Fios Establishes Advisory Board and Dedicated Services Team to Help Energy Companies Gain Control over Discovery Response Process; Energy Industry Veteran, Lyn Maddox, Appointed Chairman of Fios' Energy Advisory Board

Business Wire, Sept 21, 2005

PORTLAND, Ore. -- In a move to help the highly litigious and heavily regulated Energy market reduce the risks, costs and time associated with document production requests, leading electronic discovery services provider Fios Inc. is establishing a formal Energy Advisory Board. The new Board, being chaired by Energy industry veteran Lyn Maddox, will focus on helping energy companies gain control over the discovery response process. The Board will work in collaboration with Fios' newly dedicated Energy Services team to help executives and General Counsel (GC) in the Energy industry:

--Identify and understand cost reduction and risk management challenges energy companies face when managing document production requests

--Map these challenges to key services and solutions that include management controls for reducing costs and risks

--Establish best practices for discovery response processes in the energy industry

According to industry analysts, The Energy Policy Act of 2005 has many Energy companies evaluating the impact the act will have on regulatory requests, government investigations and litigation they may soon face. With more than 93 percent of all corporate data being created electronically, the average cost of electronic discovery in litigation has climbed to more than $1.5 million per matter. In addition, recent statistics show that merger and acquisition (M&A) activities in the Energy industry are expected to increase significantly, with the average cost of complying with second requests related to an M&A exceeding $5 million.

"There has never been a more critical time for the companies in the energy industry to take control and establish best practices for responding to governmental investigations or litigation," said Lyn Maddox, director of Fios' Energy Advisory Board. "I'm looking forward to establishing and leading the Fios Energy Advisory Board and helping today's energy companies proactively prepare for discovery in a manner that reduces their risks, lowers costs and minimizes disruption to their businesses."

Maddox has more than 20 years experience leading the growth and direction of Energy companies. Prior to starting his own business as a risk management and acquisition consultant in 2003, Maddox served as a senior vice president for PG&E Corporation. He has also served as president and CEO of PG&E Energy Trading and senior vice president and COO of Merchant Energy -- National Energy Group (NEG) in Bethesda, Md., and president of PennUnion Energy Services LLC in Houston. As director of the Fios Energy Advisory Board, Maddox will be directly responsible for adding new members and leading the direction of the Board's efforts.

"Fios is pleased to be able to utilize our experience working with Energy companies and dedicate a team focused on the needs of this market," said Gerald Massey, president and CEO of Fios. "Lyn will play an invaluable role in making this happen."

More information on Fios and the new Energy Services Team and Advisory Board is available on the company website at http://www.fiosinc.com/industry/energy.html.> About Fios Inc.

Fios Inc. is a tier-one provider of electronic discovery and discovery management services. Serving the legal community since 1999, Fios gives litigation support teams, outside counsel and in-house counsel greater control over litigation response and electronic discovery processes. Fios provides complete visibility into potentially responsive data, allowing clients to collect, process, review and produce massive amounts of electronic documents while maintaining a legally defensible audit trail. Fios' proprietary data collection, processing and Web-based review technologies are based on an in-depth knowledge of litigation and information technology, enabling fast, efficient and cost-effective discovery response. Fios is also the principal sponsor of the leading Internet portals for electronic discovery, at www.discoveryresources.org, and compliance, at www.complianceresources.org. Headquartered in Portland, Ore., Fios is backed by top investors, including 3i, Fluke Ventures, FBR CoMotion, Digital Partners and Banyan Capital Partners, and has offices throughout the continental United States. For more information about the company and its services, visit http://www.fiosinc.com.

Fios and Fios products are trademarks of Fios Inc. Other product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.