LOS ANGELES, April17, 2008 — Eric A. Klein has joinedthe Century City office of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP as a partnerin the firm's Corporate practice group.  Kleinmost recently practiced as a leader of Katten Muchin Rosenman's West CoastMergers and Acquisitions and Securities practices.  Joining Klein in Sheppard Mullin's Corporatepractice group is special counsel John J. Molloy.  Molloy also joins from Katten's Century Cityoffice. 

Klein specializes in mergersand acquisitions, equity and debt financings, private equity transactions andventure capital.  He regularly advisesclients in the healthcare, life sciences and technology industries.  Known for his creativity in the structuringof transactions, Klein represents entrepreneurial and established businesses,private equity and venture capital funds and foreign companies in their growthinitiatives. 

In the healthcare industry,Klein has recently assisted clients with strategic transactions and operationalmatters for physician-owned managed care organizations, the acquisition ofmultiple hospitals in Los Angeles and San Diego counties, obtaining CaliforniaHMO licensure under the Knox-Keene Act, the purchase and sale of healthcarecompanies by or to private equity funds, the formation of joint ventures andmanagement services organizations, and healthcare regulatory and compliancematters.  He also works regularly withlife sciences businesses, including the recent SEC registration of a stem cellcompany, and has authored a chapter offering "best practices" adviceon mergers and acquisitions in the forthcoming book "Inside the Minds:Life Sciences Mergers & Acquisitions" to be published in April2008. 

Klein regularly advises abroad range of technology companies, including Internet, enterprise software,encryption data security and hardware companies.  He routinely structures strategic alliancesand licensing transactions for companies in the tech sector, as well as assistingthem with venture capital and private equity transactions and with mergers andacquisitions.  Klein represents a numberof private equity funds in their growth equity and acquisition transactions, aswell as counseling clients on investment fund formation.  He also regularly represents companies intheir transactions with private equity funds, such as the recent sale to aForstmann Little portfolio company of a Los Angeles based media company thatproduces two of the top ten U.S. trade shows.

For more than threedecades, Molloy has handled entrepreneurial and middle market clients' mergers,acquisitions and divestitures; joint ventures; public and private equity anddebt financings; complex contractual matters; business formation; and taxplanning.  His clients include healthcareproviders, software and hardware development companies, service and maintenancefirms, telecommunications firms, medical device manufacturers, Internetcompanies and measuring devices manufacturers. Molloy has handled more than ten acquisitions over the past year for a publicly-traded national physician group practicecompany. 

"As anaccomplished dealmaker with expertise in the healthcare and tech sectors, Ericwill be a significant asset for our clients. He and Jay will add to our existing strength and expertise in theCorporate practice group, as well as in the firm's Healthcare and Life Sciencesindustry teams," said Guy Halgren, chairman of the firm. 

Commented Klein,"Sheppard Mullin occupies a strategic position in California and beyond,and offers the support needed to handle sophisticated M&A, private equity,venture and other emerging company transactions. I am greatly impressed by the firm'sdedication to expanding its healthcare and tech-related practices and theexcellent group of attorneys based in Century City."

Klein and Molloy arethe latest in a recent flurry of attorneys joining Sheppard Mullin's CenturyCity office.  Two weeks ago, Jim Curryjoined the office as an Entertainment and Media litigation partner.  Curry most recently practiced as a foundingpartner with White O'Connor Curry LLP in Century City.  Additionally, Robb Klein joined in March asspecial counsel in the firm's Entertainment & Media practice group from theLondon office of European law firm SJ Berwin LLP. 

Sheppard Mullin has 40attorneys based in its Century City office and about 160 attorneys based in itsdowntown Los Angeles office.  The firm's Corporatepractice group includes close to 100 attorneys.

Kleinearned a J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 1985 and received an A.B.from Princeton University in 1981.  Molloyearned a J.D. from University of Southern California Gould School of Law in1972 and a B.S. in Accounting from University of Southern California in 1968.

Kleinis a member of the board of directors of the Association for Corporate Growthin Los Angeles.  He is also a member ofthe executive committee of the Private Equity Roundtable.  Klein also lectures nationally on negotiationskills and has taught business leaders, investment bankers, lawyers andentrepreneurs on this topic.  His writingis regularly published in legal and business publications, most recently in theHarvard Business Review.

Molloyregularly speaks on technology transactions, M&A, venture capital andprivate equity.  He is a member of theboard of directors of the Technology Council of Southern California.

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