ALM's Corporate Counsel Names Ford Motor Company's In-House Attorneys as ''Best Legal Department'' for 2006

NEW YORK--April 19, 2006--ALM's Corporate Counsel(R) magazine today announced the selection of the in-house attorneys of Ford Motor Company as winners of the magazine's first annual "Best Legal Department" competition. Corporate Counsel's editors also named the legal departments of BellSouth Corporation; E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company; and Microsoft Corporation as finalists. Profiles of the winners will be featured in the May issue of the magazine, out today, and on the magazine's Web site at www.corpcounsel.com.

Winners were selected from responses submitted to a lengthy questionnaire on recent legal achievements that was developed by the editors of Corporate Counsel and distributed to the general counsel of all Fortune 500 corporations. The magazine's editors and reporters evaluated submissions and selected the winners.

"From diversity and teamwork to pro bono efforts and hands-on lawyering, the in-house legal departments of Ford and our finalists stand out as leaders in the field. Our winners excel not just as lawyers, but also as managers and strategists for their companies," said Robin Sparkman, editor in chief of the magazine.

The nearly 300 in-house lawyers worldwide at Ford were cited for their teamwork in partnering with company managers, engineers, media advisors and outside counsel to tackle litigation challenges, such as the class action and personal injury suits related to the safety of Ford's Crown Victoria police cruisers. The department's hands-on approach to legal affairs includes an in-house group that directs its appellate docket and an innovative Intellectual Property group that not only actively protects Ford's patents and trademarks, but also develops and markets products based on those patents.

The editors also noted Ford's legal department's ability to maintain its focus in the face of the significant business and economic challenges facing the company and auto industry, its significant role in structuring the company's recent sale of The Hertz Corporation, the second-largest leveraged buyout in history, and its progress towards diversity (40% of Ford's in-house attorneys are women.)

In addition to its strong focus on active participation in major litigation, the legal team at BellSouth was recognized for its original and comprehensive pro bono programs. It has a 29-member pro bono committee that devises projects for the legal team. The lawyers' post-Katrina outreach efforts, and their role in the Wills for Heroes program--BellSouth attorneys help draft wills for Atlanta-area firefighters and police officers--were cited as particularly unique.

According to the magazine's editors, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, the Wilmington-based chemical giant, has set the standard for minority representation, among both its in-house attorneys and outside counsel. It has sponsored minority job fairs across the country for more than a decade and recently pledged, along with four other Fortune 500 companies, to place an aggregate of at least $16 million of business with minority-owned law firms in 2006.

Microsoft's legal department was recognized for its central role in a companywide strategy to improve relations with the industry and its regulators. Since 2003, the once-litigious software giant has settled 17 lawsuits for a total of $7.3 billion, making its peace with longtime antagonists including America Online, Inc., RealNetworks, Inc., and Sun Microsystems, Inc. The department was also cited for its innovative efforts to use its own software to reduce jargon in legal documents and its pro bono work on behalf of immigrants held in detention in Washington State and Oregon.

The winner and finalists will be honored this fall at a joint event with Corporate Counsel's sibling publication The American Lawyer(R). The dinner will salute The American Lawyer's 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award winners, the 20 firms from the Am Law 200 selected for the magazine's "A-List," and the winners and finalists of Corporate Counsel's Best Legal Department competition. The event will be held on October 25 at Cipriani in New York City.

The award-winning Corporate Counsel, the nation's leading magazine for general counsel and in-house attorneys at corporations across the country, is published monthly by ALM and is available on the Web at www.corpcounsel.com.

Headquartered in New York City, ALM is a leading integrated media company, focused on the legal and business communities. ALM currently owns and publishes 39 national and regional magazines and newspapers, including The American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel, The National Law Journal(R) and Real Estate Forum(R). ALM's Law.com(R) is the Web's leading legal news and information network, while ALM's GlobeSt.com(R) is the Web's leading information source for commercial real estate professionals. Other ALM businesses include book and newsletter publishing, court verdict and settlement reporting, production of professional trade shows, conferences and educational seminars, market research and content distribution. ALM was formed by U.S. Equity Partners, L.P., a private equity fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co., LP. More information on ALM's businesses and services is available on the Web at www.alm.com.