WMACCA To Celebrate The Rise Of The In-House Counsel; Nominations Now Being Accepted for Second Annual Corporate Counsel Awards.

MCLEAN, Va. -- The Washington Metropolitan Area Corporate Counsel Association (WMACCA), the leading professional association for in-house counsel in the Washington, D.C. metro area, announces the call for nominations for its second annual Corporate Counsel Awards. The awards celebrate the contributions and accomplishments of in-house counsel and recognize the significant role in-house attorneys play in their companies and organizations. The deadline for nominations is July 15, 2006.

"The rise and prominence of in-house counsel has been significant over the past decade," said Eric D. Reicin, WMACCA president. "There are now thousands of in-house attorneys in the D.C. metropolitan area working for more than 500 corporations and other private-sector organizations. We are pleased to honor their outstanding contributions through these Corporate Counsel Awards."

Past winners include in-house counsel from some of the region's leading corporations including: Anteon International Corporation, Nextel Communications, Inc. (now Sprint Nextel Corporation), MCI (now Verizon Business), and Choice Hotels International and Sodexho, Inc.

"Receiving this award from WMACCA is a wonderful testament to the crucial role the chief legal officer plays in corporate America today," said Curtis L. Schehr, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Anteon International Corporation, who won the award for Outstanding Chief Legal Officer in 2005. "Chief legal officers and their corporate clients would do well to pursue this award as it involves recognition by the client and the greater business community of the chief legal officer they hold in the highest regard."

In-house counsel will be recognized in the following four categories:

Outstanding Chief Legal Officer of the Year: This award recognizes a chief legal officer who has made significant contributions to the prosperity and well-being of his or her organization, demonstrates outstanding character, ethics and integrity, and has worked to elevate the role of in-house counsel.

Outstanding In-House Counsel: This award recognizes an individual who reports to the chief legal officer or is an in-house lawyer who has made significant contributions to the prosperity and well-being of his or her organization, demonstrates outstanding character, ethics and integrity, and has worked to elevate the role of in-house counsel.

Outstanding Law Department of the Year: This award recognizes a collection of two or more lawyers, or one lawyer and at least one paralegal or technical specialist who have made significant contributions to the prosperity and well-being of their organization, demonstrate outstanding character, ethics and integrity, and have worked to elevate the role of in-house counsel.

Community Service Award: This award recognizes a lawyer or law department that has made significant contributions and devoted significant time to the community through legal work pro bono publico or through other non-legal community service.

All nominees must work for a private sector organization, such as a corporation, partnership, proprietorship, association, or non-profit organization, in the Washington, D.C., Virginia or suburban Maryland area. The company's primary business cannot be the practice of law.

Nominations should include a written description of how the individual or department meets the stated criteria, along with any appropriate supporting materials and the names of three people from whom WMACCA can seek additional information on the nominee.

The awards will be presented at the WMACCA Second Annual Corporate Counsel Awards Reception on Thursday, November 2, 2006 at the Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner in McLean, Virginia.

For additional award criteria and submission information, contact Ilene Reid at [phone], [e-mail] or visit the WMACCA Web site at: www.acca.com/chapters/wmacca.php.

About WMACCA

With approximately 1,400 members from more than 500 corporations and private-sector organizations, the Washington Metropolitan Area Corporate Counsel Association (WMACCA) recently celebrated 25 years of serving the professional needs of in-house counsel in Washington, D.C., suburban Maryland, and Virginia. WMACCA is the largest regional in-house bar association in the United States, and the largest chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC). As part of the global association for corporate in-house lawyers, WMACCA has been active in issues and education to encourage advancements in the standards of corporate legal practice. More information about WMACCA is available on its Web site: www.acca.com/chapters/wmacca.php.