Legg Mason Wood Walker Hires E-Commerce Exec

Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc. in Baltimore said that Edward P. Meehan has joined the firm as a managing director to lead its Electronic Commerce and Internet Applications investment banking practice.

Meehan has 20 years of experience on Wall Street with Merrill Lynch and Smith
Barney.

Richard J. Himelfarb, head of Investment Banking at Legg Mason, said: “We
believe that the explosive growth in this sector and related Internet
applications will be a major economic driver for the next decade and beyond.”

Meehan, 42, began his investment banking career with Merrill Lynch in 1978 and
joined Smith Barney in 1995. He has experience in all areas of corporate
finance, including public offerings, private placements and mergers and
acquisitions. His experience includes service to companies in the
telecommunications, transportation, utility, energy and venture capital
sectors.

Mr. Meehan said: “Legg Mason shares my conviction that the impact of
electronic commerce will be felt in all industry sectors. From an investment
perspective, electronic commerce–consisting of electronic retail payments,
electronic data interchange, and Internet commerce–is developing quickly.
We expect the industry to enjoy dynamic growth over the next few years with
several companies experiencing annual revenue growth in excess of 50% over the next 18-24 months.”

Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc. is the principal broker-dealer subsidiary of Legg
Mason, Inc., a holding company that provides securities brokerage, investment
advisory, investment banking, commercial mortgage banking and other financial
services through its wholly owned subsidiaries.