SJ Berwin LLP was a multinational

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

headquartered in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. SJ Berwin merged with the

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

-headquartered law firm King & Wood Mallesons on 1 November 2013, becoming the fourth member of its

Swiss Verein A Swiss association ("" in German, "" in French, "" in Italian) is a type of corporation in Swiss law. It is similar to the Anglo-American voluntary association. Unlike in Germany, a Swiss association does not need to be registered in order to ...

structure. SJ Berwin's legal name immediately changed to "King & Wood Mallesons LLP", although King & Wood Mallesons traded as "King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin" in Europe and the Middle East for a transitional period. SJ Berwin was a member of the " Silver Circle" of leading UK law firms. In January 2017, King & Wood Mallesons went into administration, which to that point was the biggest UK law firm collapse.

History

SJ Berwin was founded in 1982 in London by lawyer Stanley J. Berwin along with 15 lawyers.''Chambers Student Guide 2012''
/ref> It 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. Harrel oversaw SJ Berwin's strategy of European expansion. 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. 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. SJ Berwin had abortive merger discussions with the American law firm Proskauer Rose in 2010. In 2013 the firm entered talks to join the Australian-Chinese law firm King & Wood Mallesons as its fourth constituent partnership. The merger was completed on 1 November 2013.

Notable deals and cases

SJ Berwin advised

Lion Capital LLP Lion Capital LLP is a British private equity firm specialising in investments in the consumer sector. Previous and current consumer brands owned by Lion have included Weetabix, Jimmy Choo Ltd, Jimmy Choo, Wagamama, Kettle Foods and AllSaints. Th ...

on a string of deals including the on the acquisition of fashion chain AllSaints from Icelandic banks

Kaupthing Kaupthing Bank (, ) was a major international Icelandic bank, headquartered in Reykjavík, Iceland. It was taken over by the Icelandic government during the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis and the domestic Icelandic-based operations were ...

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 Anglo-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 Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter G. Peterson, Peter Peterson and Stephen A. Schwarzman, Stephen Schwarzman, who h ...

for British Land's holdings in the Broadgate Estate, the premier 30-acre City of London office estate. The firm advised

SITA Sita (; ), also known as Siya, Jānaki and Maithili, is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Sita is the consort of Rama, the avatar of god Vishnu, and is regarded as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi. She is t ...

, 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!'' is a British weekly magazine that primarily specialises in royal and celebrity news. Originally launched as a monthly magazine, its first issue was published in April 1993. In September 2004, ''OK''! launched in Australia as a monthly ...

'' magazine in its dispute with '' Hello!'' over the publication of "spoiler" photographs of the wedding of

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the ...

and

Catherine Zeta-Jones Catherine Zeta-Jones (; born 25 September 1969) is a Welsh actress. Recognised for her versatility, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Tony Award. In 2010, she was appointed Comm ...

References

{{Law firms of the United Kingdom Law firms of the United Kingdom Law firms established in 1982 1982 establishments in the United Kingdom