Stroock Names New Partners and Special Counsel.

NEW YORK -- Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, a national law firm with offices in New York, Los Angeles and Miami, named three new partners and seven new Special Counsel, effective January 1, 2007.

"These individuals have not only demonstrated commitment to our clients and Stroock, but have shown themselves to be outstanding practitioners in their respective fields," said Stuart H. Coleman, Stroock's co-managing partner.

The new Partners and Special Counsel are:

Charles E. Cantine (Special Counsel - Intellectual Property, New York) Mr. Cantine, (42), is an intellectual property lawyer whose practice includes patent and trade secret litigation, international and domestic licensing/distribution agreements, drafting opinions and patent applications in various technologies. His clients include companies in areas such as financial services, power distribution, medical devices, geoposition tracking devices and computer network infrastructure. Mr. Cantine has a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering.

Kevin J. Curnin (Partner - Pro Bono, New York) Mr. Curnin, (41), is the Director of Stroock's award-winning Public Service Project and is responsible for the overall management of the program, including advising and assisting associates and partners with their pro bono litigation and transactional work, in addition to his own pro bono caseload. Before Mr. Curnin's appointment as the Public Service Project's first Director, he spent five years as a commercial litigator. Mr. Curnin was formerly a Special Counsel at Stroock.

Angie M. Hankins (Special Counsel - Intellectual Property, New York) Ms. Hankins, (38), has experience in patent prosecution, patent litigation and client counseling. Her litigation experience has involved all aspects of discovery, trial and appellate practice before the Federal courts and the United States International Trade Commission. Her patent cases have involved liquid crystal displays (LCDs), single-use cameras, injection molding, computer software, mechanical devices and pharmaceuticals. She has prepared numerous opinions and patent applications for high technology companies. Ms. Hankins has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering.

Peter F. Jazayeri (Special Counsel - Energy, Los Angeles) Mr. Jazayeri, (34), concentrates in energy, derivatives and commodities and related regulatory, insolvency, and litigation matters. He advises commodity trading firms with regard to market disruptions, investigations, and restructuring issues, and has also appeared in state, federal and administrative actions arising out of California's energy crisis. In addition, Mr. Jazayeri's practice focuses on California's landmark clean energy laws, including those involving greenhouse gas caps and market-based emissions regulations and trading systems.

Richard R. Johnson (Special Counsel - Litigation, Los Angeles) Mr. Johnson, (39), concentrates in securities-related litigation, including defense of accountants in SEC enforcement actions, civil accountancy defense, directors' & officers' ("D&O") liability insurance coverage, employment practices liability insurance coverage and "bad faith." He has represented leading D&O insurance carriers, accounting firms, public companies and financial institutions, in state and federal courts, at the trial and appellate level. His current focus is on the insurance coverage implications of the recent stock-option backdating scandal.

Scott M. Le Bouef (Special Counsel - Corporate, New York) Mr. Le Bouef, (35), concentrates in corporate, derivatives and commodities law. He advises clients with respect to master agreements and credit support documents for over-the-counter forward and derivatives transactions involving a variety of commodities, including power, natural gas, metals, and petroleum products and the commercial, regulatory, and bankruptcy considerations related to those transactions. He also advises clients with respect to energy management agreements and tolling agreements involving power plants and related generation assets. Mr. Le Bouef also has experience working with private investment funds.

Andrew W. Moritz (Special Counsel - Financial Services Litigation, Los Angeles) Mr. Moritz, (40), practices in general and complex commercial litigation in federal and state courts. He concentrates in consumer financial services litigation, including class actions brought under various state unfair and deceptive practices acts and federal statutes, such as the Truth-in-Lending Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Michael J. Niborski (Special Counsel - Entertainment, Los Angeles) Mr. Niborski, (34), concentrates his practice in entertainment and media litigation. He has counseled clients and litigated a wide array of issues arising out of the production of television shows and motion pictures, as well as the publication of newspaper and magazine articles. His practice includes defamation and right of publicity law, as well as hidden audio and video recordings, a topic on which he regularly writes and speaks. Mr. Niborski also regularly litigates and lectures on issues arising involving California's Anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) statute.

Anthony H. Schouten (Partner - Structured Finance, New York) Mr. Schouten, (43), has experience in structured finance with a concentration in CDO transactions. Additionally, he has experience in equity funds, corporate restructuring and commodities and derivatives, including online multilateral transaction execution facilities, CFTC no-act letters and other regulatory issues, including money laundering and sovereign risk. Mr. Schouten's clients include major investment banks, leading fund managers, monoline insurers and energy companies.

Karl J. Wiemer (Partner - Corporate, New York) Mr. Wiemer, (45), represents lenders, borrowers, sponsors and other parties in complex finance transactions. He is experienced in traditional senior and subordinated debt financing, as well as tax and accounting driven and other specialized structures. His practice includes acquisition finance, working capital lending, asset-based and cash flow lending, workout and restructuring, and debtor in possession and exit finance. He has significant lending experience in the satellite and telecommunications, energy and manufacturing industry sectors. Mr. Wiemer was formerly a Special Counsel at Stroock.

Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP is a law firm providing transactional and litigation guidance to leading multinational corporations, investment banks, and venture capital firms in the U.S. and abroad. Stroock's emphasis on client service and innovation has made it one of the nation's leading law firms for over 130 years. Stroock's practice areas include: capital markets/securities, commercial finance, mergers & acquisitions and joint ventures, private equity/venture capital, private funds, derivatives and commodities, employment law and benefits, energy and project finance, entertainment, financial restructuring, financial services litigation, insurance, intellectual property, investment management, litigation, personal client services, real estate, structured finance and tax. For more information, please visit Stroock's website at www.stroock.com.