Commentary: SJ Berwin gets set to repulse the British Land grab
Ten years ago the idea of a firm other than SJ Berwin winning a major instruction for property giant British Land would have seemed unthinkable.
July 25, 2007 at 10:28 PM
4 minute read
Ten years ago the idea of a firm other than SJ Berwin winning a major instruction for property giant British Land would have seemed unthinkable.
After all, British Land was SJ Berwin's first client and some say it is the reason the firm was created back in 1982.
British Land has always used other firms, such as Berwin Leighton Paisner, Herbert Smith and Nabarro, but, with SJ Berwin's boardroom links, including British Land head Cyril Metliss – the father of SJ Berwin veteran Jonathan Metliss – other firms barely stood a chance of landing any of the trophy work.
But skip forward a few years, several big acquisitions and new management at British Land and, while the relationship still stands, the firm's lead position on every deal is no longer as secure.
An SJ Berwin conflict meant British Land used Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer when it acquired Pillar Property in 2005 and then subsequently turned to Freshfields again for the corporate aspects of its real estate investment trust conversion – using SJ Berwin for real estate and restructuring advice.
Linklaters, with its experience in tall tower planning in the City, has also been advising the company on its new Leadenhall building, dubbed the Cheese-grater.
The threat of Linklaters is significant. While the magic circle law firm has been advising the company on the tower's planning matters for around six years – based on its work on the Heron Tower and the Gherkin – its relationship has since deepened.
With planning secured, Linklaters is now advising on commercial real estate and construction matters associated with the building. These are instructions that, as one partner at a rival firm says: "SJ Berwin must have been extremely upset to have lost."
And it is not just the magic circle SJ Berwin will need to keep track of. Jones Day has maintained its close links to subsidiary Pillar and, more recently, Ashurst has also been making inroads with British Land. The top 10 City firm's work so far has been on the office and retail park side, including on the sale of a Wembley retail park to Quintain earlier this year.
To be fair, British Land cannot be expected to use SJ Berwin for everything. Much of this promiscuity is not due to a breakdown of relationship with the firm, but more a reflection of the need for a greater variety given the growth of the company.
A partner at one advisory firm says: "This is not a reflection on SJ Berwin. It is just a commercial reality that certain firms have more experience in certain areas. These people are sophisticated users of legal services and it is a sensible way to keep people on their toes."
SJ Berwin says it is not concerned by rival firms encroaching on its territory, pointing to the fact that British Land remains the real estate practice's single biggest client and the firm still carries out the overwhelming majority of its work.
And although the firm's Metliss family ties and links with older partners such as Jeff Smith and Stephen Willson may be getting a little long in the tooth, it insists it has a roster of younger partners building the relationship.
Even so, while no-one is suggesting the long-term relationship will suddenly disintegrate, SJ Berwin will know that Freshfields, Linklaters, Ashurst and Jones Day are formidable opponents and should not be disregarded.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllInternational Arbitration: Key Developments of 2024 and Emerging Trends for 2025
4 minute readThe Quiet Revolution: Private Equity’s Calculated Push Into Law Firms
5 minute read'Almost Impossible'?: Squire Challenge to Sanctions Spotlights Difficulty of Getting Off Administration's List
4 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Commonwealth Court Overturns Award of Damages Assessed Against Landlord on Claims of Unlawful Discrimination
- 2NY Top Court to Decide Whether County Governments Owe Special Duty to Foster Care Placements
- 3Tesla, Musk Appeal Chancery Compensation Case to Delaware Supreme Court
- 4Some New Twists and Old Tricks for an Ethical New Year
- 5TikTok Hit With California Class Action for Allegedly Mining Children's Data Without Parental Consent
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250