Thompson Coburn Announces Five New Partners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For media inquiries please call Marc Witengier 314.552.6564

St. Louis, January 3, 2007 - Thompson Coburn is proud to announce that Elizabeth Blackwell, Laura M. Duncan, Matthew H. Kaiser, Catherine Schroeder and Steven R. Wild have been selected to become partners in the firm, effective January 1, 2007.

Elizabeth is a member of the firm’s Tobacco Litigation and Appellate practice areas. She possesses special expertise in defending against the improper use of aggregate trial procedures, such as class certification, large and small consolidations, and phased bifurcated or trifurcated trial plans. Elizabeth earned her J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law. She also holds a M.T.S. from Harvard University and a B.A., magna cum laude, from Westminster College.

Laura practices in the firm's Private Client practice group. She has a broad range of experience in estate planning, taxation, probate and trust law. Her work has included trust constructions, transfer taxation, fiduciary income taxation, and planning for family businesses. She earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from Saint Louis University and her B.S.B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Matthew, who practices in the firm’s Transportation and International Commerce practice area, specializes in maritime and trade finance and related U.S. Government guarantee programs. He served as the foreign legal expert on an Asian Development Bank Technical Assistance project in Nepal. Matthew earned his J.D. from William & Mary School of Law. He also holds a B.A. from American University.

Catherine practices in the firm’s business litigation group. She became an associate with the firm in 1998 after serving first as a firm secretary for eight years and then as paralegal for 11 years. Her experience includes extensive commercial trial and arbitration work. Catherine earned her J.D., cum laude, from Saint Louis University School of Law and her B.A., with academic honors, from Webster University.

Steven is a member of the firm’s Public Finance and Real Estate practice areas. He has experience in numerous areas of state and local government and real estate law, including tax-exempt bonds, tax credits, tax increment financing and other development incentives, zoning, public contracts, legislation and litigation. Steven earned his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law and his B.A., cum laude, with distinction in Philosophy, from Duke University.

Thompson Coburn LLP has approximately 300 attorneys nationwide with offices in St. Louis, MO; Washington, D.C. and Southern Illinois.