Thorp Reed & Armstrong Announces Hiring of New Partner Paul Kasicky; Mr. Kasicky Joins the Growing Employee Benefits Area of the Firm's Business Practice Group

Business Wire, Sept 12, 2006

PITTSBURGH -- Thorp Reed & Armstrong, LLP is pleased to announce that Paul Kasicky has joined the firm as Senior Counsel. Mr. Kasicky's practice will focus on the Employee Benefits area of the firm's Business Practice Group.

Mr. Kasicky joins the firm with 27 years of legal expertise and experience. Most recently he was a member of the law firm Keevican Weiss Bauerle & Hirsch LLC where he practiced and concentrated on Employee Benefits.

Over the course of his legal career, Mr. Kasicky has represented clients in a variety of tax pension and benefit legal needs, including a client in litigation with the IRS regarding plan disqualification, structuring of non-traditional compensation arrangements, design and implementation of complex ESOP arrangements, and the restructuring of debt and equity for a high net worth entrepreneur that equaled millions in tax savings.

"It is a pleasure to welcome someone of Paul Kasicky's sterling credentials to the Thorp Reed & Armstrong partnership," said Douglas E. Gilbert, Managing Partner of Thorp Reed & Armstrong. "Paul's pension plan and employee benefit expertise represent a strong addition to our practice. It is also timely, as the benefit and pension landscape continues to become more complex, and new and existing clients seek our expertise in this area on an ever increasing basis."

At Thorp Reed & Armstrong, Mr. Kasicky will become part of well regarded team of attorneys specializing in the ever changing area of benefit and pension law. He will specialize in healthcare plan design, tax qualified plans, pension plan structuring and compensation agreements.

Mr. Kasicky holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh, is a graduate of the University of Toledo School of Law, and a holds his LL.M from the New York University School of Law. He is a board member of the Pittsburgh Federal Credit Union, a member of the Allegheny Tax Society, and an active volunteer in the Pittsburgh community.

About Thorp Reed & Armstrong

Since 1895, Thorp Reed & Armstrong, LLP has been a premier Pittsburgh-based law firm, which has grown to include additional offices in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Princeton, New Jersey, and Wheeling, West Virginia. Earning the respect, trust and appreciation of clients, peers, and those who live in our communities, Thorp Reed & Armstrong attorneys have gained a reputation as "lawyer's lawyers" -- lawyers who exemplify the profession's best qualities. The firm supports a wide variety of clients' needs within the practice areas of business law, litigation, and corporate finance. For more information on Thorp Reed & Armstrong, call 412-394-7711 or visit www.thorpreed.com.