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Thompson & Knight LLP

T&K Continues Expansion of Mexico City Office
The international law firm of Thompson & Knight LLP is pleased to announce the addition of Jorge G. de Presno-Arizpe as a Partner in the Mexico City office, known as Thompson & Knight Abogados. Mr. de Presno, who joins Partners Carlos R. Valencia and Miguel de Erice, has represented clients in numerous privatization cases and focuses his practice on Mexican labor, employment, and social security law matters. He is a well-known and respected member of the Mexican legal community and a member of the Board of Directors of the Mexican Bar Association. His 25 years of experience reflect Thompson & Knight's commitment to its clients doing business in Mexico. Mr. de Presno joins from Thacher Proffitt & Wood where he led the Firm's Labor and Employment practice.

"Jorge's in-depth knowledge of labor and employment matters will be a tremendous asset to Thompson & Knight's increasing presence in Latin America. This is an exciting time for our Firm, and our clients will greatly benefit from his breadth of experience and contacts in Mexico," says Pete Riley, Managing Partner of Thompson & Knight.

In addition, Mr. de Presno brings with him four associates, Ivan Almada Puente, Hector de la Cruz Castaneda, Leslie Palma, and Rodolfo Pinzon, who also focus their practices on labor and employment matters.

Thompson & Knight has counseled U.S., Mexican, and international clients currently or considering doing business in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America for more than 25 years. The Firm's Mexico City office greatly supports this effort and primarily focuses on international joint ventures, foreign investments, mergers and acquisitions, project finance, LNG, pipelines, oil and gas, licensing agreements, and telecommunications practices for some of the largest domestic and transnational companies in Mexico.

02-07-2007

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Proskauer & Rose, LLP

Allan H. Weitzman of Proskauer Rose Named President of Academy of Florida Management Attorneys
Proskauer Rose LLP, an international law firm with over 700 lawyers worldwide, is proud to announce that Allan H. Weitzman, a partner in the firm's Labor & Employment Law Department, has been elected President of the Academy of Florida Management Attorneys (AFMA). Mr. Weitzman was selected by the membership of the statewide organization, which consists of the preeminent practitioners of labor and employment law on behalf of employers.

"Allan is one of the most esteemed labor and employment attorneys in the state and a valued member of the Firm. Becoming President of the AFMA is a great honor and we congratulate him on this achievement," said Albert W. Gortz, partner and head of Proskauer's Boca Raton office.

The scope of Mr. Weitzman's multifaceted practice includes personnel policy planning, sexual harassment, avoiding litigation when terminating employees, union election campaigns, and employee benefit plans. He often litigates in state and federal court at the trial and appellate levels and also represents employers before administrative agencies responsible for the enforcement of the numerous antidiscrimination laws and before the National Labor Relations Board. Mr. Weitzman's experience includes negotiating collective bargaining agreements and arbitrating contract disputes and he provides day-to-day and crisis advice to clients in a wide range of businesses including retailers, insurance companies, banks, the securities industry, health care, hotels, television networks, maritime industry, public utilities, a major sports and entertainment arena, beer distributors, manufacturing facilities, and the construction industry.

Mr. Weitzman also represents companies when their former employees engage in conduct that violates their non-compete agreements and took a case - Corporate Express Office Products, Inc. v. Phillips, 2003 WL 1883697 (Fla. April 17, 2003) - to the Supreme Court of Florida and successfully argued that a successor employer can enforce a non-compete agreement signed with a former employer even when the agreement does not contain a successors and assigns clause and where the employees have not assented to its assignment.

Mr. Weitzman is Board-certified by the Florida Bar as a Specialist in Labor and Employment Law and is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. In 2006, he was named in Chambers USA, a directory of America's leading business lawyers, as a "notable practitioner" who is an "excellent advocate with strong ethics and an unrivalled understanding of business." He has also been selected by his peers for the 2005-2007 editions of The Best Lawyers in America, the nation's definitive guide to legal excellence, and in 2005-2007 he was listed in Florida Super Lawyers, a magazine featuring the top five percent of attorneys in the state.

02-07-2007

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Piper Rudnick, L.L.P.

DLA Piper's European network advises Kaupthing Bank HF on Polish acquisition
DLA Piper in the UK and the Netherlands, and Chajec, Don-Siemian & Zyto Sp.k have advised Kaupthing Bank HF on its provision of e30,200,000 debt funding to Refresco, a major European manufacturer of fruit and soft drinks. The funding was utilised by Refresco to acquire Kentpol, a Polish soft drinks and mineral water company based near Krakow, Poland.

This is a significant cross-jurisdictional deal for DLA Piper and Kaupthing Bank HF who have been developing their relationship with the successful completion of a number of UK and European transactions over the last 12 months, including: the £430,000,000 debt package provided to assist with the acquisition of Rubicon Retail Limited; the £85,000,000 debt funding for the acquisition of Lornamead Acquisitions Limited (which also included the first grant of security over a company registered in the Dubai Airport Free Zone Area); and the €430,000,000 debt funding for the MBO of the Refresco Group in April 2006.

