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SJ Berwin LLP
Monday, January 08, 2007
SJ Berwin LLP Recruits New Partner: Head of Non Contentious Construction
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Corporate and commercial law firm SJ Berwin LLP has hired Julia Court, a construction partner currently at Hammonds to join its real estate division as head of Non Contentious Construction. Her appointment takes the number of partners in SJ Berwin’s real estate division (including dedicated tax partners) to 23. Julia Court qualified at Lovells, becoming an assistant in the Construction Department in 1990, subsequently acquiring wide experience as a construction sector lawyer. She then joined Hammonds in 2000 where she has been a partner for 6 years. She has specialised in construction and led major projects for over 15 years. Her experience includes construction work for Morley, including SJ Berwin’s own offices at 10 Queen Street Place, and other institutional players. She has significant experience in the public sector, including on PFI, development and regeneration projects, acting for both private and public sector clients. Julia’s brief will be to build on the flow of instructions from existing real estate clients of SJ Berwin on the non contentious construction side and to develop a roster of clients who will instruct the construction group directly, as well as continuing to provide support to real estate and corporate transactions. Ian Insley, who has headed the Construction group since its inception, will remain head of Contentious Construction work, and will work on a number of special projects including the Quintain/ Wembley scheme and his aircraft related work. Bryan Pickup, Head of SJ Berwin’s real estate division said, “Julia Court’s appointment alongside Ian will provide a big boost to our construction law offer to our clients and potential clients. Construction law input is increasingly important to the work of the Division, both in relation to investment acquisitions and sales, where due diligence is necessary, and more particularly on the complex documentation for the major development projects we are increasingly winning.” He added, “We already have a very skilled senior associate in Julie Stagg and we believe Julia Court’s appointment will take the Construction Group to the next stage in its development, emulating the success seen by the rest of the real estate division. We are delighted to have attracted a partner of her calibre to the firm. We are very excited about the potential business development opportunities her appointment provides us.”

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