Law Firm News

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Law Firm News

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Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, L.L.P.

AKIN GUMP EXPANDS INTERNATIONAL TRADE POLICY CAPABILITIES
"Leading international trade law and policy practitioners Hal S. Shapiro, Greg J. Mastel and Stephen S. Kho have joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in Washington, the firm announced today.

Joel Jankowsky, chair of Akin Gump’s policy practice, stated, “Few practitioners have the range of experience developing and implementing international trade and economic policy positions at the highest levels of government. Hal, Greg and Steve are three who do know and understand firsthand the major players and dynamic relationships that are critical to clients’ interests in Washington. They will complement our policy group’s strengths in this area, providing our clients with an invaluable resource.”

Val Slater, chair of the firm’s international trade practice, added, ""We are very excited to add Hal, Greg and Steve to our international trade policy team. These are three talented individuals who bring a wealth of experience and expertise and who will round out our ability to serve our clients in all aspects of international trade regulatory and policy matters. They are a terrific fit for our firm.""

Mr. Shapiro joins the firm as a partner. He advises multinational companies, U.S. trade associations and foreign governments on international trade policy and international trade agreements, litigation of disputes before the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other international dispute-resolution bodies, import and export matters, customs matters and federal civil litigation. He previously was a partner at Miller & Chevalier.

In 2000 Mr. Shapiro served as senior advisor for international economic affairs and senior counselor to the director of the National Economic Council at the White House, where he oversaw the development of administration international trade and economic policy positions with respect to international agreements, international trade disputes, pending legislation, executive orders, summit meetings between the president and foreign heads of state, and meetings of international economic bodies. He was the National Economic Council’s representative on the Trade Policy Staff Committee and the Section 301 Committee, the interagency bodies responsible for U.S. trade disputes and trade sanctions. He also specialized in U.S.-EU relations and in trade disputes. From 1996 to 1998 he served as associate general counsel in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, where he represented the United States in WTO dispute settlement proceedings; oversaw U.S. litigation involving the trade representative; and was an advisor to the trade representative, the deputy trade representative and other senior administration officials in the formulation and implementation of U.S. trade policy.

Mr. Shapiro received his B.A. summa cum laude in 1988 from Columbia College and his J.D. in 1991 from Columbia Law School.

Mr. Mastel joins the firm as a senior advisor. His practice focuses on the formulation and implementation of international trade policy by the U.S. Congress and the executive branch. He advises and represents clients regarding trade and tax legislation and related regulatory developments, such as the ongoing World Trade Organization negotiations, free trade agreement negotiations, trade remedies and disputes, and other factors that may affect market access for goods and services in the United States and abroad. He also advises and lobbies for clients on a range of other legislative issues, particularly international taxation issues. He joins Akin Gump from Miller & Chevalier, where he was a principal in the International Department and chair of the Government Affairs Department.

From 2000 to 2003 Mr. Mastel served as the chief economist and chief international trade adviser to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, where he was responsible for developing all major international trade legislation that went before the Committee. Earlier in his career, he spent six years in various positions in the U.S. Senate, including chief of staff to Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), the current chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. During Mr. Mastel’s tenure, he played key roles in numerous matters before the Senate, including passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement, extension of MFN trading status to China, and various tax and agricultural issues.

Mr. Mastel received his M.B.A. from the Edinburgh Business School in 1993 and is completing his D.B.A.

Mr. Kho joins the firm as senior counsel. He previously served for nine years in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, most recently as acting chief counsel on China enforcement. As the principal attorney on all China matters, he was responsible for developing disputes and advocacy positions related to China’s obligations in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Earlier, as associate general counsel, Mr. Kho was the lead USTR attorney on intellectual property and government procurement matters, leading the U.S. delegation in all related WTO and NAFTA dispute resolution proceedings. From 2002 to 2005 he was legal advisor at the U.S. Mission to the WTO in Geneva, Switzerland, where he managed the WTO dispute settlement portfolio for the U.S. government.

Mr. Kho received his B.A. with honors from the University of Virginia in 1991, his J.D. with honors from the University of Maryland in 1995 and his LL.M. with distinction from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1998.

“I see Akin Gump as a rare combination of truly outstanding international trade, tax and government affairs capabilities,” said Mr. Mastel. “The firm provides us with the unique opportunity to improve and expand the services we provide our clients."

