King & Spalding Adds Tony Askew, Steve Schaetzel and Jim Johnson as Partners in Its Intellectual Property Group

King & Spalding, a leading international law firm, announced today that it has added three new partners to its intellectual property group: Tony Askew, Steve Schaetzel and Jim Johnson. The additions significantly bolster the firm's capabilities in patent and trademark litigation and patent prosecution, particularly in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical fields. They will practice from the firm's Atlanta office.

Askew, Schaetzel and Johnson join King & Spalding from Kilpatrick Stockton LLP. Askew was a co-founder of the IP boutique that became Jones & Askew, which Kilpatrick Stockton acquired in 2000, and all three lawyers practiced together at Jones & Askew before the acquisition.

"Tony, Steve and Jim are highly regarded patent lawyers with a long history of handling high-profile matters across the country," said Courtland L. Reichman, leader of King & Spalding's IP practice group. "We are thrilled they have joined King & Spalding and look forward to their contributions to our clients and to the continuing expansion of the firm's IP group."

Tony Askew has more than 40 years of experience trying patent and trademark cases across the United States, and is widely regarded as the "dean" of the patent bar in Atlanta. He has handled cases covering a broad array of technical subject matters, including biology, chemistry, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering and has extensive experience trying pharmaceutical cases. In 1968, Askew co-founded the IP boutique that became Jones & Askew, which he grew to over 50 lawyers before it was acquired by Kilpatrick Stockton in 2000. Askew earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Vanderbilt University and a J.D. from Emory University School of Law. Before founding Jones & Askew, he was a patent attorney for Eastman Kodak Company.

Steve Schaetzel has more than 20 years of experience in trademark and patent litigation. For the past several years, he has served as the leader of Kilpatrick Stockton's trademark group. He has handled dozens of trademark and patent cases before administrative, state and federal courts and has served as an expert witness in patent matters. Schaetzel earned a Bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and a J.D. from University of Georgia.

Jim Johnson is a widely known patent lawyer specializing in chemical, biotechnology and pharmaceutical patent prosecution, licensing, diligence and counseling. His practice has focused on emerging companies and technologies. Johnson earned a B.A. in Chemistry from the University of the South and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Emory University's School of Medicine. He completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, where he studied gamete physiology and fertilization. After that, he taught in the medical school and conducted research on infectious diseases at Emory University School of Medicine's Department of Biochemistry and Medicine and at the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Atlanta. He went on to earn his J.D. from Emory University School of Law.

King & Spalding's IP practice has grown significantly over the past two years. In 2004, the firm established a patent litigation capability in its New York office to build on the trademark capabilities that existed there and to complement the existing patent litigation and prosecution work handled in the firm's Atlanta office. The New York patent litigation group has now grown to 25 attorneys and the firm's IP practice overall now numbers over 100 attorneys and patent agents.

"We are excited to be joining King & Spalding and to play a role in the growth of its IP and life sciences practices," said Askew. "The firm has an excellent international platform from which we look forward to serving our clients."

Note to Editors: For photos of Tony Askew, Steve Schaetzel or Jim Johnson, please contact Jessica Schnack at 212-556-2226 or jschnack@kslaw.com .

About King & Spalding

King & Spalding is an international law firm with more than 800 lawyers in Atlanta, Houston, London, New York and Washington, D.C. The firm represents more than half of the Fortune 100, and in a Corporate Counsel survey in August 2006 was ranked one of the top ten firms representing Fortune 250 companies overall. For additional information, visit www.kslaw.com .

Contact: Jessica Schnack King & Spalding LLP Ph (212) 556-2226 Email Contact