Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP

LONDON AND MUNICH, November 21, 2005 – Underscoring the strength of its global corporate and capital markets practices, the international law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP has elected Ulrike Dormann and James Warbey as partners in the Firm’s Munich and London offices, respectively. They are two of eleven Milbank attorneys promoted to the partnership this year.

In addition to Ulrike Dormann and James Warbey, Milbank’s 2005 Class of new partners includes: William Bice (Global Project Finance, New York); John Cobb (Global Securities, New York); John Franchini (Global Corporate, New York); Brett Goldblatt (Global Corporate, Los Angeles); Darrel Holstein (Global Corporate, Tokyo); Sean Murphy (Litigation, New York); Stephen Nordahl (Strategic Sourcing & Technology, New York); Edward Sun (Global Securities, Hong Kong); and Debra Alligood White (Strategic Sourcing & Technology, Washington, DC).

Commenting on the appointments, Milbank’s European managing partner Phillip Fletcher stated, “Ulrike and James are great examples of the type of talented young attorney we look to hire and promote, as is Cathy Marsh who was named a partner in our London office last year and was recently named an “upcoming star” by Project Finance magazine. Their energy, intelligence and ability to blend legal expertise with practical judgment are among the outstanding qualities that these new partners bring to our clients. The consistently high caliber of our attorneys allows us to address the issues that are the norm for the complex deals that exemplify Milbank’s practice throughout Europe”.

Norbert Rieger, partner and head of the public M&A/corporate advisory business in Milbank’s Munich office, added, “Ulrike has been, and will continue to be, instrumental in the successful growth of our public M&A/corporate advisory business, which is a key expertise of Milbank in Germany.”

John Walker, capital markets partner in the Firm’s London office, noted, “James has demonstrated superb technical capabilities across the full spectrum of securitsation products and he is a key member of our team. His expertise in derivatives is an additional plus given the continuing growth in the use of derivatives to manage risk in increasingly volatile financial markets.”

Ulrike Dormann, formerly an associate, has been named partner in Milbank’s Global Corporate Department. Ms. Dormann has broad experience in “Public M&A” transactions and corporate advisory work (“Aktien- und Konzernrecht, Umwandlungsrecht, übernahmerecht”) which include corporate reorganizations, public takeovers and take privates. She has advised numerous listed companies and financial sponsors on all aspects of corporate law and takeover law. She has also worked for clients in the context of actions of minority shareholders and appraisal proceedings following corporate reorganizations.

Ms. Dormann is widely recognized for public takeovers and corporate advisory work in the market and has been named an “upcoming star” by the German JUVE magazine for the second year in a row. She has also been elected to the “Legal Hot 100” by The Lawyer in 2005.

Ulrike Dormann studied at the universities of Mainz and Dijon/France and earned her doctorate degree (Dr. jur.) from Mainz. She speaks German, English and French.

James Warbey, formerly an associate, has been named partner in Milbank’s Global Finance Group. Mr. Warbey’s practice encompasses international capital markets, securitisations and structured finance transactions with a particular focus on CDOs and derivatives.

Mr. Warbey has extensive experience in relation to asset securitisation with a wide range of asset classes, including residential mortgages, commercial property, auto loans, leases, consumer loans and swap receivables originated across Europe. He has acted on behalf of issuers, arrangers and investors on listed and unlisted CDO transactions across the full product spectrum, including synthetic transactions.

In addition, Mr. Warbey has considerable familiarity with a full range of derivative documentation and practice, the development of new products and the use of collateral techniques to manage risk in derivative transactions. He has advised a number of leading financial institutions and end-users in relation to the development of equity and credit derivative products as well as insurance-related derivatives. His practice also includes advising in relation to stock lending and repos, both in the domestic UK market and in international transactions.

James Warbey received an L.L.B. from Exeter University and attended the Guildford College of Law.

Milbank opened its first European office in London 27 years ago and expanded to Frankfurt in 2001 and to Munich in 2004. The firm’s presence in Europe has more than doubled in the last two years, with growing strengths in private equity, corporate, capital markets, project finance, outsourcing and litigation.

Milbank’s London office is renowned for its leadership in the development of innovative financing structures, and has been involved in some of the most complex acquisitions and private equity investments in Europe. It is also has strong expertise in outsourcing and business management transactions as well as IP litigation. The Frankfurt office is a leader in sophisticated acquisition finance and capital markets transactions. The Munich office is widely recognized for its expertise in public M&A and private equity, as well as tax and financial structuring.

Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP is a premier global law firm headquartered in New York, with offices in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Palo Alto, London, Frankfurt, Munich, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore. Named Legal Week’s “International Firm of the Year” for 2004, Milbank is a recognized leader in capital markets, corporate finance, project finance, acquisition finance, and other major fields of legal practice. The Firm's practice includes cross-border mergers and acquisitions and global securities transactions as well as assisting multinational clients with their cross border investments. Milbank provides a full range of services to many of the world’s leading financial, industrial and commercial enterprises, as well as governments, institutions and individuals.