JACKSONVILLE (January 4, 2010) — Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP announced today that Andrew J. Fawbush has joined the firm’s Jacksonville office as a partner in its Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits practice. He was previously a partner with Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP.

Mr. Fawbush has more than 30 years of legal experience in the employee benefits, compensation and ERISA practice area. This includes fiduciary issues, qualified and non-qualified plans, executive compensation, welfare benefit plans, and corporate governance involving compensation and benefits issues. He also has experience with respect to executive compensation and employee benefit plan issues in connection with mergers and acquisitions, including integration of post-closing benefit plans. Mr. Fawbush has served as benefits and ERISA counsel to several Fortune 500 companies, their boards of directors and compensation committees, a state university and its affiliated organization, various tax-exempt entities, insurers in developing products for employee benefit plans, plan fiduciaries, plan service providers and multi-employer pension plans.

Mr. Fawbush is a member of the American Bar Association and the Florida Bar. He sits on the University of Florida College of Law Board of Trustees and the Advisory Board for the Journal of Retirement Planning and has served as a faculty member of the University of North Florida Certified Employee Benefits Specialist Program. In addition to being included in the Florida and New York Super Lawyers lists for Employee Benefits and ERISA, Mr. Fawbush was selected as one of the Best Lawyers in America for employee benefits and as one of the Top Employee Benefits Lawyers by the International Bar Association.

Mr. Fawbush earned a B.S./B.A. degree with high honors from University of Florida and a J.D. degree from University of Florida Levin College of Law. He is admitted to practice in New York, the District of Columbia and Florida.