Securities Class Action Lawsuit and Shareholder Derivative Action Filed Involving Wells Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc.

HAVERFORD, Pa. and NEW YORK, March 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The law firms of Chimicles & Tikellis LLP, of Haverford, PA, and Labaton Sucharow & Rudoff LLP and Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP, both of New York, NY, announce that a securities class action was commenced in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland against Wells Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. ("Wells REIT" or the "Company"), and certain of its affiliates, officers and directors. Wells REIT, a real estate investment trust whose stock is not traded on a national stock exchange, is primarily engaged in the acquisition and ownership of commercial real estate properties. The Complaint was filed on behalf of a proposed class ("Class") of the Company's stockholders who are entitled to vote on Wells REIT's proxy statement that was filed with the SEC on February 26, 2007 ("Proxy"). The Complaint also includes derivative claims asserting wrongdoing on behalf of Wells REIT against certain defendants.

The Complaint, which seeks damages and other appropriate relief for the Class and the Company, charges defendants with violations of the federal securities laws, including Sections 14(a) and 20 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 14a-9 promulgated thereunder. The Proxy seeks shareholder approval to merge affiliates of the Company (the "Advisor") into Wells REIT for $175 million worth of the Company's stock ("Internalization"). The Advisor is wholly owned by officers and directors of Wells REIT and thus the Internalization is a self-dealing transaction that must receive the utmost scrutiny by the Class and the Company. The Complaint charges that the Internalization does not stand up to that scrutiny. Among other things, the Complaint alleges that the Proxy is false, misleading and omits material information concerning the fact that: (a) the Internalization makes no economic sense to the Class and the Company given the likelihood that the Company will liquidate starting January 30, 2008; (b) they purport to sell the Advisor to the Company, but will continue to extract fees from the Company for advisory-type services; (c) recent comparable transactions reveal that the value placed on this Advisor is excessive and the Internalization transaction itself is not justified; (d) the Internalization is being used as an alternative exit strategy for the Advisor and its owners to end-run existing contractual provisions governing the Advisor's fees and to extract fees when they otherwise could receive nothing; and (e) the so-called fairness opinion obtained by defendants to support the Internalization and the value of the Advisor is materially flawed and based on unsupported assumptions. The Complaint also alleges that the Advisor and certain defendants owe fiduciary duties to the shareholders and the Company and breached those duties by entering into the Internalization which constitutes an abusive and self- dealing transaction, a waste of the Company's assets and puts their own personal self-interests above those of the Company and its shareholders.

If you are a member of the proposed Class, you may, no later than May 11, 2007, apply to the United States District Court, District of Maryland, to be appointed as a Lead Plaintiff in this proposed class action. A Lead Plaintiff is a representative, chosen by the Court, who acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 directs Courts to assume that the class member(s) with the "largest financial interest" in the outcome of the case will best serve the class in this capacity. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a Lead Plaintiff. You may retain Chimicles & Tikellis LLP, Labaton Sucharow & Rudoff LLP and/or Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this Action.

If you wish to discuss this Action further, have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, or need additional information on this Action please contact the following plaintiff's counsel:

Nicholas E. Chimicles Lawrence A. Lawrence P. Kimberly M. Donaldson Sucharow Kolker CHIMICLES & TIKELLIS Christopher J. WOLF HALDENSTEIN LLP Keller ADLER FREEMAN & HERZ 361 West Lancaster LABATON SUCHAROW LLP Avenue Haverford, PA & RUDOFF LLP 270 Madison Avenue 19041 100 Park Avenue New York, New York Telephone: 610-642-8500 New York, New York 10016 Toll Free: 866-399-2487 10017 Telephone: Fax: 610-649-3633 Telephone: 212-907-0700 212-545-4600 Website: Fax: 212-818-0477 Fax: 212-686-0114 http://www.chimicles.com/ Website: Website: E-Mail: http://www.labaton.com/ http://www.whafh.com/ kimdonaldson@chimicles.com E-Mail: E-Mail: ckeller@labaton.com Kolker@whafh.com

Chimicles & Tikellis LLP of Haverford, PA, and Labaton Sucharow & Rudoff LLP and Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP, both of New York, NY, focus on prosecuting complex litigations nationwide with an emphasis on securities, antitrust and consumer cases. These firms are leading class action law firms that have each succeeded in recouping hundreds of millions of dollars of losses for their clients. For more detailed information about each firm, please visit their websites listed above.