Pillsbury and the newly formed law firm Agha & Shamsi, L.L.C. proudly announce they have signed an affiliation agreement to better serve clients based in or doing business in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Middle East.

Our objectives in this alliance include establishing world-class capabilities in Islamic finance, a complex practice area that demands uncompromising intellectual rigor. Agha's pre-eminent reputation and experience in Islamic finance combined with Pillsbury's broad experience in finance and energy infrastructure projects bring a great depth of understanding to the alliance that will be extremely beneficial to our clients.

In the current global economy, our clients expect greater efforts from their law firm to deliver high quality legal services at a reasonable cost. That is why alliances with firms like Agha & Shamsi are a very important part of Pillsbury's world-wide strategy. By creating alliances with pre-eminent, independent firms in important jurisdictions, we can increase the value of our services for our clients. We are committed to providing seamless service and to replicating this affiliation in other important financial and energy centers wherever it will benefit our clients.

Agha & Shamsi, L.L.C., is headquartered in Abu Dhabi with a lead focus on Islamic finance, UAE law and, through its affiliation with a prominent Saudi law firm, Saudi law.

Agha, a US-qualified attorney, formerly served as Global Head of Islamic Finance and Head of the Saudi practice at DLA Piper. Agha's practice covers a number of sectors including project finance, energy, restructuring, Islamic project finance (petrochemicals, power, and infrastructure), Islamic banking, Islamic capital markets (sukuk) and Islamic private equity, Islamic real estate financing, Islamic insurance (takaful). Most recently, he led the team that was awarded the Global Recognition in Islamic Finance for a Law Firm Award (promoting excellence in Islamic finance) by the International Islamic Finance Forum (IIFF), under the Patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Agha is the only international lawyer to serve on two committees of the Auditing and Accounting Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI).

Dr. Al-Shamsi, a leading Emirati figure who has had a legal practice in the UAE since 1992, focuses on commercial, corporate, arbitration, conflict and dispute resolution matters. He began his career serving as a representative of the UAE Mission to the United Nation's Third Committee (which the General Assembly allocates to its Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Affairs) in 1974 and subsequently served as the chargé d'affaires of the UAE embassy in Washington DC, and then as the UAE Ambassador to Germany, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, India, Nepal and Australia & New Zealand. Dr. Al-Shamsi also served as the Director of the Economic and Political Department in the Presidential Court in Abu Dhabi.

We are honored that this very distinguished team has entered into an affiliation agreement with Pillsbury and look forward to the many significant benefits our clients will enjoy as a result.

Pillsbury's Energy & Infrastructure Projects Group provides clients with sophisticated advice regarding risk allocation and efficient project structures across virtually all upstream and downstream energy sectors. It also advises on projects such as toll roads, rail, airport expansion, and other PPP projects. Pillsbury currently represents participants in connection with major North American and European LNG projects and transactions involving the Middle East, and has recently become extremely active in assisting international clients to identify, develop and build nuclear energy facilities in Europe and the Mid-East. As a result of those efforts, Asian-Counsel Magazine recently named Pillsbury the 2008 Energy Law Firm of the Year for the United Arab Emirates.

For more information, please contact:

Michael P. Schumaecker, michael.schumaecker@pillsburylaw.com, 212.858.1433 or visit us at www.pillsburylaw.com