SJ Berwin
Encyclopedia
SJ Berwin is an international law firm headquartered in London
, United Kingdom
. It is currently the 19th-largest law firm in the UK measured by revenues. The firm delivers commercial legal advice to financial institutions, investors, corporations and large companies.
SJ Berwin has offices in Berlin, Brussels, Dubai, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris and Shanghai. Around twenty-five percent of its partners and staff are based outside London.
In 1992, leadership of the firm was handed over to David Harrel, who led the firm for 13 years. It was on Harrel's watch that the firm in 2000 dramatically hiked its pay-rates for assistants, which contributed to a series of dramatic rises across the City that arguably became the UK's first-ever legal 'pay war'. Harrel also oversaw SJ Berwin's strategy of European expansion; at the time the firm was the only mid-tier City practice to commit to sustained international growth.
The management of the firm passed to fund formation partner Jonathan Blake in 2005, who took on the senior partner role alongside existing managing partner Ralph Cohen.
SJ Berwin made 20 fee earners and 20 support staff redundant in January 2009.
During 2009 the firm opened three new offices in Hong Kong, Dubai and Shanghai. In 2010 Ralph Cohen stood down as Managing Partner and was replaced by Rob Day, who took office in November 2010.
The firm’s profits rose 40 percent in 2011 and revenues reached nearly £180 million.
on a string of deals including the on the acquisition of fashion chain All Saints
from Icelandic banks Kaupthing and Glitnir
in 2011, and the £1.4 billion acquisition of French frozen food business Picard Surgeles in 2010.
The firm acted for Graphite Capital
on the £215 million sale of Kurt Geiger, Europe's largest luxury shoe retailer, to US retailer Jones Group.
The firm advised global packaging manufacturer Amcor
in August 2009 on its offer of $2.025 billion to buy part of Alcan Packaging, a world leader in packaging belonging to Australian mining group Rio Tinto
.
In 2010 the firm advised British Land
on forming a £2.13 billion joint venture with NYSE listed global asset manager The Blackstone Group for British Land’s holdings in the Broadgate Estate, the premier 30-acre City of London office estate.
The firm advised SITA
, the specialist in air transport communications and IT solutions, on a seven year deal, valued in excess of $2 billion, to broaden its existing partnership with Orange Business Services.
The firm acted for OK!
magazine in their dispute with Hello!
over the publication of "spoiler" photographs of the wedding of Michael Douglas
and Catherine Zeta Jones.
programmes through the following core CSR strands:
In recent years staff have worked to rebuild a village in Pakistan
(Jan Lunda) that was severely affected by the floods of 2010 with the James Caan Foundation, built a dam in Kenya
, and built a school in Rwanda
.
Fundraising activities include sponsored cake bake competitions, Christmas raffles, quiz nights, book sales, and dress down days. Most notably members of staff completed a sponsored 180-mile walk across Britain, and the firm’s Senior Associate, Jonathan Blake, undertook a 150km hike through Ethiopia’s
Simien Mountains, to raise money and profile awareness for the charity Rwanda Restored. A highlight of previous years was the sponsored London to Paris cycle ride in June 2007 where 45 members of staff took part, raising over £60,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust
.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It is currently the 19th-largest law firm in the UK measured by revenues. The firm delivers commercial legal advice to financial institutions, investors, corporations and large companies.
SJ Berwin has offices in Berlin, Brussels, Dubai, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris and Shanghai. Around twenty-five percent of its partners and staff are based outside London.
History
One of the youngest firms in the UK's top 25 by revenue, SJ Berwin was founded by lawyer Stanley Berwin along with 15 lawyers in 1982. SJB was driven forward by Berwin until his death in 1988, after which he was succeeded by Christopher Haan.In 1992, leadership of the firm was handed over to David Harrel, who led the firm for 13 years. It was on Harrel's watch that the firm in 2000 dramatically hiked its pay-rates for assistants, which contributed to a series of dramatic rises across the City that arguably became the UK's first-ever legal 'pay war'. Harrel also oversaw SJ Berwin's strategy of European expansion; at the time the firm was the only mid-tier City practice to commit to sustained international growth.
The management of the firm passed to fund formation partner Jonathan Blake in 2005, who took on the senior partner role alongside existing managing partner Ralph Cohen.
SJ Berwin made 20 fee earners and 20 support staff redundant in January 2009.
During 2009 the firm opened three new offices in Hong Kong, Dubai and Shanghai. In 2010 Ralph Cohen stood down as Managing Partner and was replaced by Rob Day, who took office in November 2010.
The firm’s profits rose 40 percent in 2011 and revenues reached nearly £180 million.
Main practice areas
SJ Berwin has defined a number of industry sectors within which it works across its offices:- Consumer industries including retail
- Energy and Infrastructure
- Financial institutions
- Healthcare
- Investment Funds
- Private Equity
- Real Estate
- Telecommunications, media & technology
Recent notable deals and cases
SJ Berwin recently advised Lion CapitalLion Capital
Lion Capital can refer to:* The Lion Capital of Asoka, a sculpture used as the national emblem of India* Lion Capital LLP, a British private equity firm formerly affiliated with Hicks Muse Tate & Furst* Lion Capital, a former affiliate of Apollo Management...
on a string of deals including the on the acquisition of fashion chain All Saints
All Saints
All Saints' Day , often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November by parts of Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honour of all the saints, known and unknown...
from Icelandic banks Kaupthing and Glitnir
Glitnir
Glitnir is the hall of Forseti, the Norse god of law and justice, and the seat of justice amongst gods and men. It is also noted to have been a place of dwelling for Balder, Forseti's father in Norse and Germanic mythologies...
in 2011, and the £1.4 billion acquisition of French frozen food business Picard Surgeles in 2010.
