NEW YORK, April 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Lazard announced today that David S.
 Kurtz has joined the firm as a managing director.  Mr. Kurtz previously served
 as a partner in the Corporate Restructuring Department of Skadden Arps Slate
 Meagher & Flom, LLP's Chicago office.  Mr. Kurtz will be based out of Lazard's
 Chicago office.
     Lazard, through its restructuring group, is the leading investment bank
 providing financial advisory services to troubled companies around the world.
 Among the firm's restructuring clients are Owens Corning, Armstrong World
 Industries, Kaiser Aluminum, Fruit of the Loom, Loews Cineplex Entertainment,
 360networks, Formica, and National Steel.  Lazard's European clients include
 Marconi and United Pan-Europe Communications.  Lazard's Asian clients include
 Daewoo and Hyundai Engineering & Construction, and Anaconda Nickel in
 Australia.
     Kenneth Jacobs, Deputy Chairman of Lazard and Head of Lazard in the United
 States, said, "David is one of the finest corporate restructuring and
 bankruptcy advisors in the nation.  He will be a strong addition to Lazard and
 our restructuring practice."
     Barry Ridings and Terry Savage, co-heads of Lazard's restructuring group
 said, "Over the years we have had the pleasure of working with David, and he
 has provided astute legal counsel and advice to his clients in complex
 reorganizations and restructurings.  We are pleased David is now shifting his
 focus and creativity to the financial advisory side of restructurings here at
 Lazard."
     Mr. Kurtz said, "Lazard has an ideal platform for today's restructuring
 work -- increasingly dominated by cross-border complexities, multinational
 creditors and merger and acquisition solutions.  I look forward to being part
 of Lazard's financial advisory team and building upon the experience I gained
 after 22 years as an attorney."
     Mr. Kurtz has served as lead company counsel in several of the largest
 corporate restructurings of the past decade, including McLeodUSA, Polaroid,
 Safety-Kleen, ICG Communications, Montgomery Ward, Trans World Airlines,
 Washington Group International, Favorite Brands International, Philip Services
 and Tokheim.
     Mr. Kurtz, 47, was named by "The American Lawyer" magazine as its
 "Bankruptcy Dealmaker of the Year 2000."  Mr. Kurtz received a B.A. from Case
 Western Reserve University and a J.D. from Case Western Reserve University
 School of Law.
 
     Lazard, the world's preeminent advisory investment bank, is present in
 15 countries throughout the world.  Lazard provides international financial
 advisory services and global transaction execution to corporations,
 partnerships, institutions, governments, and individuals.  Services include
 mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, asset management, capital markets
 execution, real estate investment banking, and alternative investment
 management.
 
 

SOURCE  Lazard