Troutman Sanders LLP Adds Team of 5 Partners for National Corporate Practice

Business Wire, Oct 2, 2006

ATLANTA -- The law firm of Troutman Sanders LLP is pleased to announce the addition of five partners to its Corporate Section. All were formerly partners with the law firm of Hunton & Williams LLP, practicing in offices in Atlanta, Richmond, and China.

David M. Carter, formerly the head of the Hunton & Williams Securities and Capital Markets Team, is the senior lawyer in the group joining Troutman Sanders. He has been named co-leader of the Troutman Sanders Securities and Capital Markets Practice Group. The other four lawyers joining Troutman Sanders are John Owen Gwathmey, R. Mason Bayler, David I. Meyers and Coburn R. Beck.

"We are delighted to bring this team of highly-experienced and well-respected lawyers to our firm where their knowledge and expertise will add a new dimension to the breadthand depth of our corporate group," said Robert W. Webb, Jr. oC chairman and managing partner, Troutman Sanders.

David M. Carter (Atlanta and Richmond) practices in the areas of securities offerings, corporate governance and mergers and acquisitions. He has spent the bulk of his career serving clients through his legal expertise in telecommunications, financial institutions, energy, transportation and biopharmaceuticals sectors. A 1984 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, Carter also holds masters and doctorate degrees in English from the University of Virginia. He received his B.A. degree from Northwestern University.

John Owen Gwathmey (Richmond) practices in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, private equity and corporate governance. While chairing the private equity practice group at Hunton & Williams, Gwathmey represented chemical companies, industrial manufacturers, internet software companies, paper and packaging corporations, private equity funds and private investments offerings. Gwathmey serves as president of the Board of Directors of Historic Richmond Foundation, president of the Board of Directors of Aylett Country Day School and Chair of the Business Organization Committee of the Virginia Bar Association. He is a 1990 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law. He also received a M.B.A. from the University of Virginia. He received his A.B. degree from Princeton University.

R. Mason Bayler (Richmond) practices in the areas of securities offerings and mergers and acquisitions. He is a 1995 graduate of Tulane University School of Law and received his B.A. degree from the University of North Carolina. He served as a law clerk for the late Honorable Robert R. Mehrige, Jr.

David I. Meyers (Richmond) practices in the areas of corporate governance, Sarbanes-Oxley, securities regulation and public company offerings. He is a 1995 graduate of the University of Virginia Law School. He received his B.S. degree from the University of Virginia in 1992. He was recently honored as one of Richmond's "Forty Under 40" award recipients. He serves as an adjunct professor at the William & Mary School of Law on the subjects of mergers and acquisitions and securities regulation.

Coburn R. Beck has been practicing in China and will continue to work there for Troutman Sanders. He advises clients in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, private securities offerings and corporate finance, with a focus on private equity transactions. He has advised healthcare corporations, software development firms, investment consortiums, chemical companies, oil and gas companies, and banks. He is a 1998 graduate of the William & Mary School of Law. He also received his B.A. degree from William & Mary.

About Troutman Sanders:

Troutman Sanders LLP, founded in 1897, is an international law firm with over 600 attorneys serving clients from offices in Atlanta, Hong Kong, London, New York, Newark, Norfolk, Raleigh, Richmond, Tysons Corner, Virginia Beach and Washington, D.C. The full-service firm provides advice and counsel in over 30 legal practice areas and is committed to delivering professional service throughout all its locations.