(Falls Church, VA, January 2, 2002) On January 1, 2002, Northern Virginia’s Reed Smith Hazel & Thomas officially will become Reed Smith. This transition has been planned since the two law firms combined to create a full-service commercial firm with four Virginia locations in November 1999.

In the two years since the combination, the firm has developed a practice that successfully melds Reed Smith's international corporate and securities, financial services, government contracts, employment law, real estate and healthcare expertise with Hazel & Thomas's strong regional practice, as well as its substantial experience in the rocket docket, the federal court in Virginia noted for its exceptionally fast handling of commercial litigation.

"The expectations both firms had in 1999 have been more than met," said Benton Burroughs, Jr., the former managing partner of Hazel & Thomas who has been managing partner of Reed Smith's Northern Virginia offices since the merger. "The increased depth and sophistication of legal representation we've brought to our clients is now well-established."

Burroughs is turning over managing partnership responsibilities for the Virginia offices to Jim Gallatin in January to become co-chair of Reed Smith's firm-wide Technology Industry Team. “I look forward to working with Benton to develop our technology practice here in Virginia and across the firm" Gallatin said. "The name change is another sign that the integration of our two firms is now complete. With the transition behind us, we will now move to reinforce and expand Reed Smith's presence in the Commonwealth.”

Coincident with the name change and change of leadership, Reed Smith's two Northern Virginia offices will be consolidated by a relocation of its 20-person McLean office to its current Falls Church location in mid-January.

As previously announced, Reed Smith is negotiating to sublease its Falls Church space and relocate its principal Northern Virginia office to Tyson’s Corner.