Richard Shear 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 6, 2005 - Richard H. Shear has joined Thompson Coburn LLP as a partner in the Intellectual Property and Information Technology practice group. Previously, Mr. Shear was of counsel with Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin LLP. Prior to that, he served 25 years as a patent attorney for Monsanto Company, the last three years of which he was chief intellectual property counsel. Mr. Shear also served as an adjunct professor of Intellectual Property at Washington University in St. Louis.

Mr. Shear brings more than 30 years of experience to the firm, in all areas of intellectual property law, including patent, copyright and trademark law. He has prepared and negotiated numerous agreements relating to technology licensing, joint venture, research and development, acquisition and divesture, and has conducted numerous patentability and infringement evaluations, including patent clearances and validity opinions.

Mr. Shear holds a J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law in Washington D.C. and a B.S. from Washington University in St. Louis.

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