News | Financial Services

Thursday 7th June 2001

SJ Berwin is pleased to announce that three new partners, Bruce Gardner, Daniel Tunkel and Susan Dunnett recently joined the firm's Financial Services Group from Hammond Suddards Edge together with their assistants. Bruce is returning to SJ Berwin, after an absence of four years, bringing with him the team and practice he built up as head of the Financial Services Unit at Hammond Suddards Edge.

The near-doubling of SJ Berwin's Financial Services Group to become a team of 7 partners and 8 associates and compliance executives reflects the volume and importance of the work done. The enlarged group provides legal and regulatory advice, product structuring, documentation and compliance assistance to a wide range of financial services institutions including banks, brokers, fund managers, private equity houses, derivatives firms, clearing firms, insurance companies and investment exchanges.

As well as the work generated by London's strength as a financial centre, and the changing regulation under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, SJ Berwin's Financial Services Group regularly handles cross-jurisdictional European and global projects relating to investment firms, services and products.

Providing a pan-European service for those involved in financial services and markets is an important element of SJ Berwin's strategy as a European deals firm. The firm is expanding rapidly in continental Europe, focused on the core practice areas of corporate, M&A, private equity, venture capital, tax and EU / Competition law.

Bruce, Susan and Daniel bring particular skills in hedge funds, corporate transactions within the securities industry, e-commerce, clearing and settlement services and disciplinary disputes.

• SJ Berwin's Financial Services practice headed by the well known Financial Services campaigner Charles Abrams. The practice is highly regarded in its field and is well ranked in both Chambers and Legal 500.
• Partners Charles Abrams and Tamasin Little are recognised as leading individuals in both Chambers and Legal Experts, making SJ Berwin the only firm to have two individuals named in both those publications for financial services.
• Recent highlights include Charles Abrams advising the Conservative Party's treasury team during the passage of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 ("FISMA").
  SJ Berwin is a leading corporate law firm with offices in London, Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin, Paris, Madrid and Brussels.
• Recent awards for the firm include being named "Law Firm of the Year" at The Lawyer Awards 2000 and "Private Equity Team of the Year" by the European Venture Capital Journal. (thomas heide, london, eu & competition)
• SJ Berwin Acts in £92m Takeover of International Petroleum Exchange
  1 June 2001
• SJ Berwin's EU & Competition Department is acting for International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) in its £92 million takeover by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).
• This deal is the first transatlantic merger of futures exchanges and will allow IPE to adopt electronic trading. This follows a long search by IPE for a technology partner.
• SJ Berwin's Competition team was led by partner Simon Holmes assisted by Merlie Calvert. Simon Holmes commented: "These are pretty complex markets and it was particularly gratifying to obtain the approval of the OFT and government so quickly ø particularly during a general election campaign!"