Manatt Phelps & Phillips, LLP Launches ManattJones Global Strategies

Firm Move Underscores Continued Growth in International Business Arena 

LOS ANGELES and WASHINGTON, DC, October 2, 2001 - Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP today announced the formation of ManattJones Global Strategies LLC, a global consulting subsidiary providing international business, government and public affairs strategies and solutions.

ManattJones opens with three principal business objectives - to assist and guide multinational companies in opening markets abroad; to help solve business problems for companies currently doing business in foreign markets; and to help foreign companies develop strategies for business activities in the United States.

ManattJones' initial geographic focus is where strength meets growing opportunity - in the NAFTA countries, the Americas, and the Pacific Rim with an emphasis on China - where the expertise of ManattJones principals and outside advisors is particularly significant. ManattJones maintains relationships with the highest levels of government, credibility and trust among local business leaders, and offers a deep understanding of the local economic, cultural, and political landscapes in key global markets.

Core strengths of ManattJones include strategic advice in the design of business, cultural, legal, and governmental and public affairs strategies; capital formation and access to global markets; market analysis; due diligence; and joint venture matchmaking. The ManattJones team includes personnel with extensive experience in political, economic and business risk assessment, a particularly critical concern for multinational operations.

"Clients today want integrated services as they enter and expand in an uncertain international environment," said Paul H. Irving, Chief Executive and Managing Partner of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips. "Generalized international strategies will no longer work, if they ever did. ManattJones' unique relationships and extensive experience will help make sense of the new international environment companies face."

ManattJones' principals enjoy significant business backgrounds coupled with senior-level government and diplomatic experience. Charles T. Manatt, former U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic (1999-2001), and James R. Jones, former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico (1993-1997), co-chair the group; Ambassador Jones also serves as ManattJones' Chief Executive Officer.

Ambassador Manatt co-founded Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, and has been a leader in the legal and financial services industries in Washington and California for nearly 40 years. He chaired the Democratic National Committee during the 1980s and built a solid record of support for international democracy promotion activities as founding Chairman of the National Democratic Institute and Chairman of the International Foundation for Election Systems. He is the newly elected Chairman of the George Washington University Board of Trustees.

Prior to serving the United States in Mexico, Ambassador Jones was Chief Executive Officer of the American Stock Exchange and a Congressman for 14 years from Oklahoma. While in Congress, he chaired the Budget Committee and became a leading voice on international trade as a member of the Ways and Means Committee. Prior to that, he served Lyndon Johnson as the youngest White House Chief of Staff in history. He has also been President of Warnaco International, and is active on many commissions and boards, including the American Red Cross.

Others involved in ManattJones include Chief Operating Officer Irwin Altschuler, who has led the Manatt, Phelps & Phillips international trade practice group; Senior Managing Director Maurice Sonnenberg, who is also Senior International Advisor to Manatt Phelps & Phillips and who brings a wealth of timely expertise as former Vice Chairman of the National Commission on Terrorism and former member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board; and Senior Managing Director Gordon Bava, Manatt Phelps & Phillips co-chairman, who will play a leading role in major transactional projects. Former White House foreign policy advisor Eric Farnsworth and former State Department official Susan Schmidt are Managing Directors, Steven White is Administrative Director and Victoria Ying Jin, a lawyer admitted to practice in California and the People's Republic of China, is Director of Pacific Business Development.

ManattJones also has built an effective team of partners in key nations in North and South America. These individuals offer enhanced country-specific expertise and the ability to implement client strategies in Mexico, Canada and other nations.

Mr. Altschuler commented, "With this new direction we are changing the way we deliver services to achieve even greater value for our clients, employing a business focus separate from Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, while complementing and supporting the firm's industry-leading legal activities."

ManattJones maintains offices in Washington, DC and Los Angeles.

For over 35 years, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP has provided diversified legal and consulting services to domestic and international clients through its offices in Los Angeles, Palo Alto, Orange County and Sacramento, California; Washington, DC; and Mexico City and Monterrey, Mexico.