Roll On Friday Report That Mallesons Partners Not Happy That SJ Berwin Want To Join The Party

Roll On Friday are reporting  that SJ Berwin are  in merger talks with Asia Pacific firm King & Wood Mallesons They write.... http://www.rollonfriday.com/TheNews/APNews/tabid/359/Id/2695/fromTab/359/currentIndex/0/Default.aspx It was confirmed this week that SJ Berwin is still trying to secure a merger with Asia-Pacific firm King & Wood Mallesons (KMW). Discussions between the two firms started last year and partners on both sides are expected to be voting on it in the coming months. But it is by no means a foregone conclusion. SJ Berwin has a hat  trick of failed merger attempts behind it: Mayer Brown, Orrick and Proskauer Rose. And KWM’s merger with Singapore-based WongPartnership collapsed at the last minute when WongPartnership pulled the plug. If the merger between SJB and KWM goes ahead, it is thought the SJ Berwin name which has been around for over 30 years will be dropped entirely. However, it is worth noting that it is not expected to be a true economic merger as KWM operate a swiss verein model, under which the firms will be economically separate. Under the model, KWM is currently made up of three financially separate units in China, Hong Kong and Australia. Each will have a separate vote over the merger, which means that if one outfit isn't happy they will have the power to veto any merger. SJ Berwin's partners are believed to favour the deal. But KWM’s Australian outfit don’t appear to be so convinced. Managing Partner, Tony O’Malley, handed in his resignation last week only days before news of the merger broke. His resignation after only 14 months in the role will take effect immediately and the firm announced that he will retire from the partnership by year end.