(Falls Church, VA, January 12, 2001)  Reed Smith LLP has been named the exclusive Virginia affiliate of the Employment Law Alliance (ELA), a powerful, new, global practice network to help employers effectively deal with the far-reaching, highly complex and rapidly changing world of employment law and labor relations, Greg Jordan,Managing Partner of the firm announced today.

Jordan said, "We're proud to be a member of this select network of firms that have distinguished themselves in the law, but particularly in the critical areas of employment and labor law. We look forward to collaborating with the other firms throughout the United States and overseas to provide the highest quality representation possible to clients with wide-ranging interests."

Stephen J. Hirschfeld, CEO of the ELA, and a partner in the California-based firm of Curiale, Dellaverson, Hirschfeld Kelly & Kraemer, LLP, said of Reed Smith, "We are honored to have Reed Smith as a member of the ELA. Their local knowledge of all the relevant issues, regulations, statutes and the courts, is unsurpassed. They will provide an invaluable legal resource to the other member firms whose clients have interests in Virginia as well as an intellectual resource to the entire network."

He said the ELA, with firms like Reed Smith as members, can help employers who are trying to avoid being overpowered as they confront difficult issues impacting the work place. Among these issues are mounting union organizing campaigns in health care and high tech to complex class-action suits and compliance with a host of new government regulations.

Jordan, explaining how Reed Smith will function as part of this international alliance, said, "Any one of the ELA members can instantly mobilize a worldwide response on behalf of a client in any given matter. We're now part of what today's leading employers demand: a single source for the best employment law and labor relations team counsel, whether their business has 50 employees in five American cities, or 500,000 around the globe."

Jordan said ELA members will be communicating regularly over their dedicated Web site, www.employmentlawalliance.com, as well as face-to-face in seminars and training sessions for members and their clients. He also announced that the organization would be the exclusive sponsor of "America At Work", a new series of public opinion surveys to gauge American attitudes toward critical work place and employment issues.

Reed Smith has 660 lawyers located in 14 cities throughout the U.S. and the U.K. Clients include technology companies and entrepreneurs, financial services firms, health care providers and insurers, communications companies, manufacturers, universities, non-profit organizations, and real estate developers.

For further information on ELA, contact Stephen Hirschfeld through the Web site at www.employmentlawalliance.com or directly at 415-835-9011. To learn more about Reed Smith and its employment and labor law practice, contact Mark R. Dare at 703-641-4290 ( mdare@reedsmith.com) or Ed Stoner at 412-288-3292 ( estone@reedsmith.com).