HOUSTON (March 16, 2005) — Vinson & Elkins LLP and Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. are pleased to announce that three of the firms' Houston-based attorneys have been named to the American Health Lawyers Association's inaugural class of Fellows.

Gary W. Eiland and J.D. Epstein of Vinson & Elkins and Jerry A. Bell, Jr., of Fulbright & Jaworski were the only private practice attorneys from Texas to be honored with the designation.

The inaugural class is made up of 40 of the association's past volunteer leaders, including 20 former presidents and other authors and members of the association's practice groups and educational programs.

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

Gary W. Eiland is co-section head of Vinson & Elkins' Health Industry Group. His practice focuses on providing legal services to the health care industry, including health care providers and systems, academic medical centers, medical group practices, and pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers. His experience includes handling complex fraud and abuse, Stark, and False Claims Act investigations, litigation and compliance matters; structuring health care business transactions and contractual relationships; and advising clients concerning Medicare and Medicaid and other federal and state regulatory matters. 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 was President of the American Health Lawyers Association from 1996-97; Immediate Past President and Executive Committee member from 1997-98; and a Director from 1991-98.

J.D. Epstein is co-section head of Vinson & Elkins' Health Industry Group. He has represented thousands of hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, HMOs, prepaid group practices, medical staffs, and related clients throughout the country since the early 1970s. Mr. Epstein consults with clients in such areas as third-party reimbursement; fraud and abuse, Stark, and federal False Claims Act matters; corporate organization; acquisitions, mergers, and consolidations; structuring and contracting for HMOs, PPOs, PHOs, PSOs, integrated delivery systems, and managed care networks; Hill-Burton matters; and physician, paramedical, and vendor contracts. 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 Hospital Lawyers by Nightingale's Healthcare News in 2003. Mr. Epstein has been involved with the American Health Lawyers Association and its predecessor organizations since the late 1960s, and has served in various capacities, including President from 1987-88.

Jerry A. Bell, Jr. is head of Fulbright & Jaworski's Health Law Business and Regulatory Department. He practices exclusively in the health care area where he represents numerous health care organizations and institutions. Mr. Bell is an adjunct faculty member of The University of Texas Law School, where he teaches a health law course. He served on the Board of Directors of the American Health Lawyers Association from 1998-2001.

For more information about this news release, please contact Darrin Schlegel, V&E;'s senior communications specialist, at 713.758.2171 or at dschlegel@velaw.com. Or contact Leigh Ann Nicas, Fulbright & Jaworski's public relations manager, at 713.651.5582 or at lnicas@fulbright.com.

Vinson & Elkins LLP was established in 1917 and is one of the world's largest international law firms. The firm has more than 700 lawyers practicing in Austin, Beijing, Dallas, Dubai, Houston, London, Moscow, New York, Tokyo and Washington DC. 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. Chambers USA gave Vinson & Elkins Health Industry Group a number one ranking nationally in their "America's Leading Lawyers for Business 2004," stating that V&E; "figures prominently on reimbursement, transactional, and fraud/abuse matters." For more information, visit www.vinson-elkins.com.

Founded in 1919, Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. is a leading full-service international law firm, with more than 900 attorneys in 11 offices in Houston, New York, Washington, D.C., Austin, Dallas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, San Antonio, Hong Kong, London and Munich.  Fulbright provides a full range of legal services to both domestic and foreign clients worldwide. Nightingale's Healthcare News ranked Fulbright's health law practice the sixth largest in the country. The 2004 BTI survey of FORTUNE 1000 general counsel chose Fulbright as a "Top 30 Best A-Team Law Firm" and Corporate Board Member magazine named Fulbright among the top 20 corporate law firms in the U.S. in their survey of board members of public companies. For more information, visit www.fulbright.com.