SJ Berwin bolsters depleted funds team with four partner promotions
SJ Berwin has made up four funds partners to plug the gap left following the exit of partners Nigel van Zyl and Oliver Rochman to Proskauer Rose.
Rob Day
Associates Shawn D’Aguiar, Ed Hall, Cindy Valentine and Laura Charkin all enter the partnership today following off-season internal promotions voted in on Friday (23 September).
Funds partners van Zyl and Rochman resigned in July to join Proskauer, the City firm’s former merger suitor, as first revealed by The Lawyer (27 July 2011).
The departures were followed by the exit of six funds associates to the US firm earlier this month (5 September 2011). None of today’s new partners had been heading for Proskauer.
SJ Berwin managing partner Rob Day said: “We’ll look to hire laterally if good opportunities present themselves. But our approach has always been one around internal talent.”
D’Aguiar focuses on private equity funds and emerging markets, especially India and China, while Hall specialises in private equity funds and some infrastructure funds.
Valentine’s focus is secondary transactions and funds activity in Africa. She has advised HgCapital, one of van Zyl’s main clients. Charkin is in the tax team and specialises in private fund structuring.
This is not the first time that SJ Berwin made up partners outside its normal promotions round. In November 2009 it promoted Vanessa Therrode and handed her responsibility for its structured finance practice following the departure of partner Brain Carne (16 November 2009).
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Readers' comments (37)
Anonymous | 29-Sep-2011 10:16 pm
If Nigel had not left Cindy and Shawn would never have even made partner... They were not even close. Ed is a bright spark, but only 5 yrs pqe. Ridiculous decision and clients will see through this pretty immediately.
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Anonymous | 29-Sep-2011 10:26 pm
This is sheer panic. Sheer panic. Contrary to SJB's above self inserted comments - the promotions are not richly deserved at all. If they were then these individuals would have been in the promotions position for this or last year. They were not in last year's round nor expected to be in this year's round... Panic.
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Anonymous | 29-Sep-2011 10:32 pm
The funny thing is that the firm panicked. Day could have agreed not to panic in this perceived crisis. Wrong decision.
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Anonymous | 6-Oct-2011 8:53 pm
I've just joined the contruction team at SJB. So, if I transfer to the funds team it seems that I can be made up as a partner in just four years. Time to move!
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disgruntled litigator | 6-Oct-2011 9:03 pm
More updates. Do not, repeat, do not, join any other department within SJB other than the funds team. It's the only department that will make you up.
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high street lawyer | 6-Oct-2011 9:13 pm
It's that bad. So, high st lawyers should be asking to join the SJB funds team. This is surely a long term sustainable area for SJB. SJB is being run by J Blake.
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Pie Man | 6-Oct-2011 9:18 pm
I'd love to be a fly on the wall and see how these amazing and expert 'partners' are accepted amongt the members...
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