(New York, NY, July 11, 2000)  The national law firm Reed Smith Shaw & McClay LLP announced today that McAulay, Nissen, Goldberg & Kiel, LLP, a New York based IP boutique practice has joined the firm.

The move, which became effective July 1, adds 11 IP lawyers and two paralegals to Reed Smith's New York office.  Gerry Kiel, Jules Goldberg and Eugene LeDonne, formerly partners in McAulay, have been elected to partnership in Reed Smith.  Lloyd McAulay, who founded the prestigious IP boutique firm 30 years ago along with Harold Nissen, are joining the group as counsel.

The addition of the McAulay group increases Reed Smith’s firm-wide IP practice to 43 patent attorneys with capability in all high-tech areas, including computers, electrical engineering, optics, chemical engineering, medical technology, chemistry, pharmaceuticals, bio-technology, and mechanical engineering.

"This action reflects Reed Smith's ongoing commitment to a national expansion, and to meet the increasingly complex needs of our clients," said Daniel I. Booker, Reed Smith's managing partner.  "The McAulay firm has a longstanding reputation for excellence in serving technology and e-commerce clients, for its depth and expertise in intellectual property law and its strong European and Asian practices."

Reed Smith is now well positioned to service the nation’s growing technology, e-commerce, and IP industries.  The move provides the firm with a significant presence in New York’s "Silicon Alley," a center for venture capital and other private and public financings, as well as varied IP and e-commerce opportunities. Reed Smith has long established relationships in the growing Pittsburgh high-tech sector, which includes close ties with Carnegie-Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh.  With several offices in northern Virginia, a result of last year’s merger with Hazel & Thomas, Reed Smith is now also prominent in the country’s fastest growing technology corridor.

According to Louis M. Heidelberger, head of the Reed Smith IP Group, "Whether it’s new tech/old tech or hi-tech/low-tech, anytime you can get a highly reputed group which includes seven patent attorneys with electrical engineering backgrounds -- it’s a win-win for both firms’ clients.  IP lawyers who are also electrical engineers are in short supply and currently in great demand because of the growth in e-commerce, business method patents, and electronics industry activities."

The McAulay group brings to Reed Smith significant relationships overseas. In many important ways those relationships are unique.  The McAulay partners work directly with the senior managers of the companies that they represent, including Carl Zeiss, Inc., Jenoptick AG, Sennheiser, M.A.N. and Investronica, Mr. Kiel said, "This is very important in Europe where even more so than in the U.S., business is built around personal relationships. Patent boutiques often do not have this level of relationships.  The relationships tend to be with other lawyers and they rarely interface with company executives overseas."

Reed Smith’s Mr. Booker said, "It was extremely forward thinking of the McAulay firm to understand the benefits of being part of a large firm.  The McAulay partners were looking for a successful relationship, not just a big firm. Because Reed Smith has had an active IP practice for 25 years, the transition will go well."  According to Mr. Kiel, "The McAulay firm has a good culture and a good work environment and we did not want to lose that in going to a large firm.

Considerations of the changing legal market also made the merger with Reed Smith necessary, said Mr. LeDonne. "Three market factors drove the decision. First, we realized that we were losing considerable revenue-generating opportunities because many of our clients sought our help with non-IP matters. Second, our U.S. clients - despite the great relationships we have with them - felt that we weren’t a large enough firm to handle the big-ticket litigation. Third, due to the dynamics of the marketplace, as a small firm, we were having trouble recruiting talent.  The combination of these factors created a business reality that we could no longer ignore."

According to Lloyd McAulay, "What we do is very specialized and a lot of large general-practice firms simply do not understand what we do. Reed Smith understands IP.  We are able to take our practice and bring it into Reed Smith’s New York office and firmwide IP practice and instantly provide an established IP practice.  All of our clients will be better served from day one."