Shearman & Sterling Assists World's Largest Non-Profit Mine-Clearing Organization; Lawyers Get First-Hand View of Explosives and Mine-Clearing Techniques.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 19, 2002

Shearman & Sterling announced today that the firm has agreed to provide pro bono legal services to The HALO Trust, the organization that pioneered the concept of humanitarian mine clearance in Afghanistan in 1988.

This announcement was made in conjunction with ceremonies conducted around the world commemorating HALO's clearance of 1,000,000 landmines and UXO (unexploded ordnance).

It is estimated that landmines kill 10,000 people every year and maim more than three times as many. HALO is currently clearing anti-personnel mines, anti-vehicle mines, and explosive remnants of war in nine countries throughout Asia, Africa and the Caucasus. Work continues in Afghanistan where, in that country alone, there are more than 600,000 mines remaining to be destroyed. HALO is expanding its programs, and is in the process of assessing missions in several new areas.

"It's really gratifying to work with an organization that is literally saving life and limb, and helping people who have survived wars get back to the type of day-to-day activities that most of us take for granted," commented Saralyn Cohen, Shearman & Sterling's pro bono attorney. Shearman & Sterling is currently working on hundreds of pro bono cases, many of which reflect the international business and interests of the firm.

Sam Khichi will serve as the lead attorney on the firm's work for HALO USA. "It is probably my military background that made me especially sympathetic to this issue," commented Mr. Khichi, who served as a U.S. Army artillery officer. "I understand the importance of HALO's work, and the devastating consequences to civilians if these devices are not cleared. We've got an enthusiastic group of associates who are very eager to contribute their time to this effort."

Paul Heslop, Vice President of HALO USA, is the world's leading expert on landmine and UXO clearance. He has worked in Mozambique, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Cambodia and Laos, having personally cleared over 2,000 landmines and 30,000 UXO in the process. Mr. Heslop escorted Diana, Princess of Wales on her visit through the minefields of Angola during which she attracted international attention on the need for mine clearance. Today, Mr. Helsop visited the lawyers dining room at Shearman & Sterling to demonstrate mine-clearing techniques. He was joined by Kurt Chesko, who returned to New York on Monday from field work with HALO in Afghanistan.

Shearman & Sterling has more than 1,000 lawyers in 18 cities throughout the world, in Abu Dhabi, Beijing, Brussels, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Mannheim, Menlo Park, Munich, New York, Paris, Rome, San Francisco, Singapore, Tokyo, Toronto and Washington, D.C.