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SJ Berwin Reviews 40 Jobs and Closes Media Team
Legal Week
January 23, 2009
SJ Berwin has launched a redundancy consultation putting up to 40 jobs at risk, with the top 20 U.K. firm also closing its four-partner media team entirely, leaving a further six positions facing the axe.
The firm told staff Thursday about both the redundancies and the closure of the media group.
The firm has launched one consultation affecting up to 20 fee earners and another affecting up to 20 secretarial and business support staff in the London office, with the reviews due to close at the end of February. The firm would not comment on which practice areas will be affected by the cuts.
SJ Berwin staff also learned today that the media practice will be closed, although the firm has been in talks with the four partners concerned for some time and is intending to help re-house them. The partners are expected to leave by the end of April, leaving three associates and three secretaries to take part in a separate redundancy consultation due to end in March.
SJ Berwin told Legal Week that the firm has opted to close the four-partner media team, which specializes in media asset finance work, because film finance is no longer a core practice. The group is headed by partner Tim Johnson and includes partners Sarah Bing, Charlotte McMillan and Nigel Palmer.
Ralph Cohen, managing partner of SJ Berwin, said: "These are difficult decisions taken in what everyone recognizes is a very tough market. We are doing all we can to ensure that anyone impacted by redundancy is treated well and gets appropriate support. It's hard but measures like this are necessary so we are in a strong position when markets recover."
The firm said it had no plans for cuts in other offices at the moment.
The news follows recent redundancy announcements from a number of other firms. LG launched its second redundancy consultation on Tuesday affecting 17 fee earners, including several partners and 20 support staff. In addition Denton Wilde Sapte this week kicked off a consultation with up to 80 jobs, including 40 fee earners, at risk across the firm's
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