SJ Berwin is set to lose City corporate partner Perry Yam, who is joining Reed Smith to launch a private equity practice in the US firm's London office.

The venture capital-specialist private equity partner, who resigned yesterday, had been at SJ Berwin for sixteen years, becoming a partner in 2001. Last autumn he unsuccessfully stood for managing partner, losing out to Rob Day in the last round voting.

Yam has a particular focus on growth capital for developing businesses and SMEs and works with clients on buyout transactions, buy and build strategies, public to private and exits/fundraisings on the AIM and investment market.

His private equity clients include ECI Capital, Sovereign Capital, Inflexion, Nomura Private Equity and Apax. On the venture capital side, his clients include Abingworth, Advent Venture Partners, Merlin, Prelude, Quester and Schroder Ventures Life Sciences, several of which have handed SJ Berwin key mandates in recent years.

Yam had looked to quit SJ Berwin once previously in 2004 to join Olswang along with fellow private equity partner Jonathan Pittal, however the duo was persuaded at that time to stay with the firm.

SJ Berwin's City office has seen a number of departures this year, with an eight-lawyer investment funds team led by partners Nigel van Zyl and Oliver Rochman quitting for Proskauer Rose in June.

In November SJ Berwin took on Sidley Austin finance partner Andrew Bliss who joined as its second structured finance partner.