03-20-2007

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Adams & Reese LLP

Boult Selected As Author in New Authoritative Book "International Trade Settlements and Negotiations: Leading Lawyers on Performing Due Diligence, Assessing Risks, and Adding Client Value"
"Reber Mitch Boult, a partner with the Nashville office of Adams and Reese LLP, is included as an author in the recently released book, International Trade Settlements and Negotiations: Leading Lawyers on Performing Due Diligence, Assessing Risks, and Adding Client Value, published by Aspatore Books. The authoritative book offers an insider’s perspective on key strategies for representing and advising companies on cross-border transactions. Boult, along with partners from other leading law firms, guide readers through the intricacies of international trade law, including negotiating with customs and trademark owners, performing due diligence, and managing export licensing obligations. These top lawyers discuss the importance of understanding a client’s business and its objectives in a given transaction, and provide tips for working with clients, preparing for negotiations, and judging the financial liability of a deal. Other topics discussed include dispute resolution, risk assessment, the enforceability of contracts, and the importance of intellectual property filings.

Boult is a member of the Intellectual Property and Technology Team in the firm’s Special Business Services Practice Group, and serves as a Practice Group Leader. He provides a full range of legal services relating to the protection, exploitation and litigation of intellectual property rights. He has vast experience in domain name disputes and in all forms of transactional work involving intellectual property, including branding strategies, IP audits, licensing, franchising and due diligence. His areas of practice include a broad scope of industries and intellectual property specialties. He works closely with the firm's Litigation Group on IP enforcement matters and collaborates with the corporate and tax teams on the intellectual property aspects of mergers, acquisitions and other transactions. He represents large corporations like Yahoo!, Gaylord Entertainment Company, and Berlitz International, Inc., as well as many medium-sized and start-up enterprises.

Boult earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Tulane University in 1982, and received his Juris Doctorate in 1985 from Vanderbilt University School of Law. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Intellectual Property Law), and has been selected by his peers as one of Nashville Business Journal’s “Best of the Bar” in the area of Intellectual Property Law. He has been named to this esteemed listing every year since its inception in 2004.

Boult is a member of the International Trademark Association, and serves on its Emerging Issues Committee. He is also the Trustee of the Allen Foundation, a private operating foundation active in providing food security, safe drinking water and educational opportunity in regions of conflict overlooked by traditional charities."

03-20-2007

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King & Spalding

Three King & Spalding Partners to Share Compliance Plan Expertise at Upcoming Conference
"King & Spalding partners Stephen S. Cowen, Paul B. Murphy and Richard L. Shackelford are set to participate in the Practising Law Institute's upcoming Corporate Compliance and Ethics Institute. The two-day conference will take place on March 29 and March 30, 2007 in Atlanta. It will be the first of four such conferences taking place across the country, with subsequent iterations of the event taking place in San Francisco (4/26 - 4/27), Chicago (5/17 - 5/18) and New York City (6/7 - 6/8).

The comprehensive seminar is designed to provide in-house counsel, compliance and ethics officers and managers, business managers and outside counsel involved in advising on compliance and ethics programs with a better understanding of how to implement and maintain a successful compliance plan.

At this year's Corporate Compliance and Ethics Institute, leading experts will outline ways to ensure a compliance plan meets current standards, examine recent developments in compliance and ethics, share practical tips on how to best communicate a compliance plan to employees and explore ways to quantify the success of a program once it is in place. Partners Paul B. Murphy and Richard Shackelford are Co-Chairing the event and will moderate a presentation of compliance plan case studies, while partner Stephen Cowen will present in a session focusing on internal and governmental investigations.

Practising Law Institute (PLI) is a non-profit continuing legal education organization dedicated to providing the legal community and allied professionals with the information and techniques that are critical to maintaining a competitive edge. For additional information on the Corporate Compliance and Ethics Institute and other upcoming Practising Law Institute programs, visit www.pli.edu/."

03-20-2007

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Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC

Experienced Womble Carlyle Labor & Employment Attorney Moves To Winston-Salem From Raleigh
Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC today announced that Charlie Edwards -- the firm's Labor and Employment Practice Group Leader who has spent the last 21 of his 37 years of practice based in Raleigh -- has moved to Womble Carlyle's Winston-Salem office.

Edwards spends most of his time devoting his attention to the representation of employers in all phases of labor and employment law. While he has defended employer interests in hundreds of cases in state and federal courts nationwide, both jury and nonjury, and has extensive experience in class action defense, he spends much of his time counseling clients on how to stay out of court, as well as how to provide the best defense in the event litigation is inevitable.

"We are pleased to have Charlie Edwards in Winston-Salem," said Keith Vaughan, Womble Carlyle's managing member. "Charlie is an extremely talented attorney with extensive employment-related experience that is a true asset to Womble Carlyle and the clients we serve."

Edwards' clients range from Fortune 100 manufacturers, retailers and service providers to small employers and local governments. Since joining Womble Carlyle in 1994, Edwards has split his practice between the Raleigh and Winston-Salem offices. Before returning to his native state in 1986, Edwards practiced in Savannah and Atlanta.

"I am very grateful for the time I was able to spend working in Womble Carlyle's Raleigh office," Edwards said. "However, I'm looking forward to serving our clients in the Triad on a full-time basis and being able to continue to build my practice from our largest and oldest office."

