John Formichella heads our Telecommunication, Media, Technology, Data Privacy Practice, and is past Chair of the Information and Communications Technology Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangkok. He is rated as Leading Individual by Legal 500 and ranked as a Band 1 individual by Chambers and Partners.

Considered a leading expert in the technology, media, and telecommunications sector in Thailand, John has over 25 years’ sophisticated experience, covering technology transactions, telecommunications law, data privacy, cyber-security, data center outsourcing, cloud computing, media (OTT service providers, film, and television), and e-commerce.

John has also served as an advisor to local chambers of commerce and US Embassies in Thailand and Taiwan, and governmental bodies regarding Technology, Media & Telecommunications matters, including both the Office of the United States Trade Representative and United States Department of State in connection with international trade and telecommunications, and has provided testimony to members of the United States Senate on fact-finding missions in Thailand.

John is a regular contributor to Mondaq, Lexology, The Law Reviews, and other industry publications regarding Cyber-Security, Telecommunications, Space Law, and Data Privacy.

Prior to forming Formichella & Sritawat, John practiced with Bangkok based firm Blumenthal, Richter & Sumet (BRS) for 16-years. He came to BRS from Minter Ellison, where he practiced out of the firm’s Bangkok offices in its Corporate practice group.

Before joining Minter Ellison, he was Vice President/General Counsel of Wherever.net Holding Corporation (a NASDAQ-listed telecoms company based in Hong Kong). Prior to that, he was an associate for East West International Law Offices in Taipei, Taiwan, from 1996 to 1999.

John graduated from the State University of New York (University at Buffalo), earning Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts (Economics) degrees, and a Juris Doctorate. He also studied at the Chulalongkorn University Faculty of Law in Bangkok.

John is admitted to practice law in Washington, D.C. and is a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association.

• Ranked by Asia Business Law as a Super 50 TMT Lawyer
• Ranked in Chambers & Partners Asia-Pacific client guide since 2014.
• Ranked in The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific client guide since 2013 (“Leading Individual (Telecommunication, media, Technology” since 2018).
• Recognized as an expert in Telecommunications Law by Who’s Who Legal.
• Chairman, Information & Communications Technology Committee, American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (AMCHAM) (January 2013–2018).

• OneTrust Data Guidance
  Provided Opinion article on Thailand’s new Cyber Security and Personal Data Privacy Act.

• Comparative Law Yearbook of International Business (Vol. 40A), edited by Dennis Campbell
  In this Special Issue, lawyers from nine jurisdictions—Argentina, India, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, Thailand, the UK, and the US—examine recent developments in their respective countries regarding compliance and their impact on business operations, covering corporate governance, cyberlaw and security, financial services regulations, and compliance issues in healthcare and biotechnology. John was pleased to contribute a chapter on regulatory compliance in Thailand.

• Getting the Deal Through: Telecoms and Media (2017-19)
  For this key legal industry publication that provides a comprehensive overview of the regulatory environment of the telecoms and media sectors in the world’s major jurisdictions, John contributed as jurisdiction author for Thailand.

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