Washington, D.C.
She represents banks, first and second mortgage originators and servicers, reverse mortgage originators and servicers, fulfillment service providers, commercial lenders and servicers, bank holding companies, private equity firms, finance companies, debt collection companies, financial institutions and technology companies, payment processors, money transmitters and various related service providers.
Katy assists clients with matters before state regulatory agencies, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), federal banking agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. She also provides strategic and tactical advice to help clients identify and secure the nationwide federal and state approvals necessary to achieve operational goals.
Prior to joining Orrick, Katy was a partner at Buckley LLP, where she was a member of the firm’s partner board.
San Francisco
Before his retirement as a partner, he was also the Partner-in-Charge of Lawyer Development for a number of years. While still practicing, he served at times as the firm’s General Counsel, Executive Director, Peer Review Committee Chair and member of the Partner Compensation Committee. He still acts as an advisor to the firm on matters affecting lawyer development.
Tom concentrated his practice in banking and commercial transactions. He represented banks and other financial institutions in a variety of transactions, including syndicated and single-lender credit agreements (both secured and unsecured), project financings, public finance transactions, and “synthetic” and other lease arrangements. As a lecturer and panelist, Tom frequently spoke at seminars on a range of topics related to his practice.
He served for several years as co-counsel of the International Bankers Association in California. He has been a member of the State Bar of California’s Business Law Section’s Financial Institutions Committee and Uniform Commercial Code Committee. In addition, he has been a member of the San Francisco Symphony’s Business Gifts Committee.
Before joining Orrick, Tom was Vice President and Counsel at California First Bank (now Union Bank of California) in San Francisco. He was a visiting attorney at Clifford-Turner (now Clifford Chance), Solicitors, in London.
Tokio
Yumiko also has knowledge related to international trade such as customs rules and export controls.
Before joining Orrick, Yumiko was an associate at Tanabe & Partners and advised clients in corporate transactions and employment law as well as represented clients in civil and family cases. She has experience serving as a statutory auditor for Japanese corporations. Prior to practicing law, she worked at Mitsubishi Corporation for seven years. While there, she was involved in LNG projects and other global business.
New York
In recognition of Peter’s career trial work, he was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2015. Juries have compared him favorably to Johnnie Cochran and F. Lee Bailey. Clients laud Peter, telling Chambers USA 2020-2022, “He’s a standout trial lawyer and an outstanding advocate overall. He appreciates the client’s needs and advocates for them everywhere.” Another client notes, “He is brilliant in the courtroom under the most intense pressure,” “a master of seeing the full chessboard.” That praise is echoed by sources saying, Peter is “one of these lawyers that really turns big cases; he’s a real trial lawyer,” and calling him “one of the most gifted trial lawyers that I have ever seen.” Clients go on to applaud his trial experience and strategic approach saying, “Peter really knows his way round a courtroom. He's a great trial tactician.” “He is an outstanding advocate who appreciates the client's needs and reputational questions involved.” A peer in the trial bar told Law360, “What is most impressive is his ability as a true Field General – calmly directing his team’s efforts.”
With precedent-setting trial wins in intellectual property, commercial and products liability litigation, Peter has amassed honors from annual top rankings in Chambers USA, Legal 500, and Benchmark Litigation, to awards for excellence, such as New York “Litigation Star,” “Law360 MVP,” “Litigator of the Week,” and “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America.”
It is Peter’s versatility that sets him apart. He brings a combination of deft courtroom skills, strategic acuity and team leadership. In July 2023, a leading company in the biotech agricultural space, Corteva Agriscience, retained Peter as lead trial counsel in a high profile intellectual property lawsuit Corteva filed against Inari Agriculture, Inc. and Inari Agriculture NV to protect its highly valuable patent protected genetically modified seeds. As noted in the complaint, the lawsuit "…seeks to prevent Inari from continuing its brazen efforts to steal Corteva's groundbreaking work." Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that Inari deliberately used a third-party agent to obtain protected Corteva seeds, illegally exported the seeds out of the United States, made slight genetic modifications of the biotech traits and is seeking U.S. patents for those modified traits. The case is pending in the U.S. District Court, Delaware and is in discovery. In May 2022, when faced with a headlining trial over control of the leading international model and talent company, Elite Worldwide Group, the company and its Chairman tapped Peter as lead trial counsel to parachute in just 45 days before trial. Our complete trial win for the client earned Peter and the team Litigators of the Week Runner-Up honors from the American Lawyer. Louis Dreyfus Company turned to Peter recently as lead trial counsel once they saw that a massive, high stakes trial was on the horizon with over $1 billion at stake amid class action claims alleging manipulation of the cotton futures market. DISH Network brought Peter in shortly before trial when the FTC and various state attorneys general sought $700 billion in damages and penalties for alleged telemarketing violations. He achieved an astounding trial victory for DISH limiting recovery to less than one percent of the exposure. For Johnson & Johnson, Peter has been part of a small group of market-leading outside counsel overseeing the defense of more than 15,000 talc-related cases, including product liability trials, consumer class actions, and cases brought under California’s Prop 65; handling multiple trials, SEC, DOJ, and AG investigations; and representing senior executives in major depositions, at trial, and before Congress.
