Perkins Coie Partner to Lead California Bar's Business Law Section – Perkins Coie Attorneys also to Lead Oregon, Washington Sections in 2004

LOS ANGELES (December 12, 2003) – Perkins Coie LLP announced today that Chuck Crouch, recently named Managing Partner of the firm's Los Angeles office, has been selected Chair of the Executive Committee of the Business Law Section of the California State Bar for 2004. Perkins Coie partners Brent Bullock (Portland) and Dori Brewer (Seattle), are also the incoming Chairs of the Oregon and Washington Bar Associations' Business Law Sections for 2004.

"It is a great honor for the firm to have its partners simultaneously leading the business law sections of all three West Coast State bar associations," said Robert E. Giles, Managing Partner of Perkins Coie. "It is a tribute to our depth and our commitment to the profession."

"We're very excited to have Chuck lead the Business Law Section in 2004," said Tim Hoxie, former Chair of the Section. "He is a terrific business attorney with a solid grasp of the issues and the ability to successfully address them."

The State Bar of California is the largest State Bar in the country, with more than 140,000 active members. The Business Law Section (BLS) is the largest of the 16 voluntary Sections, with more than 12,000 members. The BLS has 15 committees that are actively involved in initiating, drafting and commenting on legislation and participation in regulatory reform at the state and federal levels. The Executive Committee oversees the BLS's educational, legislative and publication activities.

"I'm looking forward to leading this extremely talented group," said Crouch, "and I hope to collaborate with my colleagues in Oregon and Washington to share ideas. The BLS has a full plate this year. We will publish an authoritative Guide to the California Securities Laws and also hope to publish a recommendation regarding California Third Party Legal Opinion Practice. You will see the BLS, through its Corporations Committee, take further part in the national dialogue surrounding the SEC's proposed rules on disclosure of client confidences – an issue of crucial importance to California practitioners. The Section will also submit proposals to the Legislature to amend, among others, the Corporations Code and the Commercial Code to modernize and improve laws of importance to California lawyers."

"In addition, we will concentrate on providing electronic delivery to our members of sophisticated and timely substantive content and updates produced by our Standing Committees, and on offering for the first time by teleconference CLE courses provided by experts in their fields, supplementing the taped and on-line CLE offerings that are currently available."

In 2003, the BLS had an active legislative agenda, including the successful submission of proposals to amend the California Bankruptcy Law, the California Finance Lenders Law (exempting certain commercial bridge loans made by venture capital companies from the licensing provisions of that law) and the Corporations Code (pertaining to facsimile signatures and the authority of the Department of Corporations to accept electronic records or signatures). The BLS also provided detailed analyses of various articles of the UCC, and submitted letters commenting on the FASB exposure draft regarding accounting treatment to be accorded special purpose entities, on the SEC's proposed rules regarding attorney reporting under Section 307 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and on IRS proposed regulations regarding the confidentiality of tax matters.