People

Joseph Adamson Of Counsel

Washington, D.C.

In his government service, Joseph investigated potentially anticompetitive mergers, allegations of collusion, and potentially monopolistic conduct by firms in the healthcare and many other industries. That experience included working on the litigation team in the United States' challenge of UnitedHealth Group's acquisition of Change Healthcare. In private practice, Joseph has litigated antitrust and other complex commercial matters, advocated on behalf of clients with government agencies, and counseled clients on antitrust risks of potential acquisitions and on HSR filing requirements.

The combination of government and private practice experience, including representing both plaintiffs and defendants, allows Joseph to navigate the demands of modern discovery in litigation and by subpoena. Joseph seeks to achieve optimal outcomes for clients by minimizing disruption, cost, and burden during the litigation process, while focusing on and obtaining the key facts necessary to support his clients’ claims and defenses. His experience guides Joseph’s advocacy to secure successful outcomes at early stages of investigations and litigations, and to build the factual record needed to win at trial.

Joseph also maintains an active pro bono practice, including extensive work for clients seeking to prove their innocence from wrongful convictions.

Neetu Ahlawat Associate

London

Neetu’s practice encompasses merger control and foreign direct investment, having represented clients in several big-ticket cases requiring complex remedies. She provides guidance on compliance and conducts a range of behavioural investigations for clients across multiple sectors.

Before joining Orrick, Neetu was part of the top-tier competition practice at one of India's largest law firms.

Daniela Andreatta Special Counsel

Mailand

Daniela practice covers cross-border corporate transactions and the so called “special situations”, which include investments in distressed assets (non-performing loans, debt and/or equity in listed/unlisted distressed companies), buy-outs from insolvency proceedings and bankruptcy-related litigation. In recent years, she has assisted banks, Italian and foreign investors and debtors in complex deals of corporate restructurings relating to the financial indebtedness and concordato proceedings.

Prior to joining Orrick, Daniela was a member of Studio Legale Tributario in Milan, a law firm Associated with Ernst & Young International.

Anna Aryankalayil Partner

Washington, D.C.

Having returned to private practice, Anna focuses on merger clearance and litigation, government conduct investigations, and antitrust counseling and compliance.

During her time at the FTC from March 2020 to September 2022, Anna advised on merger and anticompetitive conduct investigations and enforcement actions across a wide range of sectors, including tech, pharmaceutical and life sciences, healthcare, defense, oil & gas, retail, and consumer goods. She also advised on litigation and appellate strategy, the FTC’s advocacy through amicus briefs, and other cutting edge competition policy matters, such as, merger policy, digital platforms, intellectual property, and nascent competition in innovative industries.

Prior to joining the FTC, Anna was a senior associate in private practice where she focused on antitrust litigation, government conduct investigations and compliance, and the antitrust aspects of mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures. In litigation, Anna has experience defending high-profile transactions against government challenge from the FTC and the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division.

John Bautista Partner

San Francisco; Santa Monica; Silicon Valley

John focuses his practice on advising emerging companies and investors, and represents both public and private high-tech and life sciences companies in many areas, including corporate and securities law, venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, public company representation and technology licensing.

The Recorder named John the “2019 Innovator of the Year” for his work as the chief lawyer on the Long-Term Stock Exchange, a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission-approved exchange designed to change the paradigm of traditional stock markets by rewarding entrepreneurs and investors committed to long-term business strategies. Financial Times recognized John as one of the Top 10 Most Innovative Individuals of the Year in 2017, calling him “one of the most influential lawyers in the technology ecosystem of Silicon Valley.” He is ranked Band 1 by Chambers USA California, for Venture Capital and Chambers USA Nationwide, ranked him Band 2 for Startups & Emerging Companies.

John is a Board member and co-founder of the Long-Term Stock Exchange, which is creating a new stock exchange for public companies supporting long-term investors, as well as an advisor and co-founder of Clerky.com, a company automating legal work for early-stage companies. He is also recognized for his work with Y Combinator companies.

At Orrick, John serves as Lead Partner for Transactions and Lead Partner for Innovation & Technology.

Prior to joining Orrick, John was a founding attorney of Venture Law Group and served on the Executive Committee. John previously practiced at Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati. John also served as Mayor of the City of Cupertino, California and a council member from 1993-1997, where he helped build important public partnerships, including with Apple Computer, the Mid-Peninsula Open Space Preserve, and San Jose and California Water Companies.

Jesse Beringer Senior Associate

Washington, D.C.

Jesse routinely handles all aspects of civil and class action litigation, including arbitration and trial. She applies her knowledge of the federal rules and the discovery process to litigation matters across a wide array of industries—including technology, energy, and healthcare—from the outset to think strategically and pragmatically with clients about how to obtain the best result in each circumstance.

Recently, Jesse was the lead associate on the trial team in client Zillow Group, Inc.’s successful defense against false advertising litigation in the Western District of Washington, REX—Real Estate Exchange, Inc. v. Zillow Group Inc., where the jury delivered a full defense verdict.

Jesse also has substantial experience concerning mergers and acquisitions and competition-related investigations before the DOJ and FTC, including compliance with onerous Second Request merger investigations.

Prior to joining Orrick, Jesse was a litigation associate in the Washington, DC office of another international law firm.

Lauren Bernstein Counsel

New York

Lauren’s practice spans the full spectrum of dispute resolution, from pre-litigation counseling and strategy development to trial and appeal in high-profile antitrust and complex commercial litigation matters. She has worked with clients to evaluate and navigate potential disputes and assess opportunities to settle or negotiate a resolution ahead of litigation. Additionally, she helps clients develop robust dispute resolution strategies at the transactional stage, advising on dispute resolution clauses and positioning clients for favorable outcomes in potential future disputes.