The firm acted for Graphite Capital
Graphite Capital
Graphite Capital Management is a private equity firm focused on middle market leveraged buyout investments, primarily in the UK. The firm also houses a fund of funds platform that invests in other private equity funds across Europe and the US...
on the £215 million sale of Kurt Geiger, Europe's largest luxury shoe retailer, to US retailer Jones Group.
The firm advised global packaging manufacturer Amcor
Amcor
Amcor Limited is an Australian-based multinational packaging company. Its headquarters are in Hawthorn, Victoria ; and it is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange....
in August 2009 on its offer of $2.025 billion to buy part of Alcan Packaging, a world leader in packaging belonging to Australian mining group Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto
- Businesses :* Rio Tinto Group, a British-Australian, multinational mining and resources group with headquarters in London and Melbourne* Rio Tinto Alcan, a Canadian aluminum mining and production company headquartered in Montreal-Portugal:...
.
In 2010 the firm advised British Land
British Land
The British Land Company plc is one of the largest property development and investment companies in the United Kingdom. The firm switched to Real Estate Investment Trust status when REITs were introduced in the United Kingdom in January 2007. It is headquartered in London...
on forming a £2.13 billion joint venture with NYSE listed global asset manager The Blackstone Group for British Land’s holdings in the Broadgate Estate, the premier 30-acre City of London office estate.
The firm advised SITA
SITA
SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...
, the specialist in air transport communications and IT solutions, on a seven year deal, valued in excess of $2 billion, to broaden its existing partnership with Orange Business Services.
The firm acted for OK!
OK!
OK! is a British weekly magazine specializing in celebrity news. Originally launched as a monthly, its first issue was published in April 1993. In September 2004, OK! publishers Northern and Shell launched in Australia as a monthly title – the magazine went weekly in October 2006...
magazine in their dispute with Hello!
Hello!
Hello is a weekly magazine specializing in celebrity news and human-interest stories, published in the United Kingdom since 1988. Hello is sister magazine to ¡Hola!, the Spanish weekly magazine launched in Spain in 1944...
over the publication of "spoiler" photographs of the wedding of Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas
Michael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...
and Catherine Zeta Jones.
Corporate social responsibility
SJ Berwin has instigated a number of initiatives to involve staff at all levels in various CSRCSR
CSR may refer to:In business:* CSR Limited, an Australian industrial company, formerly known as Colonial Sugar Refining Company* CSR plc, or Cambridge Silicon Radio, a British silicon chip designer and software company...
programmes through the following core CSR strands:
Pro-Bono
- International Lawyers for Africa (ILFA) was launched in March 2006, spearheaded by SJ Berwin, in conjunction with major international law firms. ILFA is an initiative of leading lawyers and academics in the UK that aims at equipping African lawyers with skills and expertise in key areas of the law.
- The National Autistic SocietyNational Autistic SocietyThe National Autistic Society is a British charity for people with autistic spectrum disorders , including autism and Asperger's Syndrome. The purpose of the organisation is primarily to improve of the lives of people with Autism in the United Kingdom.Founded in 1962 as the Autistic Children's Aid...
(NAS) - in July 2008, SJ Berwin became the first pro bono partner for the NAS’ welfare rights service, offering support to people affected by autism who are challenging decisions over benefits they are entitled to receive (www.nas.org.uk) - Toynbee HallToynbee HallToynbee Hall is a building in Tower Hamlets, East London which is the home of a charity working to bridge the gap between people of all social and financial backgrounds, with a focus on eradicating poverty and promoting social inclusion....
Debt Advisory Clinic - SJ Berwin sends two volunteers a week to the Hall to meet people with debt problems. The firms’ volunteers help people to better organise themselves, understand their means and obligations and cope with their predicament.
Environment
- The firm established its Environment Committee in 2007, and has since been working to bring about reductions in the firm’s carbon emissions through the implementation of a number of initiatives
- SJ Berwin was the first UK law firm to go carbon neutral back in 2001, and has carbon neutral status
- SJ Berwin is a founder member of the Legal Sector Alliance - an alliance of law firms working together to tackle climate change in the legal sector
Community
SJ Berwin’s London office dedicates resource to offering opportunities and benefits to a broad cross-section of people in its local Southwark borough. The firm’s Community initiatives include:- assisting with reading schemes at Riverside primary school;
- sponsoring the Winter Festival at Shakespeare’s Globe;
- assisting with the Citizenship Foundation’s Lawyers in Schools programme;
- supporting the Southside Young Leaders’ Academy;
- offering work experience and office visits to Charter School students;
- participating in blood donating sessions.
Charity
The Charity Committee arranges activities throughout the year for all staff to help raise money for the firm’s charity of the year.In recent years staff have worked to rebuild a village in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
(Jan Lunda) that was severely affected by the floods of 2010 with the James Caan Foundation, built a dam in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, and built a school in Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
.
Fundraising activities include sponsored cake bake competitions, Christmas raffles, quiz nights, book sales, and dress down days. Most notably members of staff completed a sponsored 180-mile walk across Britain, and the firm’s Senior Associate, Jonathan Blake, undertook a 150km hike through Ethiopia’s
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
Simien Mountains, to raise money and profile awareness for the charity Rwanda Restored. A highlight of previous years was the sponsored London to Paris cycle ride in June 2007 where 45 members of staff took part, raising over £60,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust
Cystic Fibrosis Trust
The Cystic Fibrosis Trust, founded in 1964, is the United Kingdom’s only national charity dedicated to all aspects of cystic fibrosis . It funds research to treat and cure CF and aims to ensure appropriate clinical care and support for people with cystic fibrosis.-Objectives:Its objectives are:*To...
.