Crowell & Moring Adds Financial Services/Real Estate Partner Barbara E. Champoux...

Crowell & Moring Adds Financial Services/Real Estate Partner Barbara E.
Champoux in New York

WASHINGTON, April 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Crowell & Moring LLP is
pleased to announce the addition of Financial Services Group partner Barbara
E. Champoux to the Firm's New York office. A commercial real estate attorney
with an extensive background in a broad range of transactional, leasing, and
securities matters, Champoux has advised clients for more than 15 years on a
broad range of commercial real estate, finance and business transactions. She
joins Crowell & Moring from Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP.

"Barbara is a terrific addition to our growing New York office, where she will
support the growth of our Financial Services and Corporate groups. One
important role Barbara will play is in supporting bankruptcy and distressed
debt matters, which almost always have a real estate component because real
estate assets don't disappear. Barbara brings a sophisticated set of skills
that allow her to offer clients practical, strategic counsel," said William M.
O'Connor, chair of Crowell & Moring's Financial Service Group.

Champoux has handled a wide variety of significant financing transactions,
including secured and unsecured loans; construction and permanent financing;
debt and equity financing; revolving and term loans; sale/leasebacks and
leveraged leasing; conduit and securitized loans; mezzanine financing; project
finance; and credit enhancement. She has also represented borrowers, lenders
and investors in connection with troubled loans, on matters involving loan
reorganizations and workouts, deeds-in-lieu, bankruptcy sales and
debtor-in-possession financing, as well as handling the financing, acquisition
and disposition of distressed loan portfolios (both REO and non-REO assets).

Champoux has been very active for most of her career in the lodging, leisure
and retail industries, assisting various stakeholders in connection with the
acquisition, financing, development, construction, leasing, management and
operation of hotels/resorts, theme parks, concert venues, cultural
attractions, themed restaurants, sports/entertainment venues, and similar
projects. Representative projects handled by Champoux also include shopping
center and retail development and leasing, mixed-use urban redevelopment, and
public private partnerships. Her work has included serving as lead counsel to
the world's largest regional theme park operator on a variety of real estate,
construction, finance and operational issues.

"Crowell & Moring's Financial Services Group has experienced tremendous growth
in New York. It offers clients integrated teams of highly-experienced,
diverse professionals who understand their clients' business demands and
create pragmatic solutions to overcome their legal and regulatory challenges.
As such, the group is positioned to assist clients in successfully navigating
through the financial and operational constraints currently facing many
businesses. I am proud to join the firm and look forward to bringing my
commercial real estate experience to a team that has built its reputation on
client service," said Champoux.

Champoux received her B.A. from Wheaton College and her J.D. from the New York
Law School.

Crowell & Moring LLP is an international law firm with more than 450 lawyers
practicing in litigation, antitrust, government contracts, health care,
corporate, intellectual property and a variety of other practice areas. More
than two-thirds of the firm's attorneys regularly litigate disputes on behalf
of domestic and international corporations, start-up businesses, and
individuals. Crowell & Moring's extensive client work ranges from advising on
one of the world's largest telecommunications mergers to representing
governments and corporations on international arbitration matters. Based in
Washington, D.C., the firm also has offices in New York, London, Brussels, Los
Angeles, and Irvine, CA. Visit Crowell & Moring online at
http://www.crowell.com.

CONTACT:
Meredith Reilly
(202) 508-8941
mreilly@crowell.com

SOURCE Crowell & Moring LLP

Meredith Reilly of Crowell & Moring LLP, +1-202-508-8941, mreilly@crowell.com