John Cutler, DLA Piper's lead banking partner on the deal commented: "This was a particularly interesting transaction for Kaupthing and Refresco. It is the first acquisition by Refresco in Eastern Europe and follows their stated buy and build strategy following the MBO last April, the debt for which was also arranged by Kaupthing Bank."

The DLA Piper team was led by banking partner, John Cutler, and associate, Tamsyn Mileham, assisted by Ewen Scott, Eduard Scheenstra, Lex Oosterling and Krzysztof Weremczuk.

Refresco was represented by Simmons and Simmons in the Netherlands and Grynhoff, Wozny Wspólnicy in Poland.

02-07-2007

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Morrison & Foerster, LLP

Morrison & Foerster’s Corporate Finance Practice Advised on
With a strong combination of domestic and international transactions and an increasing presence in mergers & acquisitions, Morrison & Foerster’s corporate finance practice represented clients in approximately $150 billion in M&A, securities, venture capital, private equity, and IPO transactions in 2006.

The firm’s continued eminence in cross-border transactions earned it top ranks in Bloomberg’s recently released law firm league tables – Morrison & Foerster was Number 1 in M&A advisory work for Japan announced deals.

Overall, the firm served as legal advisor on the following range of deals in 2006:

* 144 merger & acquisitions, announced or closed, valued at approximately $67.6 billion
* 280 debt and equity offerings with a total value of $74 billion
* 185 venture capital deals and private equity investments with a total value of approximately $8.8 billion

All transaction totals represented healthy increases over 2005 activity.

M&A counsel was widely distributed by both geography and industry. Morrison & Foerster represented clients in 16 countries, with a heavy concentration in Japan and Western Europe, as well as deals in Canada, China, Guam, Malaysia, Mexico, Israel, and southern Africa.

The firm completed 40 separate technology deals in sectors such as computer hardware and software, semiconductors, consumer electronics and electrical equipment, and Internet-related services. Other significant deal segments in 2006 included banking and financial services; media and entertainment; advanced materials; transportation; consumer products and retail; and energy and natural resources, including a number of cross-border deals involving companies in China, Japan, the United Kingdom, the U.S. and Mexico.

Morrison & Foerster also continued to play a major role in large-scale real estate financing, including major construction and development deals involving multi billion-dollar projects in the U.S. and Japan.

Among the firm’s publicly announced and closed deals in 2006, stand-out M&A assignments included representation of:

* Mercury Interactive Corp., one of the largest software companies in Israel, in its acquisition by Hewlett Packard for a value of approximately $4.5 billion;
* ADESA, Inc. in its $3.7 billion acquisition by private equity funds;
* Glenborough Realty Trust Incorporated in its $1.9 billion acquisition by Morgan Stanley Real Estate;
* Century Theatres, Inc. in its $1 billion definitive purchase agreement under which Cinemark USA, Inc. will acquire all of the outstanding stock of Century;
* TransMontaigne Inc. in its merger with Morgan Stanley Capital Group, valued at more than $890 million;
* Air Liquide in its $780 million acquisition from The Linde Group of the remaining 45% stake in Japan Air Gases (JAG);
* Del Monte Corporation in its $580 million acquisition of Kraft’s Milk-Bone business.

Morrison & Foerster also managed key public and private offerings in 2006, including:

* Advising underwriter Merrill Lynch & Co. in $75.8 million Nextest Systems Corp. initial public offering;
* Advising underwriters Credit Suisse First Boston, Thomas Weisel Partners, Pacific Crest Securities, and Pacific Growth Equities in $72 million LoopNet, Inc. initial public offering;
* Advising issuer RRSat in $48 million RRSat Global Communications Network, Ltd. initial public offering;
* Advising underwriters W.R. Hambrecht + Co. in $25.8 million FortuNet, Inc. initial public offering;
* Advising underwriters J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., Piper Jaffray & Co., Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. and Cowen and Company, LLC in $126 million follow-on public offering of Volcano Corporation;
* Representing Cell Biosciences, Inc. in Series B financing of $27 million with Latterell VP, Domain, Novo A/S, and the Wellcome Trust;
* Representing Mochila, Inc. as issuer in $8 million Series B Preferred Stock financing;
* Representing Sutter Hill Ventures as lead investor in Series A financing of Streetline, Inc.

“It’s no secret that 2006 was a significant year for dealmaking, and we are pleased to have been a very active participant in the corporate and capital market sectors, especially given the breadth of our assignments across so many transactional categories and industry groups,” said Robert Townsend, who chairs Morrison & Foerster’s firmwide corporate practice.

“Our historic strengths in life sciences and technology continue to grow, while we have markedly expanded our presence in a number of other areas, including telecom, media and entertainment, financial services, energy, and consumer goods,” Mr. Townsend added. “We’re naturally proud of our robust showing in Japan and China, and excited about the growing opportunities for corporate work in other parts of Asia, as well as in Europe and Latin America.”

