SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

   Litigation Release No. 16970 / April 18, 2001

Attorney Charged With Insider Trading in Merger of Forte Software and Sun
Microsystems

   SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. MALCOLM B. WITTENBERG, United
   States District Court for the Northern District of California, Civil
   Action No. C 01 1477 MMC

   The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") today announced
   that it has sued a San Francisco attorney for insider trading prior to
   the August 1999 merger of Forte Software, Inc. ("Forte") and Sun
   Microsystems, Inc. ("Sun"). The Commission's action alleges that
   Malcolm Wittenberg learned about the merger while providing legal
   services to Forte and then profited by purchasing Forte securities
   before the merger announcement drove the price of Forte stock up
   nearly 25%. In a related action, the United States Attorney's Office
   for the Northern District of California today announced criminal
   insider trading charges against Wittenberg based on his Forte trades.

   Simultaneous with the filing of the Commission's civil complaint,
   Wittenberg consented, without admitting or denying the allegations in
   the Commission's complaint, to the entry of a permanent injunction
   against future violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange
   Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and to pay a total of
   $29,224.67, including $14,000 in disgorgement of trading profits,
   $1,224.67 in prejudgment interest and a civil penalty of $14,000.

   According to the Commission's complaint, Wittenberg is a partner in
   the San Francisco office of an Oakland, California-based law firm that
   served as patent counsel to Forte. The complaint alleges that not
   later than August 16, 1999, Forte's general counsel informed
   Wittenberg that Forte was considering a merger with Sun. In connection
   with the merger negotiations, Forte's general counsel directed
   Wittenberg to provide information about Forte's patents to the
   attorneys conducting due diligence for Sun. Forte's general counsel
   also told Wittenberg that information about the proposed merger was
   confidential.

   Over the next several days, Wittenberg purchased 2,000 shares of Forte
   common stock at an average price of $14.125 per share. After the
   merger was announced on August 23, 1999, Forte closed at $21.125 per
   share, up 24.2% from its prior day closing price. Although Wittenberg
   retained his Forte shares after the announcement, Wittenberg's profits
   from his illegal insider trading were $14,000.