King & Spalding Announces Offices in Silicon Valley and San Francisco

SILICON VALLEY, CA--(Marketwire - February 18, 2008) - King & Spalding, a leading international law firm, announced today that it has established an office in Silicon Valley and will open a second California-based office in San Francisco in the near future to respond to strong client demand for legal services. The offices will focus initially on the firm's strengths in intellectual property, FDA/healthcare, tort litigation, private equity, real estate capital markets, government and internal investigations, business litigation and energy.

The Silicon Valley and San Francisco openings represent the firm's fifth and sixth new offices, respectively, in the past 14 months, and its tenth and eleventh worldwide locations.

The firm is immediately bringing on board two prominent partners and seven associates from the Menlo Park, California office of Perkins Coie. Joining King & Spalding as partners in the Silicon Valley office are Paul J. Andre and Lisa Kobialka, both of whom specialize in intellectual property and high-technology litigation.

"Overwhelming client demand has convinced us the timing is right to establish a significant, full-service presence on the West Coast," said Robert D. Hays, Jr., chairman of King & Spalding. "We have deep connections in the state, particularly in the pharmaceutical, biomedical, energy and high-technology sectors. We look forward to serving the increasing West Coast needs of our clients and developing new business throughout California."

Courtland L. Reichman, King & Spalding's intellectual property practice group leader, is relocating to California from the firm's Atlanta office to become the managing partner of the Silicon Valley and San Francisco offices.

Paul J. Andre focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation and counseling involving complex technology. He has represented clients in more than 60 patent litigation matters throughout the United States on issues including biotechnology, medical devices, software and computer hardware. He also represents clients in intellectual property cases dealing with trade secrets, trademarks and copyrights, as well as in a variety of general commercial litigations. He received a J.D. degree from Fordham University School of Law, an M.S. degree in Immunology and B.S. degree in Biology/Physics from Middle Tennessee State University, and he was a Ph.D. candidate in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

Lisa Kobialka is the former head of Perkins Coie's Menlo Park commercial litigation practice. She specializes in intellectual property and commercial litigation involving complex technology, with particular emphasis on computer science, electrical arts and life sciences. She has handled commercial litigation matters dealing with trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract and fiduciary duty, false advertising and unfair competition in federal and state courts in numerous jurisdictions. She has also represented clients in more than 70 patent litigation matters. She earned a J.D. degree at the University of San Francisco Law School, an M.M. degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a B.A. degree at the University of California, Davis. She is an active member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.

Reichman said, "We are thrilled to welcome Paul, Lisa and their team to King & Spalding. The addition of these prominent patent trial lawyers complements our growing national IP footprint. California is integral to the firm's long-term strategy. We are looking forward to serving our clients and contributing to the community as we build enduring relationships in this exciting new market."

Accompanying Andre and Kobialka from their former firm to King & Spalding's Silicon Valley office are associates Sean Boyle, Ph.D., Shane M. Glynn, James Hannah, Kristopher Kastens, Hannah Lee, Amy Sun and Meghan Wharton.

Reichman said that at least five King & Spalding partners will relocate to the firm's Silicon Valley and San Francisco offices. The firm anticipates a large and diversified presence in California. In Silicon Valley, the office will focus on patent litigation, patent prosecution, emerging company and FDA practices. The San Francisco office will have a full range of the firm's practices. The Silicon Valley office will be located initially in Redwood Shores.

King & Spalding's expansion into California comes on the heels of new offices it has opened, since December 2006, in Frankfurt, Charlotte, Riyadh and Dubai. For King & Spalding's intellectual property group, the expansion capped a full year of unprecedented growth with the additional of 16 partners and more than 50 associates and patent agents in New York, Houston, Charlotte, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. The firm has built a national practice of IP trial lawyers and counselors supported by a deep bench of technical specialists, including more than 25 Ph.D.s.

About King & Spalding

King & Spalding is an international law firm with more than 800 lawyers in Atlanta, Charlotte, Dubai, Frankfurt, Houston, London, New York, Riyadh (affiliated office), San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. The firm represents half of the Fortune 100 and in a Corporate Counsel survey in September 2007 was among the top firms representing Fortune 250 companies. For additional information, visit www.kslaw.com.

Contact Information: Contact: Les Zuke King & Spalding Ph. 212-827-4392