Lauren has extensive experience representing clients in the life sciences industry in disputes arising from drug development, licensing, and joint ventures, and has defended clients in multi-billion dollar arbitrations and antitrust litigation, including multidistrict proceedings.

Lauren is dedicated to giving back to her community through her pro bono practice. She has been instrumental in providing legal advice and support to pro bono clients related to reproductive rights, including securing a preliminary injunction in North Dakota blocking the state’s ban on abortion, which was affirmed unanimously by the North Dakota Supreme Court. She also is an active member of her local synagogue in New York, including by serving on the membership committee.

Bradford Breen Senior Counsel

New York

Brad also advises professional services and financial services entities and technology companies regarding U.S. and international trademark and branding matters. He also has considerable experience in business method, electronic, semiconductor and computer patent counseling.

Benjamin Cichostepski-Lesage Partner

Paris; Paris Tech Studio

Ben is the founding partner of Orrick's French Tech Companies Group. For more than 15 years, he has been advising high-potential innovative companies as well as venture and tech growth investors on all their corporate private equity and M&A transactions in France and globally.

As such, he is involved in every stage of their development, from incubation and fundraising to external growth and industrial exits as well as public offerings (IPO, secondary).

Ben has significant experience advising French companies expanding into the United States, and assists them over the full lifecycle of their overseas growth. He also counts a number of American investors and buyers among his clients.

From his first venture deal in 2006, where he represented Lightspeed Venture Partners in Wikio’s Series A, which became Teads, a company he then accompanied for 11 years until its sale to Altice, Ben has led more than 330 corporate tech transactions. He has been involved in the main exit transactions in recent years, particularly those with a franco-american element such as Neolane/Adobe, La Fourchette/TripAdvisor, Stupeflix/GoPro, eNovance/Red Hat, Regaind/Apple, Zenly/Snap, Teads/Altice, Getaround/Drivy, Glose/Medium, Sqreen/Datadog, Lalilo/Renaissance Learning, Tempow/Google, Context/Integral Ad Science, Monk/ACV Auctions, Cajoo/Flink, Shipfix/Veson Nautical, Bereal/Voodoo.

Ben's leadership has contributed to placing Orrick as the #1 Venture Capital and Tech Growth practice in France (ranked #1 by Pitchbook in 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021 - CF News in 2024, 2023, 2022). 

Recognized as a key lawyer in the market in venture capital and tech growth, Ben was ranked No. 1 in the "Top 10 Influential French Venture Capital Lawyers in Private Equity 2023" by Business Today. He was named "Lawyer of the Year" in the 2026 and 2023 editions of Best Lawyers France in the Venture Capital category. He is also ranked as a Leading Individual by The Legal 500 EMEA in Private Equity - Venture Capital/Growth Capital since 2020 and was voted as the most active tech lawyer in France in 2019 by transaction volume in CF News’ ranking.

Ben is the founder of Orrick Paris Tech Studio, a one of a kind office and working space created in June 2022 and located in the heart of the Paris Tech scene, which is the headquarters of Orrick's French Tech practice.

Harry Clark Partner

Washington, D.C.

Harry is experienced in areas such as CFIUS/Exon-Florio examinations of foreign investment, military and “dual use” export control regulations (ITAR/EAR), economic sanctions administered by the U.S. Treasury Department (OFAC), customs regulations, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, anti-money laundering rules, anti-boycott requirements and defense industrial security requirements. He executes internal corporate investigations regarding trade and investment rules and advises on such rules in the context of corporate transactions.

Additionally, Harry has extensive experience with government contracting matters. His government contracting work has included, for example, design and implementation of U.S. Defense Department renewable energy projects. He also represents broad industry coalitions on major trade litigations and international negotiations. His experience in these areas includes a leading role in what is often considered the largest-ever international trade dispute: the controversy regarding unfair softwood lumber imports from Canada. It has involved myriad administrative proceedings before federal agencies, NAFTA panel appeals, WTO dispute proceedings, judicial proceedings and international settlement agreements.

Harry has represented a coalition of major U.S. oil companies in antidumping and countervailing duty litigation. As a related matter, he pursues policy issues with congressional and executive branch officials and advises on international trade rules (e.g., GATT, WTO agreements and NAFTA).

Chambers 2022 recognizes Harry as a leader in the field of export controls and economic sanctions (Chambers Global and Chambers USA), as well as CFIUS (Chambers USA). Previous editions have also recognized Harry’s achievements regarding his work related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Clients note that Harry provides “accurate, straightforward guidance incredibly efficiently” and “he has an ability to translate complex legal requirements and rules into business-friendly jargon.”

Luigi Colombo Senior Counsel

Mailand

He has assisted some of the most important Italian groups in a judicial and extra-judicial advisory capacity, including general corporate and corporate governance.

Prior to joining Orrick, Luigi was a partner at Studio Legale Tributario in Milan, a law firm associated with Ernst & Young International.

Brett Cooper Partner

San Francisco

In the corporate finance and securities areas, his experience includes a range of public and private equity and debt financings, representing U.S., Canadian, European and Asian issuers and underwriters. His transactions have included over one hundred SEC registered and Rule 144A public offerings of securities, ranging from investment grade and high yield debt offerings, convertible note offerings, initial public offerings, follow-on equity offerings and preferred securities offerings, venture capital financings and issuer tender offers.

In the mergers and acquisitions area, Brett has represented clients in all aspects of mergers and acquisitions transactions involving public and private companies, including friendly mergers, leveraged recapitalizations, tender offers, spin-offs, restructurings and purchases and sales of divisions and subsidiaries.