Hurricane Ike - Message to our Employees

Houston weathered a huge storm and we are thankful that our lawyers, staff and their families are safe. We were prepared—well and early. We put our Emergency Preparedness plan into play at the beginning of last week. From a loss prevention point of view, our significant emergency training and procedures enabled us to do the following:

• Protect all client confidential materials, including computers and documents prior to our evacuation
• Maintain all computer operations and support services throughout the loss of power to over 3 million people in the metropolitan area
• Respond to the media in a timely manner
• Resume client services two days after the storm through establishing alternative work sites for any lawyers unable to work from their homes due to loss of power

The property management at the Chase Tower have done an extraordinary job of marshalling resources and contractors to safeguard each office. There were several hundred contractors on site since the storm working to contain the damage to the Chase Tower and Garage.

The main Houston office at 600 Travis will be open for business on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at 7:00 am.

In addition, The Woodlands office will also be open for business on Wednesday, September 17, 2008.

As a reminder, please use the following procedure to receive up-to-date Firm information:

• Call (713) 220-4545 to check your own voicemail for instructions

Sincerely,  

Andrews Kurth