Eric Schwartz and James Castello to Join King & Spalding's International Arbitration Practice

PARIS--(Marketwire - March 31, 2009) - King & Spalding, a leading international law firm, announced today that Eric A. Schwartz, one of the top international arbitration lawyers in the world, and his colleague James Castello, a prominent international arbitration practitioner, will join the firm. Schwartz, who served as Secretary General of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and Castello will join King & Spalding from the Paris office of Dewey & LeBoeuf, where Schwartz was managing partner and co-head of its global arbitration practice. King & Spalding is submitting an application to the Paris Bar Council in order to open an office in Paris.

"We are very fortunate to be joined by lawyers of the caliber of Eric and James," said Robert D. Hays, Jr., chairman of King & Spalding. "Our clients rely on us for international arbitration counsel throughout the world, and the addition of someone of Eric's substantial stature and experience, together with James, will put us in an even better position to deliver superior client service."

Schwartz, who has practiced in Paris for 30 years, is among the world's leading international arbitration practitioners. He focuses his practice on international commercial arbitration, with particular expertise in large, complex disputes in the areas of civil engineering and construction, oil and gas, and information technology and telecommunications. He also has a substantial investment treaty arbitration practice and handles a number of treaty-based arbitrations on behalf of investors and states. As Secretary General of the International Court of Arbitration, Schwartz oversaw the work of the ICC Court and its Secretariat in relation to 2,500 international arbitration cases. He is currently a United States member of that Court and co-author of "A Guide to the ICC Rules of Arbitration," one of the leading treatises on ICC arbitration. He received a J.D. degree from Yale Law School and a B.A. degree from Dartmouth College.

Castello has been recognized in Chambers Global 2009 as "a name worth watching" in the international arbitration field. For several years he has been a member of the United States delegation to the international arbitration working group of UNCITRAL, and in 2007 he was appointed to the LCIA Court. A former law clerk to Justices Brennan and Marshall of the United States Supreme Court, Castello has occupied senior positions in the U.S. Justice Department and served as deputy legal counsel to the President of the United States before moving to Europe, where he has practiced international arbitration in both Vienna and Paris since 2001. James received his J.D. degree from the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.A. degree from Yale University.

"King & Spalding has a premier international arbitration practice, and James and I look forward to contributing to its continued growth in Europe, the Middle East and beyond," Schwartz said.

London-based King & Spalding arbitration partner Kenneth R. Fleuriet, who has extensive experience handling both investment treaty and commercial arbitrations, will join Schwartz and Castello in Paris once the King & Spalding office has been approved.

King & Spalding is ranked among the leading international arbitration practices in the world. According to Chambers USA 2008, the firm "is currently one of the arbitration arena's biggest success stories," an accolade that was also echoed in the publication's 2007 edition, in which the firm was described as having "won plaudits from clients for its service orientation and value for money." ACQ Finance magazine, in March 2009, named King & Spalding the commercial arbitration law firm of the year in its inaugural Country Law Awards. The firm is nominated for a Chambers USA Award for Excellence 2009 in international arbitration and was a finalist in 2008. It also features among the world's leading international arbitration practices in Chambers Global 2009.

About King & Spalding

King & Spalding is an international law firm with more than 880 lawyers in Abu Dhabi, Atlanta, Austin, 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 Corporate Counsel surveys consistently has been 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