Pay Increase for Rogers & Wells DC Associates WhenRogers & Wells Merges With Clifford Chance.

WASHINGTON, D.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 3, 1999--

Parity With New York Office

Associates in the Washington office of Rogers & Wells LLP can look forward to a compensation increase when the firm merges with Clifford Chance and Punder, Volhard, Weber & Axster on January 1, 2000.

The new firm, which will be named Clifford Chance Rogers & Wells LLP in the Americas, will pay the same associate compensation package in Washington as in New York. Clifford Chance Rogers & Wells' associate compensation structure will be highly competitive with the top-tier New York-based firms, with a first-year associate rate of $108,000, including bonus, and an eighth-year associate rate of $221,000, including bonus.

"The move to a single associate compensation schedule in the United States will help establish Clifford Chance Rogers & Wells as an employer of choice in the Washington market," said Washington Managing Partner Ira Hammerman.

Rogers & Wells' Washington associate compensation package has always given the firm a competitive edge over Washington-based law firms. The move to compensation parity between the firm's Washington and New York offices reflects the fact that the legal practices of the New York and Washington offices have become highly integrated and the firm is now competing for associates from the same pool, added Mr. Hammerman.

Rogers & Wells' Washington office has grown from 35 to 85 lawyers over the past five years.

The tripartite merger between Clifford Chance, Rogers & Wells and Punder, Volhard, Weber & Axster in January 2000 creates the first integrated law firm to cover the world's major financial centers. The new firm is in a unique position to deliver fully integrated advice to multi-national clients, assembling multi-disciplinary and multi-jurisdictional teams from a single entity with over 2700 legal advisors. The range of legal advice available encompasses all aspects of finance, corporate, capital markets, litigation and dispute resolution, real estate and tax, pensions and employment law. The new firm will be known as Clifford Chance Rogers & Wells LLP in the Americas, Clifford Chance Punder in Germany, Belgium and Eastern Europe and Clifford Chance LLP elsewhere (except in Italy where it will remain as Grimaldi e Clifford Chance).