Mr. Townsend led the group of Morrison & Foerster attorneys that recently advised automobile auction finance company ADESA, Inc. in its $3.7 billion sale to a consortium of private equity firms. The complex auctioning process began with 18 potential bidders before a deal was announced last December.

Rankings

Morrison & Foerster was recognized as a top-tier legal advisor in a number of categories, as tracked by leading financial reporting services Thomson Financial, Bloomberg, and IPO Vital Signs in the following:

Thomson Financial

#2 U.S. Preferred Stock - Manager Legal Advisor

#8 U.S. Investment Grade Corporate Debt - Manager Legal Advisor

Top 10 U.S. Straight Debt - Manager Legal Advisor

Top 25 U.S. Target Completed based on number of deals

Top 25 M&A Advisors U.S. Target Completed 2006

Bloomberg

#1 in M&A Legal Advisory League Tables for Japan announced deals

#3 U.S. Preferred Manager Advisors by Volume and Deal Count

#7 for U.S. Investment Grade Manager Advisors by Volume and Deal Count

#8 for U.S. Corporate Manager Advisors by Volume and Deal Count

Top 15 M&A Legal Advisory League Tables for Hong Kong and China Announced Deals

Top 15 HK & China IPO HKSE Manager Advisors

IPO Vital Signs

Top 15 IPO Counsel (Issuer/Underwriter) by Number of Deals

Top 15 IPO Underwriters’ Law Firms

Top 15 IPO Counsel (Issuer’s & Underwriters’ Mandates)

Top 15 “Winner’s Circle 2006” Top 20 IPO Law Firms (By # of IPOs)

Top 20 IPO Counsel (Issuer/Underwriter) by Value of Deal

02-07-2007

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Jones Day, P.C.

Lawyers from Washington and Singapore Offices Thwart Efforts by Former Indonesian Distributor to Sue Diebold in Indonesian Courts
an Indonesian court ruled in favor of Diebold, Inc., one of the world’s leading producers of automated teller machines, and its subsidiary, PT Diebold Indonesia, holding the court lacked the authority to hear the matter. That decision paves the way for Diebold to defend those claims, if necessary, through ICC arbitration in New York. The former Diebold distributor, PT Mitra Integrasi Komputindo, an Indonesian company, claims damages of $111 million for the alleged wrongful termination of a distributorship agreement and injury to its business reputation. It sought relief in the Indonesian courts despite a provision in the agreement that required all disputes to go to arbitration in New York. The court’s ruling allows Diebold’s rights and interests to be impartially enforced and protected. Additionally, the necessity of bringing an arbitration in New York may deter the former distributor from making frivolous claims.

On Diebold’s behalf, John Majoras of Jones Day's Washington Office put together and led a defense team with significant, substantial support from Chong Yee Leong, Chong Boon Leong, and Elaine Chao from the Jones Day Singapore Office. They provided Diebold with local ground support in Southeast Asia, and along with the Washington Office, coordinated the development and implementation of a strategy designed to achieve Diebold’s objectives. The Singapore team also provided input on the legal and practical resources and options in Indonesia available to Diebold. Indonesian local counsel, Todung Mulya Lubis of Lubis, Santosa & Maulana Law Offices, formally represented and advised Diebold on Indonesian law. In addition, the Jones Day team helped gather evidence and information and coordinated efforts with consultants to develop strategies aimed at preserving the integrity of the Indonesian court proceedings and deterring external influences.

The Jones Day-led cross-border team formulated and presented a comprehensive and highly successful strategy that enabled Diebold to achieve its objectives and enforce the terms of its agreement. If the distributor were to pursue arbitration, John Majoras will represent Diebold in those proceedings.

02-07-2007

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Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP

Groupe Accor On The Sale Of Go Voyages
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is advising Groupe Accor, the leading European hotel and tourism business, on the €281 million sale of its GO Voyages travel agency business to Groupe Arnault’s Financière Agache Investissement and to GO Voyages management. The deal was announced on February 2, 2007.

Partner Marc Castagnède is leading this transaction from the Paris office with associates Felicia Henderson and Philippe Tengelmann.

02-07-2007

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Bracewell & Giuliani LLP

Bracewell & Giuliani Names Two Partners to Management Committee, Reelects Managing Partner Patrick C. Oxford
Bracewell & Giuliani LLP announced today that partners Gregory M. Bopp and Glenn A Ballard Jr. have been elected to serve a three-year term on the firm's management committee. Mr. Bopp co-chairs the firm's corporate section while Mr. Ballard is a partner in the firm's trial practice and current chair of the Houston Bar Association.

Based in Houston, Mr. Bopp represents publicly traded corporations, master limited partnerships, financial institutions and private investment funds in a broad range of corporate and tax matters related to mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and financings involving energy-related assets and businesses.

Based in Houston, Mr. Ballard concentrates on complex commercial litigation matters, with particular focus on trade secret and intellectual property disputes, real estate, banking, and oil and gas disputes.

Patrick C. Oxford was elected to serve an additional term as the firm's managing partner.

02-07-2007

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