(Houston) July 14, 2005 – The American Health Lawyers Association has presented Gary W. Eiland, a partner in Vinson & Elkins' Houston office, with the 2005 David J. Greenburg Service Award.

The award is the Association’s highest honor and is given annually to an individual who has shown great loyalty to AHLA throughout his or her career and has made significant contributions to the growth and life of AHLA.

As president of the American Academy of Healthcare Attorneys in 1996-97, Mr. Eiland presided over and served as a member of the negotiating committee responsible for the successful 1997 merger of AAHA and the National Health Lawyers Association to create the American Health Lawyers Association. He has been a member of AHLA and its predecessors since the late 1970s, having served as immediate past president and executive committee member of AHLA from 1997-98, and as a director from 1991-98.

During the Greenburg Award presentation, it was noted that Mr. Eiland has served as a faculty member at more than 25 AHLA programs since his board and officer service ended in 1998.

Mr. Eiland is co-section head of Vinson & Elkins' Health Industry Group. His area of practice focuses on providing legal services to the health care industry.  He has been named one of The Best Lawyers in America in health care law for more than 10 years and also was named one of 12 Outstanding Fraud and Compliance Lawyers by Nightingale's Healthcare News in 2004.

Mr. Eiland is the second Vinson & Elkins partner to receive the Greenburg Award. J.D. Epstein, also co-section head of the firm's Health Industry Group, was a co-recipient of the award in 1999.

AHLA is the nation's largest, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) educational organization devoted to legal issues in the health care field. Its 9,500 active members practice in law firms, government, in-house settings and academia, and represent the entire spectrum of the health care community.

For more information regarding this press release, please contact Gary Eiland at 713-758-3474 or via email at geiland@velaw.com. Or you may contact Darrin Schlegel, senior communications specialist, at 713-758-2171, or at dschlegel@velaw.com.

Vinson & Elkins was established in 1917 and is one of the world's largest international law firms. The firm has about 700 lawyers practicing in Austin, Beijing, Dallas, Dubai, Houston, London, Moscow, New York, Tokyo and Washington D.C. Vinson & Elkins offers a wide range of legal services. Clients include public and private companies, financial institutions, municipalities, governments of sovereign nations, entrepreneurs, families and individuals.