Seyfarth Shaw Grows Labor and Employment Environmental Practice Group with Hire of Joseph L. Pellis II as Partner

Chicago, IL (November 26, 2007)—Seyfarth Shaw LLP, one of America’s leading full-service law firms, announced today that Joseph L. Pellis II has joined the firm in Chicago as a partner in the Labor and Employment Department’s Environmental, Safety and Toxic Torts Practice Group. He was previously of counsel with Reed Smith.

Pellis joins Seyfarth Shaw with a broad range of business and litigation experience, especially with regard to mitigating corporate environmental liabilities. Pellis’s legal practice touches upon environmental, real estate and insurance law in which he represents companies in complex transactions designed to limit liability and financial impacts of environmentally-impaired real estate assets and related transactions.

“Joe comes to Seyfarth Shaw with particular strength and experience assisting clients with their risk transfer program, especially as it relates to environmental liabilities,” said Philip L. Comella, Chair of the firm’s Environmental, Safety, and Toxic Torts Practice Group. “He has a firm understanding of the EPA’s ‘Brownfield’s’ legislation to redevelop sustainable land, and his unique background provides him keen insight to the intersecting business interests of the insurance marketplace, real estate development and environmental remediation firms.”

Seyfarth Shaw’s Environmental, Safety and Toxic Torts Practice Group represents a broad range of companies across the full spectrum of environmental and safety matters, ranging from regulatory counseling, site audits, and Brownfields to enforcement action defense and toxic tort litigation.

“We are very excited about the addition of Joe to our Chicago office,” said David J. Rowland, Managing Partner of the firm’s Chicago office. “He is a talented lawyer whose practice touches upon a number of the firm’s core strengths, including environmental, real estate, insurance and corporate finance law.”

Pellis earned his J.D. from the Columbus School of Law of the Catholic University of America, and his B. S. from Pennsylvania State University. Pellis is a member of the Pennsylvania, District of Columbia and American Bar Associations, and he is an associate member of the American Institute of Architects.

“I look forward to collaborating with my new colleagues throughout the firm and drawing upon their talent,” said Pellis. “Together, we provide our clients with holistic counsel concerning underperforming, environmentally-impaired real estate assets.”

Seyfarth Shaw has over 725 attorneys located in nine offices throughout the United States including Chicago, New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento as well as Brussels, Belgium.  Seyfarth Shaw provides a broad range of legal services in the areas of labor and employment, employee benefits, litigation and business services. The firm’s practice reflects virtually every industry and segment of the country’s business and social fabric. Clients include over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, newspapers and other media, hotels, health care organizations, airlines and railroads. The firm also represents a number of federal, state, and local governmental and educational entities.