Former U.S. Trade Representative General Counsel Will Join Sidley Austin LLP

Former U.S. Trade Representative General Counsel Will Join Sidley Austin LLP

March 13, 2007

    WASHINGTON, March 13 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Sidley
Austin LLP today announced that James Mendenhall has joined
the firm as a partner in its International Trade and Dispute
Resolution Practice.  He is resident in the Washington, D.C.
office. Mr. Mendenhall joins the firm from the Office of the
United States Trade Representative, where he served as
General Counsel.

    "Jim Mendenhall is a respected leader in the
international trade community, and we are proud that he is
joining us," said Carter Phillips, Managing Partner of
the Washington, D.C., office.  "As a former General
Counsel at USTR, Jim brings vast international trade and
policy experience that will be of significant value to our
clients."

    Daniel Price, Chair of the firmwide International Trade
and Dispute Resolution Practice, said, "Jim has been a
leader in opening markets for services and investment and
protecting intellectual property rights around the world. 
His experience with USTR gives him an incomparable
perspective on trade policy and regulation. Jim's abilities
complement perfectly those of our global practice
team."

    While at USTR, Mr. Mendenhall managed U.S. dispute
settlement activities under international trade agreements
and supervised trade negotiations dealing with intellectual
property, investment and services, including financial
services.  Over the past five years, he was at the center
of many of the most important trade issues facing the
Administration. Mr. Mendenhall's accomplishments include
serving as principal U.S. negotiator in talks leading to
settlement of the long-standing dispute on U.S.-Canada
softwood lumber trade, spearheading U.S. efforts to
facilitate an international mechanism to control trade in
conflict diamonds, handling the closing stages of a
landmark agreement on WTO intellectual property rules and
pharmaceutical patents and formulating the U.S. approach to
Chinese intellectual property enforcement issues.

    Mr. Mendenhall received his J.D. at Harvard Law School,
where he graduated with honors, and his B.A., with highest
honors, from the University of Notre Dame. 
 
    Sidley's International Trade and Dispute Resolution
Practice includes more than 50 professionals in our
Brussels, Geneva and Washington, D.C. offices with
extensive experience assisting clients worldwide on
transactional, regulatory, dispute settlement and policy
matters arising under international trade and investment
agreements.  Sidley was recently named Global WTO Law Firm
of the Year by Chambers and Partners, and Global Trade
& Customs Law Firm of the Year for 2005 and 2006 by the
International Who's Who of Business Lawyers.

    Sidley Austin LLP is one of the world's largest
full-service law firms, with more than 1,700 lawyers
practicing throughout the United States and in Beijing,
Brussels, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Shanghai,
Singapore and Tokyo. In 2006, Sidley was named to Legal
Business' Global Elite, its designation for "the 15
finest law firms in the world."  Sidley was again
named the number one law firm for overall client service by
BTI, a Boston-based consulting and research firm, in 2007. 
BTI has also named Sidley to its Client Service Hall of
Fame, one of only two law firms to rank in the Client
Service Top 10 for six years in a row.  

    For purposes of the New York State Bar rules, this
press release may be considered Attorney Advertising and
the headquarters of the firm are Sidley Austin LLP 787
Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019, 212.839.5300 and Sidley
Austin LLP One South Dearborn, Chicago, IL 60603,
312.853.7000. Prior results described herein do not
guarantee a similar outcome.


    For more information, please contact:

     Janet Zagorin
     Sidley Austin LLP
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     Dan Brady
     Rubenstein Associates
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]