Hunton & Williams LLP Brings on Nine Partners in Three Offices — Second Group of Key Laterals to Join Firm This Past Month

NEW YORK — August 1, 2008 — Hunton & Williams LLP announced today it is continuing its aggressive national expansion adding nine partners from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, led by Richard L. Wyatt, Jr., a member of the firm’s executive committee and past chairman of the litigation; labor & employment; intellectual property; and international trade practices. Six of the new partners will join the firm in Washington, two will join in Houston, and one will join in Los Angeles.

These partners will help grow several of Hunton & Williams' key practice areas, including corporate securities, M&A, labor and employment, RICO and intellectual property. The group handles complex litigation and corporate work for many national and global clients. Seven of the new partners are class action litigators who will join the firm's 300-member litigation practice, one of the largest in the nation. One of the partners is a corporate, securities and M&A attorney and one is an intellectual property attorney. This group follows eight labor and employment class action lawyers who left Akin Gump to join Hunton & Williams on July 1.

Wyatt joins as co-head of Hunton & Williams' litigation group, and will be based in the Washington office. Joining Wyatt in Washington are litigation partners Michael J. Mueller, who will be co-head of the firm’s commercial litigation practice, Joseph P. Esposito, Michael A. O’Shea and Todd M. Stenerson. J. Steven Patterson, a corporate, securities and M&A partner, will join the firm's Washington office as co-head of its corporate, securities and M&A practice.

Augmenting the firm's Houston office are partners Kevin J. White and Holly H. Williamson, both well-known labor and employment litigators. Bringing additional strength to Hunton & Williams' growing presence in Los Angeles is Phillip J. Eskenazi, who focuses on complex business litigation, and was named one of California's top 20 lawyers under 40 in 2006.

"Richard and his partners are leaders in their fields who share our dedication to providing excellent client service," said Wally Martinez, Hunton & Williams' managing partner. "Over the past few years we have made significant strategic decisions to bring on high-level lateral partners in key practices and geographic regions. This group will significantly strengthen our national litigation and corporate practices out of Washington and continue our expansion in California and Texas."

Wyatt and his team regularly advise the management and boards of public companies in connection with complex business litigation, strategic reviews of business and transactional alternatives and director compliance with fiduciary duties. Wyatt frequently serves as lead counsel in appeals from adverse decisions in matters not originally handled by him or members of his firm.

"Hunton & Williams offered us a partnership and platform that is almost unique in the current legal world. It is a strong, client-focused global firm with a vast array of top tier partners and practices. This team has been privileged to work together and serve many of our common clients for decades. In Hunton & Williams we found a firm that shares our ideals of teamwork and understands our client devotion," said Wyatt. "In addition, while the firm has an extraordinary tradition of providing high quality legal services, it also has a forward-looking strategic plan that aligns perfectly with the current and future needs of our clients. We are honored to join the firm and we are thrilled to be part of Hunton’s future endeavors."

Wyatt has served as strategic and lead counsel to both plaintiffs and defendants in litigation involving antitrust, securities, RICO, labor and employment, and First Amendment. He is currently representing a client in its defense of 25 class actions arising from an invasion of its computer network and prosecuting an antitrust case on behalf of another client. He is also representing a major construction company in a damages trial following an adverse liability decision before his engagement. He currently serves as national employment law class action counsel for a major US company for which he and his partners routinely defend employment law and wage-hour class actions. He is also defending multiple shareholder actions challenging the recent acquisition of a major fast food chain.