Patent Partner Richard Pettus Joins King & Spalding's IP Practice

NEW YORK, NY -- (MARKET WIRE) -- January 9, 2007 -- Continuing its aggressive expansion in the intellectual property arena, King & Spalding, a leading international law firm, announced today that Richard Pettus, a patent litigator with significant experience in the pharmaceutical, medical device and consumer products sectors, has joined the firm's New York office as a partner in its intellectual property practice group. Pettus is the seventh new partner to join King & Spalding's IP group in the past four months and the third new partner to join the firm's New York office in that time period.

"We are excited to welcome Rich to King & Spalding as yet another addition to our expanding IP group," said Courtland L. Reichman, the leader of King & Spalding's intellectual property practice. "Rich is a first-rate trial attorney, who has handled an impressive roster of IP cases during his career and has extensive experience in the pharmaceutical and medical devices industries. He will be an important contributor to our ongoing efforts to expand our intellectual property practice and enhance our services to these industries."

Pettus is the seventh new partner to join King & Spalding's IP practice since September 2006. IP litigators Tony Askew, Steve Schaetzel, Jim Johnson and John Harbin joined the practice in the firm's Atlanta office, and patent lawyers Ken Sonnenfeld and Peg Brivanlou joined the firm's New York office. Sonnenfeld's arrival marked the establishment of a patent prosecution capability in the firm's New York office, which now has a full complement of IP capabilities and more than 30 lawyers and patent agents. In all, the firm's IP group now numbers more than 100 lawyers and patent agents.

Pettus joins King & Spalding from McDermott Will & Emery, where he was a partner. His practice focuses on the litigation and licensing of patents, with particular expertise in pharmaceutical matters, including ANDA Hatch-Waxman actions. He also has extensive experience counseling FORTUNE 250 and emerging pharmaceutical/biotech companies and investors on strategies for IP due diligence, licensing, pre-litigation investigations and patent prosecution. Prior to joining McDermott, Pettus practiced at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and the patent litigation boutique Hopgood, Calimafde, Kalil & Judlowe.

Pettus earned an engineering degree from Manhattan College and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law.

"King & Spalding has a tremendous platform for handling big-ticket litigation and has deep relationships with some of the country's best companies," said Pettus. "With the firm's focus on growing the IP group and expanding its representation of pharmaceutical and biotech clients, this is a great opportunity for me. I look forward to contributing to the group's ongoing success."

Note to Editors: For a photograph of Rich Pettus, please contact Jessica Schnack at (212) 556-2226 or jschnack@kslaw.com.

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