Michael D. Arena Associate Public Finance

Sacramento

Michael Arena is a Public Finance Associate in Sacramento.

Jen Argyle Employment Law Career Associate Employment Law & Litigation

New York

Jen Argyle is an employment law career associate in our New York office.

Jen Argyle joined the firm in 2017. She concentrates in employment disputes, executive counseling, and has represented management in labor arbitrations. Jen enables her executive clients to avoid litigation surrounding employment negotiations and contract issues. She counsels corporate clients on litigation avoidance, conducts internal investigations discretely and efficiently, and drafts internal policies and procedures, further insulating companies and business owners from costly court proceedings. 

Jen also represents clients before both federal and state courts, arbitrations, mediations, and state and federal government agency proceedings. She has responded to claims of discrimination, retaliation, and harassment and she has also addressed wage-hour, misclassification, and disability/medical leave issues. Before joining the firm, Jen was an associate at a regional law firm where she represented management in all aspects of single-plaintiff and multi-plaintiff employment litigation.

Kevin Arlyck Senior Associate Supreme Court & Appellate

New York

Kevin is a Managing Associate in the Supreme Court and Appellate group.  His practice involves high-stakes appeals in federal and state courts across the country.

Kevin has experience in a wide range of subject areas, including class actions, securities, bankruptcy, and patents. He has co-authored numerous appellate briefs, including briefs to the Supreme Court of the United States at the certiorari and merits stages, on subjects including consumer protection, Indian law, criminal forfeiture, federal court jurisdiction, and foreign sovereign immunity. Kevin has also engaged in strategic planning and motions practice at the trial stage in both federal and state courts.

Prior to joining Orrick, Kevin clerked for Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor of the Supreme Court of the United States and Circuit Judge Robert Katzmann of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.  He has a Ph.D. in history from NYU, where he specialized in the history of the federal courts in the early national period.

Nathelie Ashby Of Counsel Public Finance

Austin

Nathelie is an of counsel with our Public Finance practice in Texas.

Nathelie regularly serves as bond and disclosure counsel for state agencies, universities, cities, school districts and other political subdivisions in tax-exempt bond transactions. Nathelie also represents investment banking firms as underwriter's counsel.

Matt Ashby Of Counsel Complex Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Mass Torts & Product Liability

Los Angeles

Matt Ashby has served as local and national trial counsel for some of the largest U.S. companies in the government contracting, chemical, construction, maritime and automotive industries for over a decade. Matt's prior professional experience, as a Certified Public Accountant in California and as a senior auditor for a Fortune 500 multinational corporation, enables him to wield a unique and sophisticated legal practice on behalf of his clients. 

Prior to his legal career, Matt served as a senior auditor for a Fortune 500 multinational corporation, where he supervised compliance and financial audits, internal controls, and M&A due diligence. His training in federal contracting and accounting have enabled him to add unique value to his legal service. As a result, Matt has been called upon to bring a fresh perspective to his clients' defense strategies, both locally and nationally.

In addition to serving his clients, Matt enjoys opportunities to collaborate with and educate other lawyers.

Matt has participated as a lecturer and faculty member at national complex litigation and product liability conferences and has been interviewed by leading legal publications for his views on trends in these practice areas. He has written articles for DRI and Law360 on cross-border discovery and trial practice, as well as authored a chapter on damages for a regional legal treatise published by The Recorder. Matt has also prepared a comprehensive DRI practice guide on the defense of litigation involving international parties.

Prior to Orrick, Matt most recently practiced as a partner in the Los Angeles office of Polsinelli LLP (an Am Law 100 firm).

Jennifer Asher Managing Associate Restructuring, Banking & Finance

New York

Jennifer Asher is a managing associate in the Firm's Restructuring practice, where she has advised a variety of clients, such as debtors, creditors and lenders, in restructuring-related matters.

She represents a broad spectrum of clients in financial restructuring and insolvency matters and takes a creative approach to applying her skills across various industries. 

Jennifer is also an active member in the New York Women's Affinity Group.

Prior to joining Orrick, Jennifer was an associate at King & Spalding LLP, where she was a member of the Financial Restructuring Practice Group.

Jennifer received her J.D., cum laude, from St. John’s University School of Law where she was an associate managing editor of the St. John’s Law Review. Jennifer received a B.S., summa cum laude, from the Binghamton University School of Business, where she was an accounting major. Prior to attending law school, Jennifer was an audit associate at KPMG LLP. While at KPMG, she was a member of the audit teams at Citigroup and Credit Suisse. She is also a Certified Public Accountant.

