BH2I Pte Ltd

Market Profile: International firm with cross border specialist expertise

Managing Partner: Benjamin Hirasawa

Primary Geographic Focus: Asia - Pacific regional expertise

Firm Headquarters: Singapore, Thailand

20 years of international experience in landmark transactions

32 Countries with jurisdiction

42 Countries with execution capabilities

26 Countries with professional qualifications

32 Countries with language capability

BH2I is a corporate, real estate and hospitality legal and consultancy firm focusing on the Asia Pacific region, consisting of top tier attorneys with in-house experience and large law firm pedigrees. The firm provides practical and commercially sound legal and consultancy services to leading global, regional, and national clients on international business transactions by advising on all aspects of the foreign direct investment, project, and transaction lifecycles.

BH2I is well known for its lean hybrid "bricks and mortar" / virtual law firm structure and market leading, secure, cloud based practice management and AI legal software technology to provide comprehensive, efficient, and scalable performance managed solutions for work requirements that are time sensitive or carry significant risk if not executed correctly. Each instruction is staffed by the appropriate number of fee earners with the correct level of experience for the matter at hand regardless of size or complexity. The firm's client-centric, results-focused approach ensures senior level availability and input when required, and results on-time and on-budget delivery of services to its clients.

Team members of BH2I primarily consisting of Bangkok, Australia, Singapore, and UAE based, dedicated transactional lawyers ensure that clients have access to the absolute best legal counsel in the Asia Pacific region for every aspect of their business. BH2I team is supported by its global network of corporate, real estate, and hospitality lawyers across its offices.

BH2I's core team has partnered with regional and global affiliates under strategic agreements to provide additional bench strength and on call responsive niche expertise for exceptional circumstances.

Press Coverage: 

Press coverage regarding BH2I’s launch highlighted its unique approach, which has resonated within the hospitality industry and many of BH2I’s clients. An excerpt from the below summarizes this concept well.

“BH2I stands for Benjamin Hirasawa Hospitality International,”  

Hirasawa to Asia Business Law Journal. “We are marketing under the BH2I name in an attempt to show the market that while we are appreciative that we are well-known for our hospitality expertise, that our foreign direct investment, private equity, corporate and real estate sector capabilities are also very much a part of our DNA.”

Headquartered in Singapore and Bangkok, BH2I specializes in advising real estate, corporate and hospitality clients on foreign direct investment. Other core offerings include international business transactions including private equity financings, joint ventures, cross-border M&A, and hotel, commercial and residential projects.

“We believe that BH2I’s lean business model, which features attorneys with large law firm pedigrees and reputation, and a hybrid bricks-and-mortar/virtual law firm structure, is genetically engineered to provide the market with greater value for legal services,” says Hirasawa.

He says larger global and institutional organizations have in the past adhered to a traditional mindset of wanting a large law firm with bricks-and-mortar offices in each city where they are located to work on their matters. “Many practitioners have wanted to streamline such a traditional law firm structure to use a business model that is similar to BH2I, but fear of widespread acceptance of a virtual law firm structure was viewed by many as an impediment to other potential firms and one of the perceived challenges we faced in setting up BH2I.

“The emerging post COVID19 ‘new normal’ environment has greatly assisted BH2I demonstrate that we offer efficiency and production of world-class work product in a hybrid virtual structure that can be superior to a cumbersome large law system and inflexible management model.”

In December 2020, BH2I’s Founder and Managing Partner was recognized as a ranked practitioner in Chambers and Partners 2021 Asia Pacific after only a few months after BH2I’s founding. BH2I has quickly become well known for its hotel management sector work in Singapore and Thailand, evidenced by its instruction on over 35 such engagement in 2020 and Hirasawa’s representation of BH2I on speaker panels at 2020 and 2021 SEAHIS and HICAP industry events.

BH2I feels its most significant accomplishment during its short existence is its initial success as with uncompromising ethical decision making, integrity, diversity, and respect for its clients, colleagues, communities, and profession as distinguishing characteristics and core values of the firm.

https://www.conventusleadership.com/post/former-clyde-and-co-partner-head-of-hospitality-asia-pacific-launches-innovative-regional-firm

https://www.vantageasia.com/bh21-launches-lean-mean/

https://www.gls.global/en-gb/gls-news/gls-group-thailand

https://www.conventusleadership.com/post/conversation-with-benjamin-hirasawa-founder-of-bh2i

https://www.legal500.com/firms/234784-bh2i/234357-singapore-singapore/#interviews

Recent Awards: 

• BH2I advising on aspects of a Maldivian hospitality development that won Project of the year at HICAP 2021.
• BH2I was nominated for Rising Firm of the Year for ALB SE Asia Awards in less than 1 year after incorporation.
• BH2I was selected as exclusive development counsel for a global luxury hotel operating company and concluded transactions for portfolio flags in Indonesia, Thailand, Maldives, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Korea, Taiwan, Myanmar and Macau in 2021
• BH2I was selected as primary development counsel for one of the 3 largest global hotel operating companies and concluded transactions for 12 countries for this operator in 2021.
• Ben was selected as a Who's Who Hospitality 2021 Global Leader
• Ben was selected for inclusion in First edition of "Successful People in Singapore".
• Ben has been recognized as a 2020 Acritas Stars™– independently rated lawyer.
• Ben led a team working on aspects of the acquisition of Six Senses Hotels that won deal of the year at HICAP 2019 and that was nominated for 2019 Practice Group of the Year by Legal 500 Asia Pacific.
• BH2I was the winner of the New Firm Award at the 2022 ALBJ Thailand Law Firm Awards
• BH2I was the winner of the Boutique Transactional Law Firm of the Year at the 2022 ABLJ Southeast Asia Law Firm Awards.
• BH2I featured in Singapore’s Most Trusted Legal Consultant to watch in 2022 by APAC Business.
• Ben is recognized as Thailand’s Top 100 A List Lawyers by Asia Business Law Journal.
• BH2I currently ranked Real Estate practices both in Singapore and Thailand in 2023 Legal 500 Asia Pacific.
• BH2I was shortlisted for the Construction and Real Estate Law Firm of the Year in the Legal 500 Southeast Asia Awards 2023.
• One of BH2I’s Associates, Ms. Rima Neerasint has been recognized as a Thailand Rising Star by Asian Legal Business, published by Thomson Reuters.
• Ben is recognized as a Global Leaer in Who’s Who Global Hospitality, 2023.
• BH2I was an award recipient at the Asia Business Law Journal 2023 Law Firm Awards, recognizing its excellent performance in 2022, and ranking as a top firm in Thailand in the Real Estate market.
• BH2I was selected as a finalist for Real Estate Firm of the Year and Transactional Boutique Law Firm of the Year at the ALB Southeast Asia Law Awards 2023.
• BH2I advising on aspects of a Sydney, Australia hospitality development that won Deal of the Year at HICAP 2023.