(Pittsburgh, PA, April 4, 2000)  Eric A. Schaffer has been selected to head the Bankruptcy Group of Reed Smith Shaw & McClay LLP, overseeing the operations of all 12 of the firm's offices.   He succeeds Paul M. Singer, who served as head of the Group since 1981.

"We believe that with Eric's experience, both in his bankruptcy practice and his background at Reed Smith, the Bankruptcy Group will continue to be strengthened," said W. Thomas McGough, head of Reed Smith's Litigation Department.  "Paul Singer had been instrumental in establishing our bankruptcy practice as one of the region's strongest and best."

Mr. Schaffer joined Reed Smith in 1979 and has focused his practice in bankruptcy and commercial litigation.  He has represented secured and unsecured creditors in major bankruptcy cases involving real estate projects, manufacturing enterprises, leasing companies, retailers, and other businesses, including the bankruptcy cases of Pittsburgh Hockey Associates, One Oliver Plaza Associates, Revco D.S., Inc., and The Appliance Store.

Mr. Schaffer is a 1979 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and a 1976 graduate of the University of Virginia.