 

Stephen Ashley Partner Capital Markets, Technology Companies Group

New York

Stephen Ashley is a partner in the New York office and a member of the firm's Capital Markets practice. He regularly represents both issuers and underwriters in a wide range of domestic and cross-border securities transactions.

Stephen's experience includes public offerings and private placements of common and preferred equity and investment grade, high yield and convertible debt securities, as well as liability management transactions such as exchange offers, tender offers and consent solicitations. He also advises clients on various compliance, corporate governance, stock exchange listing and other general corporate matters.  

Legal500 reported in 2016 that clients say Stephen “is very responsive, does thorough research and speaks in plain English.” He has advised companies from a wide range of industries, including the IT, software, finance, consumer products, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, energy, infrastructure and transportation sectors.

Stephen is a member of Orrick's opinion committee.

Kevin M. Askew Senior Associate White Collar, Investigations, Securities Litigation & Compliance, Securities Litigation, Class Actions and Shareholder Derivative Lawsuits

Los Angeles

Kevin Askew, a senior associate in Orrick’s Los Angeles office, is a member of the White Collar, Investigations, Securities Litigation & Compliance Group.

Kevin represents companies, officers and directors in connection with SEC investigations and enforcement actions, securities class actions, shareholder derivative suits and other complex commercial litigation matters. He has also represented clients in a broad range of matters involving antitrust, trade secrets, contract disputes and consumer class actions.

Kevin has also devoted a significant portion of his time to pro bono representations in immigration and asylum matters.

Marie Athaide Special Counsel Structured Finance

New York

Marie Athaide, an attorney in the New York office, is a member of the Structured Finance Group.

James Atkin Partner Energy, Infrastructure

Tokyo

James Atkin is the global co-head of Orrick’s Oil & Gas practice.

Widely recognized as a leading energy lawyer in Tokyo and Band 1 ranked by Chambers Global, James focuses his practice on helping companies with their international energy investments. He advises clients in the oil and gas sector on transactions in Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Africa and North America, and has extensive experience advising on large-scale oil and gas projects, LNG sales arrangements, and energy-related mergers and acquisitions.

Shawn Atkinson Partner M&A and Private Equity, Technology Companies Group

London

Shawn Atkinson, a partner in the London office, is a member of the Private Equity, Mergers & Acquisitions and Technology Companies Group, which advises leading private equity, venture capital and growth funds and high growth technology companies. He also co-leads Orrick’s global Fintech team.

Among the leading investment funds he has represented are Acton Capital Partners, ABRY Partners, Accel Partners, Apax Partners, Bain Capital, Balderton Capital, Battery Ventures, Beringea, Bessemer Venture Partners, Coatue Management, Columbia Capital, CommerzVentures, Evolvence, Global Finance, Golden Gate Capital, Greenspring Associates, Headway Capital Partners, Innova Capital, Kinnevik, KPS Capital Partners, Mangrove Capital Partners, M/C Partners, Piton Capital, Rho Ventures, Russia Partners, Salesforce Ventures, Summit Partners, Tectonic, Vostok New Ventures and Vostok Emerging Finance.

A cross-border transactional lawyer by trade, his experience includes UK multi-jurisdictional and complex corporate transactions for both public and private companies, including countless acquisitions and disposals, cross-border mergers, bankruptcy infused asset sales, recapitalisations and reorganisations.

He has a particular depth of experience in technology and IP rich businesses and is a recognised leader in late stage venture transactions and in early stage private equity transactions in Europe and the emerging markets.

Christopher Austin Partner Capital Markets, Technology Companies Group

New York; Silicon Valley

Christopher Austin is global head of Orrick’s Capital Markets practice and global cochair of Orrick's Blockchain and Cryptocurrency practice. He focuses on capital markets, cryptocurrency, venture capital and corporate law, with extensive experience in public offerings, public and private company governance and securities law compliance.

Chris counsels technology companies of all sizes and stages of development, including advising on formation, venture financings, mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, corporate governance, and intellectual property issues. He is a recognized leader in capital markets work for both companies and investment banks, leading deals involving BAML, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley, in connection with initial public offerings and follow-on offerings of technology and life sciences companies.

With a combination of securities law, fintech and startup experience, Chris has become a recognized leader on cryptocurrency and blockchain matters, working with companies such as Hedera (Hashgraph), Shapeshift, Threefold Foundation and others on issues around token sales, SAFT offerings and securities law compliance.  He leads a multi-disciplinary team of money transmission, derivatives, broker dealer, litigation and comp and benefits experts to provide holistic advice in a rapidly changing regulatory environment.

Chris also works with many of Orrick's financial industry tech clients, including Betterment, SoFi, Debtsy, Kabbage and Galaxy Digital.