Plum - SJ Berwin UK Graduates

Planning & Environment
verity Ellis
the planning and environment group
is recognised as one of the leading
teams in the UK. the department
advises clients on specific matters
and supports the corporate real
estate and Finance departments on
large deals as part of the due
diligence process.
the planning practice is involved in
high-profile development projects,
drafting and negotiating complex
planning agreements between
developers and local authorities,
identifying planning issues on real
estate and corporate transactions
and dealing with appeals against
refusals to grant planning permission.
work in the environmental practice
may relate to issues such as
contaminated land, nature
conservation, pollution control, waste
management, renewable energy and
compliance with UK and european
environmental policy and regulations.
the team is also highly involved with
the wider energy and infrastructure
sector within the firm.
a trainee in the planning and
environment group can get involved
with a wide range of tasks, whether it
be research into aspects of planning
and environmental policy and law or
assisting with drafting documents in
relation to large developments.
trainees also assist with the business
development side of the department,
drafting sector updates for key
clients and helping to choose
interesting topics for bulletins. as this
is a contentious seat you are also
very likely to be dealing with judicial
review cases, which is a fantastic
opportunity to understand both the
court process and get to grips with
every aspect of the case you are
working on.
Employment
Matthew Pearson
employment and pensions is a
popular seat at sJ Berwin, and if you
are lucky enough to join the team for
six months, you can expect to join a
fun and outgoing group and
experience a good variety of
contentious and non-contentious work.
your seat could include work from any
of the following areas:
Contentious – you will assist the team
in acting for corporates or high-networth
individuals in defending or
bringing claims in the employment
tribunal (examples include unfair
dismissal, whistleblowing or
discrimination), drafting and
negotiating compromise agreements
and researching points of law.
non-contentious – you will almost
certainly be given the opportunity to
draft an executive’s service agreement
or a consultancy agreement. i have
drafted a variety of documents, from
compromise agreements through to
helping prepare a guest policy for a
major international hotel chain.
Corporate – a large part of the work
the team does is assisting on
corporate deals, where there will
almost always be employment issues
to consider. as a trainee, you can
expect to assist with reviewing
documentation for due diligence
exercises and drafting reports,
through to helping draft warranties
and indemnities in sale and
purchase agreements.
in addition, you will be responsible for
preparing and presenting the weekly
know-how session to the team, which
really helps you gain a solid grounding
in the general principles of
employment law. you will also
participate in regular client seminars
the team holds which are always both
interesting and entertaining.
tax
Patrick hamm
sJ Berwin’s tax department is one of
the largest in the city, with a range of
expertise to support the tax needs of
all of our clients, whether they are
financial institutions, corporates,
private funds or high-net-worth
individuals. the department
specialises in a mixture of advisory
and transactional work, including
advising on and implementing tax
efficient structures, explaining
complex statutory requirements,
drafting and negotiating agreements
and advising on a taxpayer’s
obligations to HMrc.
During my time in the department, i
have been involved in a wide variety of
different matters. i have helped to
advise our investment Funds team on
specific tax implications of setting up
and raising new funds. the evolving
nature of tax law brings particular
challenges to this area and it is a
frequent task to analyse important
pieces of proposed tax legislation and
consider the impact they could have
on our clients. examining corporate
structures and their tax treatment is
also a common trainee task in the
department and i have recently
assisted with different pieces of
advice on the tax consequences of
international structures operating in
the UK.
tax is integral to many of sJ Berwin’s
clients as it can have significant
financial consequences and helping to
provide valuable solutions to complex
tax problems is exciting and insightful.
while the volume of complex law will
lead to moments of blissful ignorance
as a trainee, making progress in this
area of law is incredibly valuable for
you and our clients.
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