Robert Shapiro Joins Thompson Coburn LLP

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, contact Jessica Welck Thompson Coburn LLP (314) 552-6271 jwelck@thompsoncoburn.com

St. Louis, June 3, 2005 - Thompson Coburn LLP is proud to announce that Robert A. Shapiro has joined the firm as a partner in the Transportation and International Commerce Practice Group in the Washington, D.C. office.

Previously, Mr. Shapiro was a partner at Barnes, Richardson & Colburn, where his practice was centered on customs law. Prior to that, he was the vice president of a major customs broker and freight forwarder.

Mr. Shapiro counsels clients in all aspects of international transactions with a focus on regulatory concerns, including the valuation, classification, and origin determination of imported merchandise; antidumping and countervailing duty investigations; fair trade investigations; duty-deferral and duty-drawback programs; NAFTA and other free trade agreements; WTO, WCO and USTR investigations; cargo security and export controls. He also regularly guides clients through the penalty and disclosure procedures related to the violation of these regulatory requirements.

Mr. Shapiro earned a J.D. and LL.M., cum laude, from Cornell University Law School and received his B.A. in economics from Connecticut College, where he had a concentration in biochemistry.

Thompson Coburn has approximately 300 attorneys nationwide and has offices in St. Louis, Missouri; Washington, D.C.; and Belleville, Illinois.