligns with BRS\u2019s long-term strategic vision to grow our regional capabilities and deepen support for clients investing and operating in ASEAN markets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe leadership at BRS sees this acquisition as a unique opportunity to further strengthen our offering to both domestic and international clients. We are pleased to welcome Mark and his team, and look forward to combining our expertise to better serve businesses navigating Thailand and the wider region, particularly in the real estate sector.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-50382\" src=\"https:\/\/www.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/07\/Mark-Change-Clothes-Summer-2025-300x213.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"213\" srcset=\"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/07\/Mark-Change-Clothes-Summer-2025-300x213.png 300w, https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/07\/Mark-Change-Clothes-Summer-2025.png 357w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-50380","press_releases","type-press_releases","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/50380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press_releases"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}