To assist clients as they navigate the largest financial bailout in American history, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP announced today the formation of the Financial Services Task Force comprised of senior attorneys from the Firm's banking, bankruptcy & restructuring, corporate, government contracts, litigation, real estate and securities practices.  The Firm also announced the first of a series of roundtable briefings hosted by the Financial Services Task Force to be held this Wednesday October 1, 2008 in New York.

“The financial services sector has undergone in a matter of weeks what might have otherwise taken decades to unfold, and those of us who serve it must change with it to help our clients efficiently and effectively address the complex challenges before them,” stated Thomas P. Vartanian, corporate partner and head of the Firm’s Banking & Financial Institutions practice.

The recent crisis in the financial services sector has severely destabilized confidence and liquidity and resulted in a dramatic reconfiguration of the market in just a few weeks.  With the Financial Services Task Force, Fried Frank has consolidated and realigned the skills of its practice groups to quickly lever off the experience of Firm attorneys, both as former government officials and private practitioners.

“We are confident in our team’s unique ability to assist clients in areas such as corporate recapitalizations and restructurings; supervisory mergers and acquisitions; FDIC receiverships; regulatory enforcement matters; complex litigation; bulk asset acquisitions and dispositions; purchasing assets from the government; and advising on government contracts,” stated Valerie Ford Jacob, Fried Frank’s Chairperson.

To immediately assist clients, the Firm will host the first of a series of roundtable briefings beginning this Wednesday, October 1, 2008.   Entitled Weathering the Financial Services Storm of 2008, the roundtable will cover:   

• Private Equity Investments in Banks
• FDIC Receivership Opportunities and Risks
• Federal Rescues of GSEs and Financial Services Companies

For more information on the Task Force or for information on the roundtable, please contact Jennifer McCullam +1.212.859.4511 or jennifer.mccullam@friedfrank.com