Morgan Lewis Expands Employee Benefits Practice - Opens Dallas Office and Expands Chicago and Los Angeles Offices

Chicago/Dallas, September 1, 2004 -- Morgan Lewis announced today an expansion of its already significant employee benefits and executive compensation practice with the addition of lawyers from Jenkens & Gilchrist who focus their practice in employee benefits, ERISA and employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) matters. The new attorneys are located in Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles and bring even further experience to what is considered one of the top employee benefits practices in the country. The group includes David Ackerman and John Kober, former Co-Chairs of the ESOP team at Jenkens, and two of the most experienced ESOP attorneys in the country, and Riva Johnson, a well-known benefits and ESOP practitioner. Also included in the group are two corporate transactional partners who focus their practice on ESOPs, and Ted Becker, a highly regarded senior litigator who handles ESOP and benefits litigation matters in addition to a broad-based commercial litigation practice. This expansion also opens a new office for Morgan Lewis in Dallas, its 19th office and the seventh new office of the firm in the last two years.

Robert Lichtenstein, head of Morgan Lewis' Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice, said, "Our new partners bring with them years of experience handling complex ESOP transactions and litigation for both publicly and privately held companies across industries and around the world." The new attorneys have extensive experience in ESOP matters, including representing banks and venture funds participating in ESOP loans and helping private equity entities to structure ESOP buyouts, as well as in more traditional ERISA matters.

"The addition of an ESOP practice and additional depth and experience in ERISA matters allows us to help our clients address virtually every aspect of employee benefits and executive compensation issues, an area of considerable importance to any client," said Francis M. Milone, Chair of Morgan Lewis. "With our new colleagues, we now have more than 60 professionals in the employee benefits and executive compensation practice group, in addition to a large group of practitioners in the labor and employment group who work on benefits-related matters -- a truly national practice in this area, both substantively and geographically."

For more information on Morgan Lewis' expanded capabilities, or on the firm in general, please contact Mona Zeiberg, Firm Director of Marketing at 202.739.5847 or mzeiberg@morganlewis.com.

About Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
With 1,200 lawyers in 19 offices, Morgan Lewis offers seamless service across practice areas, no matter where our clients reside. A fully integrated, multipractice global law firm, Morgan Lewis assists clients with all of their legal needs, from day-to-day business decisions to the most complex global deals and litigation.