Gus Atiyah to Join Fried Frank's Financing Practice in Washington

Gus Atiyah to Join Fried Frank's Financing Practice in Washington

May 24, 2007

    NEW YORK, May 24 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Fried, Frank,
Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP announced today that
Ghassan "Gus" M. Atiyah will join the Firm as a
corporate partner in the Financing practice in Washington. 
Previously he was at Hogan & Hartson LLP.

    "We are delighted to welcome Gus to our firm. 
Fried Frank's financing practice continues to grow at a
very rapid rate.  Gus has broad-based financing expertise
that will serve the needs of this practice well," said
Valerie Ford Jacob, Fried Frank's Chairperson.

    "The addition of Gus in our Washington office also
demonstrates our commitment to having the full configuration
of practices present in each of our offices.  He is a strong
addition to our corporate department and will provide
support across a broad range of financing transactions and
practices," added Justin Spendlove, Fried Frank's
Managing Partner.  

    Mr. Atiyah's practice focuses on all types of private
finance transactions and private equity matters primarily
representing private equity sponsors and portfolio
companies in leveraged financing transactions.  He has
worked on numerous merger and acquisition transactions in a
range of industries on behalf of private equity funds and
hedge funds.

    Prior to joining Hogan & Hartson, Mr. Atiyah served
as the General Counsel for International Affairs at the
National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) in Kuwait.  He began his
legal career at Shearman & Sterling LLP in New York, as
part of their banking and finance group. Mr. Atiyah received
his JD, with honors, from Columbia Law School, where he was
a Stone Scholar.  He received his B.S.F.S., magna cum
laude, from Georgetown University, School of Foreign
Service.  He is admitted to the bar in the District of
Columbia and New York.

    Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP is a
leading international law firm with more than 600 attorneys
in offices in New York, Washington, D.C., London, Paris,
Frankfurt and Hong Kong. Fried Frank lawyers regularly
represent major investment banking firms, private equity
houses and hedge funds, as well as many of the largest
companies in the world.  The firm offers legal counsel on
M&A, private equity, asset management, capital markets
and corporate finance matters, white-collar criminal
defense and civil litigation, securities regulation,
compliance and enforcement, government contracts,
environmental law and litigation, real estate, tax,
bankruptcy, antitrust, benefits and compensation,
intellectual property and technology, international trade,
and trusts and estates. The firm has an association with
Huen Wong & Co. in Hong Kong.  More information on
Fried Frank can be found at http://www.friedfrank.com .


    For more information, please contact: 

    Matt Cobey
    Communications Manager
    Fried Frank
    Tel:   [phone]
    Email: [e-mail]