People

Cesar Valdez Associate White Collar, Investigations, Securities Litigation & Compliance

San Francisco

Cesar Valdez is an associate in Orrick's San Francisco office and a member of the White Collar & Corporate Investigations group.

Riccardo Valle Special Counsel M&A and Private Equity, Renewable Energy

Rome

Riccardo Valle is a lawyer with our corporate team, focusing (in regards to transactional/litigation matters before Civil and Administrative Courts) in providing legal assistance to clients active in highly regulated markets, with specific focus on energy (including generation, infrastructures, incentives, PPA/EFET, and IPEX), environment (including waste, and EIA/IPPC), and pharmaceuticals (including AIFA regulations and wholesale distribution).  

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Danielle Van Wert Manager, Talent Innovation White Collar, Investigations, Securities Litigation & Compliance, Securities Litigation, Class Actions and Shareholder Derivative Lawsuits

Silicon Valley

Danielle Van Wert, a senior associate in the Silicon Valley office, is a member of the Securities Litigation Group. Danielle's practice focuses on securities litigation and white collar criminal defense.

She represents companies and individuals in securities-related regulatory investigations, including SEC and FINRA matters, and also represents special committees in internal investigations. In addition, Danielle's practice focuses on shareholder derivative actions and actions brought under federal and state securities laws.

Prior to joining the firm, Danielle was an associate at DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary.

Amy Van Zant Partner Intellectual Property, Trade Secrets Litigation

Silicon Valley

Clients count on Amy to move their business forward. Whether litigating a complex patent suit, or advising on a multi-faceted IP strategy, Amy incorporates an in-depth understanding of each client’s business, employees and corporate strategy into her solutions.

For her litigation practice, Amy’s ability to distill the most complicated technology across an array of fields, including telecommunications, semiconductor manufacturing, renewable energy, cloud computing, and big data, into relatable, every day concepts that has made her successful in persuading judges and juries alike. She has led trial teams, litigated, and tried cases in state court in California, numerous District Courts, the International Trade Commission, and has briefed appeals before the 9th Circuit, the Federal Circuit, the Supreme Court of California, and the United States Supreme Court. Whether litigating patent, trade secret, or IP contract disputes, Amy strives to put herself in her client’s shoes to ensure personalized results tailored to each client’s business objectives.

Amy also provides comprehensive IP counseling on issues including trade secrets protection, employee departure investigations, freedom to operate analysis, licensing strategies, data privacy protection, and regulatory compliance. She has also conducted comprehensive patent portfolio reviews and assisted with IP corporate transactions.

In addition to her IP work, Amy devotes significant time to her pro bono work. For more than a decade, she has assisted domestic violence victims, as well as led Orrick’s Bay Area summer program that enables law clerks to be certified to argue in Family Court to obtain Temporary Restraining Orders for domestic violence clients.

Barrie VanBrackle Partner Technology Companies Group, Banking & Finance

Washington, D.C.

Barrie VanBrackle, a partner in Orrick’s Washington, D.C., office, is a member of the Cyber, Privacy & Data Innovation practice and co-leads Orrick's Fintech team.

An authority on payments and consumer financial services compliance, Barrie focuses on three areas at the cross-section of the fintech space: consumer-facing financial and banking, regulatory counseling and investigations, payment card industry, including brand operating rules and data security standards; money transmission; and prepaid card access on behalf of leading merchants, payment processors and industry vendors. In addition, Barrie has deep experience advising corporate and private equity clients in M&A contexts and other investments in fintech.

Barrie is a sought after speaker on the evolving regulatory and compliance issues surrounding payments and related e-commerce matters. Prior to joining Orrick, Barrie was a partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP.

Robert P. Varian Senior Counsel White Collar, Investigations, Securities Litigation & Compliance, Securities Litigation, Class Actions and Shareholder Derivative Lawsuits

San Francisco

Robert P. Varian, senior counsel, served as a partner in Orrick's San Francisco office for 12 years, and was previously a partner in Clifford Chance US LLP and Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison.

He has been named to Lawdragon's Top 500 Leading Lawyers in America list, one of the most elite accolades in the legal profession, and as one of the top 20 lawyers of the year by The California Lawyer. He is one of the few attorneys in the United States who has successfully tried securities class actions to verdict (twice), and won one of the National Law Journal's top 10 defense verdicts in the United States in the major securities class action jury trial.

Bob has extensive experience in defending securities class actions, SEC investigations and enforcement proceedings, and derivative lawsuits throughout the United States. He has led a wide variety of internal investigations centered in the United States and China, and has represented executives, directors and auditors in internal investigations, SEC investigations and enforcement actions, and in securities class actions and other shareholder litigation. He also has extensive experience in defending consumer class actions and complex business cases, and special expertise in representing Chinese companies and individuals in litigation and investigations.

Bob has successfully litigated numerous high profile cases that have received coverage in the national media.

Aisling Vaughan Associate International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution, International Trade & Compliance

Geneva

Aisling is an Associate in Orrick's International Arbitration Practice Group based in the Geneva office. She focuses on international arbitration, commercial litigation and cross-border disputes.

Aisling represents clients in all phases of complex, multi-jurisdictional disputes before major arbitral institutions, including the ICC, SCC, LCIA, SIAC and HKIAC. She acts as counsel in a wide range of matters, including disputes involving construction contracts, agency and shareholder agreements, trade and commodities. She has experience with a broad range of issues, from seeking emergency interim relief, to the enforcement of international arbitral awards in multiple jurisdictions around the world.