Edwards was named to the NC Super Lawyers list by Law & Politics in 2006 and 2007, and was also named to the NC Legal Elite list in 2004 and 2005 by Business North Carolina. Edwards has also been listed in Who's Who in American Law since 1977, as well as Who's Who in the South and Southwest, Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World. He is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia, Georgia and North Carolina, and before the Supreme Court and all thirteen U.S. Courts of Appeals.

03-20-2007

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Pepper Hamilton, L.L.P.

Ellen McElroy, Experienced Tax Lawyer, Joins Pepper Hamilton
Pepper Hamilton LLP announced that Ellen McElroy, an experienced tax lawyer with significant experience in the IRS Chief Counsel Office, has joined the firm as a partner in the Washington office.

“Ellen is a welcome addition to our tax practice group,” said David A. Wormser, the partner in charge of Pepper’s Washington office. “She has a strong reputation as a national practitioner whose knowledge and experience cover the unique and difficult aspects of accounting methods, capitalization and repairs. We’re pleased that she has chosen to join Pepper.”

Ms. McElroy focuses her practice on a variety of issues involving accounting methods and inventories, particularly capitalization matters. As the author of regulations under Section 263A of the Internal Revenue Code, she is knowledgeable about cost capitalization relating to inventories and self-constructed assets. She also is conversant with the treatment of repairs and transaction costs, having been responsible for guidance under Section 263(a) of the Code. Ms. McElroy represents clients before the IRS National Office and the Department of Treasury with respect to these and other issues, and also represents clients in accounting method controversies before IRS Exam and Appeals.

“Pepper offers me a great opportunity to expand my practice,” said Ms. McElroy. “I am looking forward to adding a new dimension to the firm’s already strong tax practice and exploring the many opportunities the firm has to offer.”

Ms. McElroy joins Pepper from Ernst & Young in Washington, D.C., where she was a principal/partner in the Accounting Methods and Inventories Group of that firm’s National Tax Department, and led the transaction costs review practice for the firm. She represented many Fortune-rated companies, including national and international retailers, defense contractors, manufacturers, financial services institutions, insurance companies and health science companies.

Before joining Ernst & Young in 1997, Ms. McElroy served as legislation counsel for the Internal Revenue Service’s Office of Special Counsel (Legislation), where she developed and drafted legislative proposals and supervised Congressional investigations and GAO audits involving the IRS. She also was a senior attorney with the Income Tax and Accounting Division of the IRS, where she was the principal author of final regulations under the uniform capitalization rules and temporary regulations involving the deductibility of lobbying expenses.

Active in the legal community, Ms. McElroy is vice chair of the American Bar Association’s Tax Accounting Committee and has served as chair of its Capitalization Subcommittee. She is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center.

Ms. McElroy is a graduate of Emory University (B.B.A. 1982) and the University of Denver College of Law (J.D. 1988), where she was the general editor of the Law Review. She received an LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1993. She is a member of the Colorado bar and is in the process of gaining admission to the bar of the District of Columbia.

03-20-2007

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Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP

Williams Appointed to Workers' Compensation Commission
Columbia Associate Derrick L. Williams has been appointed to the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission. He will fill the unexpired term of former Commissioner Michelle Childs, who is now a Circuit Court Judge. Mr. Williams practices in the areas of business litigation, franchise and distribution litigation, and labor and employment. His prior litigation background includes managing cases related to workers' compensation.

03-20-2007

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Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP

Milbank Recognized for Role in 10 "Deals of the Year" -- $16 Billion of Financings for Energy/Power, Mining and Technology Projects
Consistent with its reputation as a global leader in energy and project finance, the international law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP has been recognized by Euromoney’s Project Finance magazine for its role in ten “Deals of the Year” for deals closed in 2006, with an aggregate capital cost of $16 billion. This achievement follows Milbank’s recent recognition by Chambers and Partners as the 2006 “Global Energy & Projects Law Firm of the Year” based on the firm’s involvement in a wide range of global power, oil & gas, renewables, infrastructure, natural resources and technology related transactions during the year. Milbank was recognized by Project Finance magazine for ten “deals of the year” in 2005 and eight “deals of the year” in 2004.

Eric Silverman, co-chair of Milbank’s energy and projects group, stated, “The Project Finance and Chambers awards, as well as recognition from several other industry publications, underscore the success of our global strategy and our ability to stay ahead of the curve by anticipating and adapting to market changes. The awards illustrate the scope of our practice, which encompasses a wide range of industry sectors throughout all geographical regions. These results reflect our clients’ high level of activity in asset acquisitions/dispositions, leveraged finance, private equity, corporate restructurings and recapitalizations.”

