King & Spalding Establishes International Arbitration Capability in Washington, D.C., With Addition of Consultant Margrete Stevens

WASHINGTON, DC -- (MARKET WIRE) -- November 30, 2006 -- King & Spalding, a leading international law firm, announced today the expansion in Washington, D.C. of its highly regarded international arbitration practice with the planned arrival early next year of consultant Margrete Stevens, who will step down at year's end as acting lead counsel of the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. Stevens brings to the firm's Washington office the new capability of investment-treaty arbitration, which rounds out the firm's existing international arbitration practice in Atlanta, Houston, London and New York.

"We are very excited to welcome Margrete to King & Spalding and look forward to the contributions she will make to the continued expansion of our arbitration group," said R. Doak Bishop, the leader of King & Spalding's international arbitration practice. "Our clients increasingly are turning to ICSID for the resolution of international disputes, and Margrete's 17 years of unsurpassed experience at this important arbitral body will add greatly to our ability to help them address the legal challenges they face around the world."

Stevens, who announced her resignation earlier this month as senior counsel and acting lead counsel of ICSID, managed the organization's 25-member legal and support staff and supervised its rapidly expanding caseload, which now consists of cases under the ICSID Convention, the ICSID Additional Facility Rules, Chapter 11 of NAFTA and the European Energy Charter Treaty. The work of the Centre involves screening and registration of new requests, appointment of tribunals, case administration and rendering of decisions and awards. In addition, Stevens advised the ICSID Secretary-General on procedural challenges and other issues.

Stevens earned an LL.M. degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Cand. Jur. degree from the University of Copenhagen.

"I am very happy to be joining King & Spalding's well-respected international arbitration practice and helping expand the capabilities the firm is providing to clients around the world," Stevens said.

King & Spalding has one of the leading international arbitration practices in the world, specializing in oil, gas and energy disputes, foreign investment disputes involving governments and disputes involving Latin American projects. The firm's lawyers are highly experienced in handling international arbitrations for clients in every major forum -- ICSID, ICC, LCIA, AAA and UNCITRAL -- and across a wide range of industries including energy, construction, utilities, telecommunications, technology, data processing, insurance and water services. In the second-largest ICSID arbitration award ever granted, King & Spalding in August 2006 obtained $185 million against the government of Argentina.

About King & Spalding

King & Spalding 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 August 2006 was ranked one of the top ten firms representing Fortune 250 companies overall. For additional information, visit http://www.kslaw.com/.

Contact Information: Contact: Jessica Schnack King & Spalding ph (212) 556-2226 Email Contact