People

Teresa Hill パートナー

シアトル

Focused on helping public and private companies in achieving their global “net zero” carbon commitments, Teresa has a particular emphasis on negotiating renewable energy power purchase agreements (PPAs). She has partnered with some of the largest corporate buyers of renewable energy, working to expand the global footprint of their energy portfolios in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Australia and Asia.

Teresa has extensive experience with wind, solar and storage projects and, specifically, the negotiation of development-related agreements, including virtually and physically settled renewable power purchase agreements.

Prior to joining Orrick, Teresa was a partner in the energy and infrastructure group of a global law firm and in the environment, land use and natural resources and renewable energy groups of a Portland-based law firm. She also clerked for Chief Justice Linda Copple Trout, the first woman appointed to the Idaho Supreme Court.

Erin M. Connell パートナー

サンフランシスコ

Recognized by the Daily Journal as a Top Woman Lawyer and Top Employment Lawyer, Erin's practice covers all aspects of employment law. She defends employers in class actions and other complex cases, as well as in systemic investigations and audits by the EEOC, DOJ, and the California CRD. Erin has led dozens of internal pay equity analyses and is a trusted advisor for several of the nation's most prominent employers on developing areas of employment law, including pay equity and pay transparency, DEI best practices, and the use of AI in employment decision making.

Erin also is an accomplished first chair trial lawyer. She has tried several cases before juries and in arbitration, and has obtained numerous defense summary judgment rulings and other favorable resolutions in state and federal court. Erin led the trial team that obtained a complete dismissal for Oracle in OFCCP v. Oracle, the largest pay equity case ever brought by the U.S. Department of Labor, which garnered national media attention and earned Erin recognition as a “Litigator of the Week” by the American Lawyer and a 2021 Employment MVP by Law360. As lead counsel, Erin also successfully obtained decertification in a statewide California pay equity class action, Jewett v. Oracle.

Erin's clients include leading technology and Fortune 500 companies, including: Oracle, Meta, Microsoft, Netflix, Pinterest, Workday, PayPal, Sony Interactive Entertainment, NVIDIA, Airbnb, SiriusXM, Dropbox, Zendesk, Splunk and Goldman Sachs.

Erin frequently speaks on California and national employment law issues. She is currently a Council Member with the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section (LEL) and is the Conference Chair for the American Employment Legal Council (AELC). She is also a faculty member with the Institute for Workplace Equality (IWE), and formerly served as the management chair of the ABA Equal Employment Opportunity Committee. Erin also previously served on the Board of Directors for the Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF), as well as BASF’s Justice & Diversity Center (JDC). She has published numerous articles and papers on employment law issues in publications around the country. She also provides employment law training and conducts internal investigations on employment-related matters.

Jeffrey Naimon パートナー

Washington DC

He defends financial services companies facing complex examination or enforcement matters before the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and federal and state banking regulators, with a focus on fair lending, unfair, deceptive or abusive acts and practices (UDAAP), loan servicing, privacy and credit reporting, debt collection, servicemember protections and other consumer protection issues.

He assists banks and nonbanks (including fintech entities) structure, negotiate and operate a variety of partnerships, outsourcing programs and other third-party arrangements, including performing due diligence, negotiating transactions and advising on ongoing oversight protocols to meet regulatory expectations for third-party arrangements.

Jeff also assists in negotiating acquisition, capital markets and servicing transactions, advising on how best to structure the transaction to reduce risk and expedite deal closure, performing due diligence and assisting in obtaining the necessary change of control and other regulatory approvals.

Jeff is consistently recognized as a leading lawyer in Financial Services Regulation: Consumer Finance (Compliance) in Chambers USA, which praised him for his "extremely high intellect regarding compliance matters and negotiation skills. There's none better at arguing a disputed point." He is also a Fellow of the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers.

He currently serves as the Co-chair of the Professional Development Task Force and previously served as Co-chair (2011-2013) and Co-vice Chair (2008-2010) of the Truth in Lending Subcommittee of the American Bar Association’s Consumer Financial Services Committee and has authored numerous articles on consumer financial services.

Prior to joining Orrick, Jeff was a partner at Buckley LLP.

Esteban De La Torre マネージング・アソシエイト

サンフランシスコ

Esteban represents clients at all stages of their life cycles and in a variety of technology and life sciences-driven industries. Esteban has experience drafting commercial, licensing and other intellectual property and technology agreements. He also assists clients with intellectual property issues in connection with a range of large commercial and strategic transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, licenses and collaborations, and strategic investments.

Before joining Orrick, Esteban was an attorney in the IP Transactions group at Ropes & Gray, working on a variety of intellectual property and transactional matters.

Neil Snead Project Attorney

グローバル・オペレーション・センター

Neil works with litigation attorneys and third party vendors to manage the review for cyber incident response, investigations, and litigation. This work includes using early case assessment technology to analyze, categorize, and cull data. He also manages teams of skilled professionals performing document review, quality control, and notification list deliverables.

