King & Spalding Expands Healthcare Practice With Addition of Partners Kim Roeder and Sara Kay Wheeler

ATLANTA, GA--(Marketwire - November 19, 2007) - King & Spalding, a leading international law firm, announced today that two prominent healthcare industry lawyers, Kim H. Roeder and Sara Kay Wheeler, have joined the firm's healthcare practice as partners in its Atlanta office.

Kim H. Roeder has a national reputation in healthcare transactions and regulatory compliance with a practice focus on representation of public and private healthcare providers including hospital systems, academic medical centers, physician practice groups and suppliers. She holds a top ranking among healthcare lawyers from Chambers USA 2007.

Sara Kay Wheeler is the immediate past president of the Georgia Academy of Healthcare Attorneys. She has extensive experience implementing corporate compliance programs, conducting internal compliance investigations, defending matters alleging healthcare fraud and negotiating corporate integrity agreements. She has been identified by Chambers USA 2007 as a leading healthcare lawyer.

Both lawyers join King & Spalding from Powell Goldstein LLP.

The arrival of Roeder and Wheeler brings the total number of King & Spalding lawyers and professionals involved in the healthcare industry to 192, making the firm one of the largest health industry practices in the United States. Last May, King & Spalding announced its Healthcare Initiative, a focused plan for the addition of leading healthcare industry practitioners to further enhance the firm's ability to serve this key industry.

"For our healthcare clients, getting top-notch counsel and legal representation on increasingly complex legal issues is paramount," said King & Spalding partner Richard L. Shackelford, who, along with partner Jon R. Harris, leads the firm's Healthcare Initiative. "Kim and Sara Kay bring exceptional additional strength to our practice based on their extensive experience, technical expertise and relationships within government and within the healthcare industry."

Roeder advises public and private healthcare providers in complex transactions involving acquisitions, dispositions, affiliations and joint ventures. She assists healthcare facilities, physicians and government contractors in implementing compliance programs and conducting compliance assessments and internal investigations. She also represents healthcare clients responding to U.S. Department of Justice and Office of Inspector General investigations and qui tam actions. Roeder received a J.D. degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and an A.B., with distinctions, from Cornell University.

Wheeler's background includes experience in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement arrangements, fraud and abuse compliance analysis, privacy matters, managed care arrangements and healthcare litigation. She has a high profile in the national healthcare bar through leadership and involvement in organizations such as the Health Care Compliance Association, the Georgia Academy of Healthcare Attorneys, the Georgia Hospital Association and the American Health Lawyers Association. Wheeler holds a J.D. degree from Wake Forest University School of Law, and a B.S. degree in Nursing and a B.A. degree in Communications from the University of Pennsylvania.

King & Spalding represents healthcare companies involved in the delivery of healthcare and payment for healthcare services across all facets of the legal issues they face. The firm also has one of the broadest and deepest benches of lawyers, scientists and consultants specializing in the representation of pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical technology companies. As one of the largest healthcare practices in the United States, King & Spalding has received national acclaim for excellence in transactional, litigation and regulatory representation of clients across the spectrum of healthcare.

About King & Spalding

King & Spalding is an international law firm with more than 800 lawyers in Atlanta, Charlotte, Dubai, Frankfurt, Houston, London, New York, Riyadh (affiliated office) and Washington, D.C. The firm represents half of the Fortune 100 and in a Corporate Counsel survey in September 2007 was among the top firms representing Fortune 250 companies. For additional information, visit www.kslaw.com.

Contact Information: Contact: Kimberly Brooks King & Spalding Ph: (212) 827-4378