June 8, 2006 (Houston) — Lon Outland, a first year law student at the University of Texas School of Law, initially viewed Vinson & Elkins LLP as just one of many law firms recruiting him for a summer associate position. His view of V&E; changed when he attended the firm's recruiting event this past January. The event didn't involve an expensive dinner with wine or a trip to an exclusive day spa. Instead, the recruiting event that cemented Mr. Outland's decision on where to clerk this summer took place in a warehouse where boxes filled with cans of soup, bottles of juice and cartons of noodles were stacked several high on wooden palettes strewn across the floor.

Mr. Outland, a summer associate in the litigation and the intellectual property law sections in V&E;'s Houston office, was one of 166 students at 10 law schools across the country who joined 72 V&E; lawyers this spring to spend a few hours working at area food banks as part of the law firm's annual recruiting efforts. The goal of the innovative recruiting technique is to provide law students with a more informal venue in which to interact with V&E; lawyers, while also demonstrating the firm's commitment to public service.

"I enjoyed this recruiting event more than the others I attended in part because I found myself talking with the V&E; associates and partners about things you wouldn't normally talk about at a typical law firm recruiting event." said Mr. Outland. "I found myself reminiscing with attorneys over food we remembered eating as kids and the food drive really illustrated V&E;'s commitment to the community. Instead of other recruiting events where you are told that they're involved in the community over cocktails, V&E; actually showed me their involvement through action. That was what impressed me the most and made me think that Vinson & Elkins was somewhere I would like to work. I also liked how excited the associates and partners were to be participating in the event."

V&E; partner and Harvard Law School alum Kevin Lewis initiated the Food Bank effort in 2002 as an alternative to the traditional "wine and dine" recruiting method at his alma mater. Harvard students responded so positively to the program that the law firm has expanded it to law students at the University of Texas, Yale University, Southern Methodist University, South Texas College of Law, the University of Houston, Texas Southern University, Georgetown University and Duke University. V&E; also hosts a recruiting event similar in message at the University of Virginia, however since there is no local food bank the lawyers and students help out by working with Habitat for Humanity for a few hours.

In 2006, the students and lawyers sorted 70,803 pounds of food, which equals 56,643 meals served, more than double the amounts sorted in 2005.

"When we decided to do something different at Harvard back in 2002, we weren't sure whether law students would embrace this effort," said Mr. Lewis, who specializes in project finance and corporate securities law. "Community service and pro-bono work is very important and expected of V&E; lawyers, so it is wonderful to see our attorneys working alongside future lawyers for such a great cause."

"I liked that it was a more personal and laid-back recruiting event," said Sarah Parker, a second year law student at the University of Houston, who is a summer associate in V&E;'s public finance and litigation sections. "They definitely try to match your interests to others in the firm and really make you feel like you belong here."

For more information regarding V&E;'s Food Bank project, please contact Kevin Lewis at 713.758.3884 or via email at klewis@velaw.com. Alternatively you may contact Ashley Battelle, communications coordinator at 713.758.2052 or via email at abattelle@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, Shanghai, 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.

The firm was named one of Houston's "Best Places to Work" by the Houston Business Journal in 2005 and one of the top 50 "Best Companies to Work for in Texas" by the Best Companies Group, in conjunction with the Texas Association of Business, Texas Monthly and The Society for Human Resource Management - Texas State Council.