Key Appointments Mark Strategic Expansion of King & Spalding London Office

17 January 2006

King & Spalding LLP, the international law firm, announced today a number of key appointments as part of a strategic expansion of the firm's London business. These appointments will result in a significant increase in the range of services King & Spalding can offer its clients out of London.

John L Keffer, age 48, has been appointed Managing Partner of the London office and will succeed George S. Branch, whose three-year term came to an end at the close of 2005.

An international M&A and corporate lawyer with considerable experience in European and Latin American transactions, Keffer joined the King & Spalding Houston office as a partner in 1998, after 15 years with Bracewell & Giuliani LLP. Keffer was instrumental in expanding King & Spalding's corporate practice in Houston, before moving to the UK in 2003 to help launch the firm's London office. Keffer is a member of King & Spalding's Corporate Group.

Charles Alexander, who joined King & Spalding as a partner in 2004, will succeed Keffer as Head of the London Corporate practice.

In his new role as Managing Partner, John Keffer will oversee a series of strategic appointments for the London office throughout January and February 2006.

Kevin Conway will join King & Spalding as a partner and launch the London office's tax practice. Conway, who joins King & Spalding from the International Tax Group at Clifford Chance, specialises in cross border multi- jurisdictional transactions and has extensive experience in complex international tax systems. He will also serve the firm's existing international tax clients, currently supported by the tax groups in King & Spalding's Atlanta and Washington DC offices.

Pulina Whitaker, an employment law specialist, will join the firm from Barlow Lyde & Gilbert as a Senior Associate. Pulina's arrival will permit the corporate group to expand the range of services it can offer to its clients.

January will also see the continued growth of King & Spalding's International Arbitration group in London with two new appointments to the team. Ken Fleuriet, Counsel in the International Arbitration practice group, will transfer from King & Spalding's Houston office to join the London firm. Heloise Herve, Avocat au Bureau de Paris, will join the firm, relocating to London from Paris, where she has been working for Shearman & Sterling.

Commenting on his own appointment and the expansion of the London office, Keffer said: "I am honored to have been asked to manage the firm's London office. Under the stewardship of George Branch, the London firm has had a great start over the last three years. Since we opened our doors in 2003, we have tripled in size from six lawyers to more than 20. I look forward to building on the strong foundation that has already been established.

"The appointments of Kevin and Pulina follow several months of strategic recruitment. They both bring a wealth of specialist experience and will be great assets to the London office. Our International Arbitration group has also grown significantly over the last year and the appointments of Ken and Heloise will enable the team to further build on its European base."

"The London office is well situated to serve our global clients who have business, not only in the European market, but also in the Middle East and Africa. The firm has been the beneficiary of its clients' globalisation in recent years, and the London office is a consequence of that development."

Robert Hays Jr., Chairman of King & Spalding, said: "These strategic appointments demonstrate our long-term commitment to growing the London practice, which has experienced considerable success in its first three years. We will continue to develop the firm's core practices of Corporate, Finance, Energy and International Arbitration while also exploring opportunities in further service areas. We are enthusiastic about the opportunities before the firm as a whole and I anticipate the London operation being at the centre of many of those opportunities."

About King & Spalding LLP

King & Spalding LLP is an international law firm with more than 800 lawyers in Atlanta, Houston, London, New York and Washington, D.C. The firm represents more than half of the Fortune 100, and in a Corporate Counsel survey in September 2005 was ranked one of the top ten firms representing Fortune 250 companies overall. For additional information, visit http://www.kslaw.com.

Contacts: Jessica Schnack Harry Hunt / Keith Taylor

King & Spalding LLP Porter Novelli for

Tel: +001 212 556 2226 King &Spalding LLP

jschnack@kslaw.com London

Tel: +44 207 853 2292

harry.hunt@porternovelli.com

Source: prnewswire

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