Johnson & Perkinson Announces Filing of Employee Retirement Class Action Complaint Against The Bear Stearns Companies Inc.

Market Wire, April, 2008

Johnson & Perkinson hereby announces that it has filed a complaint against The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. ("Bear Stearns" or the "Company") (NYSE: BSC) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The complaint, on behalf of participants and beneficiaries who obtained Company stock through an employee stock ownership plan between December 14, 2006 and the present, seeks redress under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA"). The complaint alleges the failure of the plan fiduciaries to act solely in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries, and to exercise the required skill, care, prudence and diligence in administering the retirement plan, as is required by ERISA.

Johnson & Perkinson, a law firm based in South Burlington, Vermont, has extensive experience prosecuting investor class actions and actions involving financial fraud and ERISA. Attorneys Johnson and Perkinson are both former employees of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Dedicated to maximizing shareholder return, Johnson & Perkinson has prosecuted complex class actions alleging violations of ERISA, securities or consumer fraud/deception on behalf of employees/investors/consumers against numerous public companies since 1985, resulting in the recovery of many hundreds of millions of dollars, including serving as Co-Lead Counsel in the recently announced $750 million settlement with Xerox Corp., and has been singled out for excellence by various courts.

If you participated in the employee stock ownership plan during the class period and would like to discuss your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Johnson & Perkinson attorneys James F. Conway, III or Eben F. Duval toll free at 1-888-459-7855; via email at email@jpclasslaw.com ; through our website at www.jpclasslaw.com ; or by mail at Johnson & Perkinson, 1690 Williston Road, P.O. Box 2305, South Burlington, Vermont 05403.

Contact: Eben F. Duval 802-862-0030 Email Contact