Stephen Jackson パートナー

パリ; New York

Steve is admitted in New York California, England and Wales, and Paris and his primary focus is on U.S. taxation of securitizations and re-securitizations, including collateralized debt and loan obligations, mortgage-backed securitizations, structured investment vehicles and other structured finance and financial markets transactions.

For over fifteen years, Steve has served as tax counsel to issuers and underwriters in numerous registered, agency and privately-placed CMBS and RMBS transactions (primary issuances and re-securitizations), involving performing loans and non-performing loans, as well as other mortgage-related asset classes, such as servicing advances and tax liens, and in securitizations involving other asset classes such as credit card and auto loan/lease receivables. Steve also provides tax advice in connection with whole loan purchase transactions, including leveraged and nonleveraged acquisitions, joint ventures involving mortgage assets and repo and warehouse financings for various asset classes. Steve also advises financial institutions on tax issues in connection with their role as servicer, trustee or securities administrator under various securitization programs, as well as with respect to FATCA.

Steve writes and lectures on finance and international related tax topics and also participates actively in the tax committee and other initiatives of the Structured Finance Association and other industry and bar-related organizations.

John F. Thomson カウンセル

Washington DC

Nicole Ries Fox カウンセル

オレンジ・カウンティ

Nicole is an experienced trial attorney and appellate advocate who has represented private and public entities on appeal and in high impact litigation in federal and state courts. She has a track record of providing clients with thoughtful guidance, effective writing, and strategic representation on complex and high profile matters at all stages of litigation, including in the United States Supreme Court. 

Prior to joining Orrick, Nicole served as a Bristow Fellow in the United States Office of the Solicitor General, and worked as a trial and appellate litigator for several leading national law firms, She has also served as a Deputy Attorney General in the California Department of Justice and as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of California, where she represented the United States as the lead attorney in over 70 criminal appeals.  

Nicole received her J.D. from U.C. Berkeley School of Law, where she received the Thelen Marin Prize for Academic Achievement. She clerked for Judge William A. Fletcher of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

Melissa Hall Project Attorney

グローバル・オペレーション・センター

Melissa works with the firms various practice groups to increase efficiency and reduce costs for client services. Her work is primarily transactional, concentrating predominantly on financing matters. Her project portfolio encompasses a spectrum of tasks, including M&A due diligence reviews, capitalization table audits, corporate audits, and various projects associated with disclosure obligations.

Prior to joining Orrick, Melissa dedicated her practice to real estate and the intricacies of oil and gas law, specifically within the Appalachian Basin.

Christopher Regan パートナー

Washington DC

Chris has represented numerous individual defendants in parallel proceedings involving the Department of Justice (DOJ), the SEC and state attorneys general investigations, as well as administrative and/or regulatory enforcement litigation with agencies such as the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

His broad range of experience includes conducting internal investigations and the defense of criminal and/or grand jury investigations involving accounting fraud, disclosure issues, internal controls and corporate governance, tax fraud, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations, antitrust violations, mail and wire fraud, theft of trade secrets and a wide array of environmental crimes. He has been involved in all aspects of the SEC’s enforcement program including the Wells process and the emerging issues surrounding the agency’s whistleblower programs and employee protections thereunder.

His environmental practice ranges from conducting internal investigations to trial defense, with a strong focus on the unique suspension and debarment issues that arise under the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) program. In addition to his civil and criminal enforcement experience, Chris is proficient with lender liability issues, environmental due diligence, toxic tort ligation, superfund cost recovery and contribution actions and compliance planning for environmental health and safety issues.

Chris is recognized in Chambers as a Recognized Practitioner in D.C. White Collar Crime & Government Investigations, in Legal 500 for Corporate Investigations and White Collar Criminal Defense, and Best Lawyers in America in the fields of Criminal Defense: White-Collar, Corporate Governance Law, Corporate Compliance Law, and Litigation - Securities.

Prior to joining Orrick, Chris was a partner at Buckley LLP.

Francesco Laurenti アソシエイト

ミラノ

He advises major domestic and international corporations and financial institutions and underwriters in relation to capital markets deals including public offerings, EMTN, ECP Programmes, standalone issuance and liability management exercises.

He also advises lenders and financial institutions in relation to the development, acquisition, financing and refinancing of energy and transport infrastructure including airports and toll roads.

He also some experience in advising on financial and corporate transactions, including investments in share capital and the establishment of joint ventures with a particular focus on the environmental transition sector, and specific expertise in matters related to the plastics industry.

He adopts a practical, client-focused approach, combined with considerable expertise in assessing complex Italian legal issues.

Lars Knechtel Career Associate

デュッセルドルフ

He advises technology companies from their incorporation through their first financing rounds into the growth phase, as well as on internationalization projects and Delaware flip transactions.

Lars works with VCs, as well as corporate venture capital investors on their investments in German start-ups and scale-ups.

Prior to joining Orrick, Lars worked as an inhouse lawyer at a global communications and advertising group of companies.