Power, Energy & Utilities chair Ed Feo added, “We are fortunate to have such a diverse group of world-class clients who have developed major stakes in infrastructure, green technology, wind, biofuels and renewable energy projects. Our practice also includes development and financing of LNG, petrochemicals and natural resources projects in Latin America, Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific. We are gratified that our clients have entrusted us with their most complex and cutting edge transactions including many “first of a kind” deals such as those we have recently completed involving Sharia-compliant financing structures and innovative commodity trading and hedging transactions.”

Milbank was involved in the following award-winning Project Finance magazine 2006 “Deals of the Year”:

AMERICAS

* NORTH AMERICA SINGLE ASSET DEAL OF THE YEAR: Plum Point (USA)

Milbank represented Energy Investors Fund (EIF) as equity investor in connection with the $1.3 billion project financing of the Plum Point coal-fired independent power project (“IPP”), a 665 MW coal-fired electric generating facility in Arkansas.

* NORTH AMERICA REFINANCING DEAL OF THE YEAR: Sabine Pass (USA)

Milbank represented the lead arrangers, led by HSBC and Société Générale, and the lenders in the amended and restated $1.5 billion senior secured credit facility that will be used for the construction of Sabine Pass LNG’s liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) receiving terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. The initial $822 million credit facility was at the time the largest LNG financing ever in the U.S., and this time was another record-setting LNG project financing in the U.S., indicating strong interest in energy projects with viable growth and expansion potential.

* NORTH AMERICA RENEWABLES DEAL OF THE YEAR: Horizon (USA)

Milbank represented the lenders, led by Bayern LB, in the $263.3 million project financing for Horizon Wind Energy for the development of a portfolio of wind projects in a dozen states. Horizon Wind Energy is owned by investment banking firm Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs and Bayern LB acted as joint underwriters in the syndication of the debt financing.

* LATIN AMERICA MINING DEAL OF THE YEAR: Cerro Corona (Peru)

Milbank represented the lenders in the $300 million financing to fund the development of the Cerro Corona gold and copper mine in Peru sponsored by Gold Fields Limited of South Africa.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* MIDDLE EAST INTEGRATED POWER & WATER PROJECT (“IWPP”): Al Hidd (Bahrain)

Milbank represented the project sponsor (a consortium comprised of International Power, Suez Energy International and Sumitomo Corporation) in the US$1.3 billion financing to fund the acquisition and expansion of the Al Hidd IWPP, at 60 million gallons per day (“g/d”) new build, 1,000 MW and 30 million g/d existing capacity IWPP the first privatization project in Bahrain.

* GLOBAL DEAL OF THE YEAR: SIPP (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)

Milbank represented the sponsors, Saudi Ethylene and Polyethylene Company (“SEPC”,) in the financing of a $2.6 billion shared ethane cracker/polyethylene processing facility (amounting to a series of four interlinked process industry complexes) in Al-Jubail Industrial City, Saudi Arabia. Financed by commercial banks, government funding institutions and four export credit agencies (“ECAs”), the deal was a ground-breaking private sector petrochemicals project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

* AFRICAN MINING DEAL OF THE YEAR: Lumwana (Zambia)

Milbank represented the lenders in the $1 billion project financing for Equinox Minerals’ copper mine at Lumwana in Zambia, one of the largest copper projects in the world currently advancing towards production and among the largest project financed mining deals in Africa to date. The lenders provided an amalgam of 12 different credit facilities, pulling together commercial banks, export credit agencies and development agencies.

* AFRICA INDUSTRIAL DEAL OF THE YEAR: Unicem (Nigeria)

Milbank represented the lenders in the $428 million multi-tranche project financing for United Cement Company of Nigeria Limited (“Unicem”) for the construction of a greenfield cement manufacturing plant in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* ASIA-PACIFIC OIL & GAS DEAL OF THE YEAR: Reliance (India)

Milbank represented 52 international banks in project financing of the $6.1 billion Reliance Petroleum oil refinery and petrochemical project in Jamnagar, India. Upon completion of the expansion project, Reliance’s refinery will comprise the world’s largest refinery complex. This is the largest limited recourse financing in India and the largest in Asia (outside of China) since the Asian financial crisis of 1997. In addition Milbank advised the underwriters in Reliance Petroleum’s initial public offering (“IPO”), the largest Indian IPO to date.

* ASIA-PACIFIC MANUFACTURING DEAL OF THE YEAR: Hynix (China)

Milbank represented Hynix-ST Semiconductor Ltd., a joint venture company formed by Hynix Semiconductor, Inc., a leading Korean semiconductor manufacturer, and STMicroelectronics N.V., in the US$1 billion project financing for the construction of a semiconductor ship manufacturing plant in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China. This was one of the first limited recourse project financings for a wholly foreign-owned semiconductor chip manufacturing plant in China that was predominantly financed by Chinese banks.

03-20-2007

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