Hodgson Russ Partner Pamela Davis Heilman Quoted in Corporate Board Member Magazine

December 3, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Lisa Kane

416.595.5100

lkane@hodgsonruss.com

This special report, entitled "What Directors Think," uses the results of a Corporate Board Member/PricewaterhouseCoopers survey and 100 interviews with members of boards of directors of publicly traded companies from across the United States to address issues that affect board members' daily business lives, such as the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on business operations, the unique challenges of being a director, and ethical issues faced by directors when making decisions such as whether to move production offshore.

Ms. Heilman's response on the Securities and Exchange Commission's call for reform of corporate board elections was selected to appear in the magazine. "I think the SEC needs to be very cautious about this matter," Ms. Heilman states in the article. "Board elections are not popularity contests and also should not be governed by the problem-flavor-of-the-month. Board diversity and breadth and depth of experience, from financial to industry experts, need to be present. A fully wide-open election is unlikely to achieve this result. A truly well-balanced board should be the goal."

Ms. Heilman is one of the lead lawyers in the Firm's cross-border Canada/United States practice and regularly counsels Canadian organizations and businesses considering expansion into the United States. She also has extensive experience counseling nonprofit organizations and closely held businesses. She has served on the board of directors or executive committee for several prominent corporations and business councils.

Established in 1817, Hodgson Russ is one of the oldest law firms in the United States. The Firm has approximately 200 attorneys practicing in all major areas of law and one of the largest Canadian practice groups among U.S. law firms. As licensed foreign legal consultants in Ontario, Hodgson Russ attorneys advise Canadian clients on U.S. legal issues affecting cross-border business operations in the United States. Our attorneys have counseled Canadian clients for more than 50 years. The eight offices of Hodgson Russ are in Albany, Buffalo, JFK International Airport, Johnstown, and New York City, New York; Boca Raton and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; and Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

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