Prior to joining Orrick, Aisling practiced as an associate with the International Arbitration Practice Group in the Geneva office of a leading international law firm where she gained arbitration and dispute settlement experience, including a focus on corporate finance and energy disputes.

Christopher Vejnoska Partner Mass Torts & Product Liability, Complex Litigation & Dispute Resolution

San Francisco

Chris is a first chair trial lawyer with more than 25 years of experience handling high stakes, precedent-setting cases, particularly in the products liability arena. He has had years where clients asked him to serve as trial counsel for five or more products cases, and his current products liability engagements include leading a cross-office team in defending multiple Chinese companies in an MDL and serving as trial counsel for a large talc company.

Chris also has acted as national counsel for companies facing thousands of mass tort product liability claims and complex, multiparty class action litigation, and has counseled multinational companies entangled in lengthy, enterprise-threatening litigation and negotiated legal and business solutions involving billions of dollars. He has extensive experience in complex and commercial litigation, ranging from insurance recovery disputes to trade secrets issues, and has significant experience in assisting foreign aerospace companies with international arbitration disputes with first-tier aircraft manufacturers.

Earlier in his career, Chris represented large public companies in mergers, acquisitions, strategic investments and private financings; private companies in initial public offerings; and emerging growth companies in general corporate matters. Chris' transactional experience also offers clients a unique perspective on risk mitigation strategies to avoid costly litigation in the future.

Chris is the Chair of Orrick’s Risk Management Committee and acts as the President of a captive insurance company owned by Orrick and a number of other law firms. Prior to joining the firm, Chris was a partner at Clifford Chance and a partner at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, where he was a member of the Policy Committee, a member of the Executive Committee, Chair of the Risk Management Committee and Chair of the Hiring Committee.

Stephen Venuto Partner Technology Companies Group, Corporate

Silicon Valley; San Francisco

Stephen Venuto, a partner who works out of both the Silicon Valley and San Francisco offices, is a member of the Technology Companies group. His practice focuses on advising high-growth technology and media companies and their founders, advisors and investors.

Steve was Facebook’s first lawyer and is widely recognized as one of the leading startup lawyers in the country. The American Lawyer recently named him “Dealmaker of the Year”, recognizing his corporate work and representation of Instagram in its sale to Facebook, and quoting a prominent board member as saying that Steve “is an outstanding lawyer, but he’s also an outstanding business partner . . . someone who cares about everybody [who's] involved in a company.” The Daily Journal has named him to its list of Top 100 Lawyers in California (chosen regardless of specialty), and, separately, to its inaugural Top Emerging Companies Lawyers list.

Numerous standout technology companies and their founders have turned to Steve for representation including Asana, Bleacher Report, Facebook, Getaround, Instagram, Ooma (NYSE), Pinterest, ResearchGate, Quora, and Warby Parker. He also has worked with new media companies including Brit & Co., Full Picture Productions (executive producer of Project Runway), U2 and Zuckerberg Media. Steve provides general corporate legal counseling and represents companies at all stages of their life-cycle.

Bryan Victor Partner Public Finance

Sacramento

Bryan D. Victor, a partner in the Sacramento office, is a member of the Public Finance practice group. His practice includes bond, disclosure, issuer’s and underwriter’s counsel work for tax-exempt and taxable financings, including transactions for the State of California, the California Department of Water Resources, the California State Public Works Board and 501(c)(3) organizations (with a primary focus on health care financings).

Bryan works on general public finance matters for the State of California, including the issuance of general obligation commercial paper notes, general obligation bonds, revenue anticipation notes and Build America Bonds, negotiation and review of credit and liquidity agreements related to such obligations and disclosure related to same. He also works on financings for the Washington Health Care Facilities Authority, including acting as the firm’s lead attorney for the issuer’s private placement program.

Guillaume Vitrich Of Counsel M&A and Private Equity, Corporate

Paris

Guillaume Vitrich is an M&A and Private Equity lawyer in Orrick’s Paris office. His practice covers a wide range of corporate transactions, from early ventures to large-scale international transactions, across Europe and Africa.

Guillaume has an extensive experience in negotiating complex transactions (including mergers and acquisitions and IPOs), in several industrial sectors, especially in the energy, mining and infrastructures fields.

He has also developed a strong knowledge of venture capital related matters, advising notably technology companies and innovative start-ups.

Before joining Orrick, Guillaume was an associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in New York (2007-2008) and Paris (2008-2014).

In 2013, he was appointed Secrétaire de la Conférence of the Paris Bar. As part of the Conference, he has provided pro bono advice to various clients on criminal cases.

Andrew Vogeler MAPE Career Associate Funds, M&A and Private Equity

Wheeling, W.V. (GOC)

Andrew, a career associate in Orrick's Wheeling office, is a member of the Private Investment Funds practice within Orrick's M&A and Private Equity Practice Group.

Andrew concentrates his practice on matters pertaining to private equity and alternative investment funds, representing both investors and fund sponsors.

On the investor side, he primarily represents institutional investors, advising their participation in funds with a variety of focuses including venture capital, buy-out, real estate, and mezzanine opportunities. He works to ensure fund arrangements not only advance clients' economic objectives, but are responsive to the complex fiduciary and regulatory issues institutional investors must manage on behalf of their stakeholders.

On the sponsor side, Andrew handles various aspects of fund formation relating to the internal structuring of sponsor and management entities, drafting of fund documents, and negotiations with investors.

In addition, Andrew has experience handling a range of issues in M&A, real estate, oil & gas, and pipeline infrastructure transactions.