SJ Berwin has shifted its hunt to secure a US merger to Proskauer Rose with the UK firm set for detailed talks with the New York practice over the next month.

Proskauer Rose has been identified as the sole merger candidate for the UK firm, although the discussions remain at a relatively early stage.

A union would propel the pair into the global top 30 in revenue terms, creating a £600m practice according to the most recent financial data.

Proskauer Rose recorded gross revenues of $634m (£422m) for its 2009 financial year while SJ Berwin posted revenues of £184m in 2008-09.

SJ Berwin has held exploratory discussions with a handful of US law firms in recent months, including Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe and Boston's Goodwin Procter.

Earlier this week it emerged that Orrick had decided against pursuing a merger with SJ Berwin, a stance that was confirmed in an internal email from chairman Ralph Baxter. Baxter wrote in the email: "Based on our discussions to date and the information now available to us, the team working on this does not recommend pursuing it further. No one issue led us to this decision, and we leave the process with great respect for SJ Berwin."

SJ Berwin has a small committee overseeing the merger discussions. An SJ Berwin partner commented: "We have had a number of firms approaching us and looked around. There are ongoing discussions and no specific date set to make a decision."

An SJ Berwin spokesperson declined to comment.

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