Combined firms name Chicago Managing Partner, Executive Committee Members

CHICAGO, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Reed Smith LLP, a top-20 international law firm, and Sachnoff & Weaver Ltd., a leading Chicago law firm, today announced their partners' approval of the proposal to combine the firms effective March 1, 2007. The firms also named personnel to several key leadership positions created by the combination.

"We are excited to have Chicago as our 21st office worldwide and one that gives us a truly significant presence in the Midwest," said Gregory B. Jordan, Reed Smith's firmwide managing partner. "The partners have endorsed our strategic plan to create a strong presence in another key market where our clients do business. We have targeted the Chicago market for a long time, and we are delighted to enter it with a strong and dynamic partner like Sachnoff & Weaver."

Following detailed presentations about the combination by members of the Senior Management Team in Reed Smith's worldwide offices, Reed Smith's partners voted electronically, starting November 16 and concluding yesterday. Sachnoff & Weaver partners voted on the proposal at a partner meeting yesterday. Both firms fully endorsed moving forward with plans to combine, as previously announced in early October.

"The process is proceeding precisely as we had hoped," said Austin Hirsch, Sachnoff & Weaver's Chief Executive Officer. "Our partners are overwhelmingly supportive of moving forward to culminate this relationship and create a stronger platform for both firms, which will be of considerable benefit to our clients and our lawyers and staff."

According to Mr. Jordan and Mr. Hirsch, Reed Smith and Sachnoff & Weaver have very compatible cultures and have achieved well-aligned financial results that will facilitate the combination. The combined entity will be known in Chicago for a period of time as Reed Smith Sachnoff & Weaver.

The firms also announced decisions reached over the past month on significant management roles which the former Sachnoff & Weaver partners will assume in the combined firm. In that regard, Michael LoVallo will be the Managing Partner of the Chicago office. In addition, Mr. Hirsch, Carolyn Rosenberg and Mark Brand were named as new members of the Reed Smith Executive Committee.

"Over the next several weeks, we will name other Sachnoff & Weaver partners to practice group management positions firmwide," said Eugene Tillman, Reed Smith's Director of Legal Personnel, and the Reed Smith partner who will be co-chairing the Chicago Integration Committee. The committee will be responsible for overseeing all facets of integrating the legal practices of the two firms between now and March 1 and beyond. "We plan to achieve a smooth integration of all client service, practice management, and administrative functions over the next several months," Mr. Tillman added.

Mr. Hirsch, who served as Sachnoff & Weaver's Managing Partner for more than 16 years and most recently as its CEO, will co-chair the Chicago Integration Committee with Mr. Tillman. Other Sachnoff & Weaver members of the Integration Committee will include Mr. LoVallo, the firm's co-Managing Partner and President; Sarah Wolff, who currently serves as chair of Sachnoff's Litigation Group and as a member of the board; Stewart Dolin, a board member and head of Sachnoff & Weaver's Business Services Group; Brian Roche, a former board member and current chair of the Intellectual Property and Technology practice; and Jonathan Quinn, a current board member who will serve as Head of the Midwest Business Trial Group for the combined firm.

Other Reed Smith members on the committee include W. Thomas McGough, Jr., who is stepping down at the end of this year from a nine-year stint as Head of the Reed Smith Litigation Department. Mr. McGough will be relocating to Chicago for the first year of the combination. The committee will also include Diane Frenier, Deputy Head of Reed Smith's Business & Regulatory Department; and Jack Nelson, Reed Smith's California Market Managing Partner and a key leader in Reed Smith's 2003 integration with Crosby Heafey Roach & May. The Integration Committee will have several Reed Smith members with a more specialized focus, including Thomas L. Allen, a leading financial services litigation partner in Reed Smith's Pittsburgh office; Ian B. Fagelson, the senior partner in Reed Smith's London office and a member of Reed Smith's Executive Committee, who will focus on opportunities for growth in cross border transactions involving Chicago; and Richard Swinburn of Richards Butler, a leading London trade and commodities lawyer, who will focus on opportunities in that practice area.

"This combination gives us an international platform and the resources to provide enhanced and expanded services to our current clients," said Mr. LoVallo. "This is a change we have long anticipated and are excited to have underway. We expect a smooth transition to becoming an integral part of this forward-looking and innovative firm."

Reed Smith's combination with Sachnoff & Weaver will follow its January 1 combination with Richards Butler in London. The addition of Richards Butler and Sachnoff & Weaver will increase Reed Smith's offices to 21 and will expand the size of the firm's attorney base to nearly 1,550.

About Reed Smith

Reed Smith LLP is a top-20 international law firm with 1,100 lawyers located in 13 U.S. and four European cities. Upon completion of a merger with Richards Butler on January 1, 2007, the firm will have nearly 1,400 attorneys, and its largest office will be London. The integration will double Reed Smith's presence in Paris and will add offices in Greece and the Middle East. The firm represents clients ranging from Fortune 100 to mid-market and emerging companies. They include financial services firms, life sciences companies, health care providers, technology companies and entrepreneurs, power generators and suppliers, manufacturers, real estate companies, universities, and nonprofit organizations throughout the world. For more information, visit http://www.reedsmith.com/.

About Sachnoff & Weaver, Ltd.

Sachnoff & Weaver, Ltd. is one of Chicago's leading mid-sized law firms, with more than 140 lawyers working with clients throughout the United States and abroad, offering extensive experience in securities and equity offerings; mergers and acquisitions; complex commercial litigation; estate and wealth planning; employment and human resources; intellectual property and technology; insurance coverage; and securities litigation.For more information, visit http://www.sachnoff.com/.

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Reed Smith; Sachnoff & Weaver
CONTACT: Jamie Moss of newsPRos, 1-201-493-1027 for Reed Smith, or John
Healy of Healy Communications, 1-312-440-3900 for Sachnoff & Weaver

Web site: http://www.reedsmith.com/
http://www.sachnoff.com/

Published Nov. 30, 2006
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Copyright © 2006 PR Newswire. All rights reserved.