Peter served as co-head of the firm's Global Litigation practice and is a former member of Orrick’s Board and Management Committee. Before joining Orrick, Peter was a partner at Donovan Leisure. He captained his college tennis team to a national ranking, has successfully competed in major national sailboat competitions, and serves on the Board of the Harlem Junior Tennis and Education Program. With his wife Linda, he has three children: Avery, Isabelle and Phoebe.
Silicon Valley
Jessica defends employers from discrimination and harassment claims on the basis of gender, race, religion, disability, age and other protected categories. She recently defeated class certification in cases alleging discrimination against women in technical roles for Microsoft and Twitter, earning her The American Lawyer’s "Litigator of the Week” award. She also won a complete defense verdict for Kleiner Perkins in the highly publicized gender discrimination and retaliation case Pao v. Kleiner Perkins, which the Daily Journal named the year’s ‘Top Verdict.’ Her trial victories also include winning defense judgments in cases involving claims of religious discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination. Jessica also specializes in pay equity matters, including in designing analyses and advising on compliance and risk mitigation. Clients interviewed by Chambers note, “She's very thorough and knows the details and procedure, without allowing anything to fall through the cracks."
Jessica has a winning record in beating back class certification in high stakes wage-and-hour actions in federal and state court, including those brought under the Private Attorney General Act. Having led over 150 high-stakes wage-and-hour class action matters, Jessica has broad experience on virtually every theory of relief. She also offers strategic guidance to help businesses avoid wage-and-hour litigation, particularly companies in the gig economy industry which can be significantly impacted by such matters.
In addition to litigation and counseling, Jessica has successfully guided clients through investigations and audits by the Department of Labor, California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement and California Employment Development Department, and helped develop compensation policies and measures to reduce potential exposure.
Jessica is also an authority in generational workplace issues and frequently speaks on employment engagement in a multi-generational workforce.
New York
King is a partner in the New York office and a member of the Global Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity Group. His practice focuses on domestic and cross-border M&A, joint venture, private equity and venture capital transactions, including negotiated mergers, auction bid processes, distressed asset sales, leveraged buyouts and the acquisition and divestiture of divisions and subsidiaries.
King is experienced in all aspects of Delaware and New York corporate, partnership and limited liability company law. He regularly counsels boards of directors on corporate governance, compliance, fiduciary duty and executive compensation matters.
King represents U.S. and non-U.S. clients in a wide range of industries, including life sciences, technology, energy, consumer products, industrials and manufacturing and financial services.
Düsseldorf
Werner Brickweddes Erfahrung im Bereich Gesellschaftsrecht und M&A erstreckt sich über ein breites Spektrum von Sektoren, wobei er einen starken Fokus auf den Bereich Energie und Infrastruktur gelegt hat und sich dort bestens auskennt. Seine Expertise erstreckt sich auf Akquisitionen, Veräußerungen, Joint Ventures, komplexe Gesellschaftervereinbarungen und Projektvereinbarungen für eine Vielzahl von alternativen Energie- und Nachhaltigkeitsprojekten, einschließlich Offshore-Windkraft, Speicherung und Mobilität.
Werner Brickwedde verfügt zudem über umfangreiche Erfahrung in der Projektentwicklung, einschließlich der Beratung zu Operations & Maintenance und energiebezogenen Projekten, insbesondere Upstream und Midstream. Sein tiefes Verständnis dafür, wie diese Projekte zusammenpassen und wie das Risiko verteilt wird, ermöglicht es ihm, bei komplexen, grenzüberschreitenden Transaktionen wirtschaftlich und zukunftsorientiert zu beraten.
Werner Brickwedde wird in Deutschland für Energietransaktionen (JUVE 2022/2023, Legal 500 2023), M&A (JUVE 2022/2023, Legal 500 2024, Handelsblatt/Best Lawyers 2023/24, WirtschaftsWoche 2023) und Gesellschaftsrecht (WirtschaftsWoche 2021) empfohlen.
Orange County
Abigail’s background in marketing and business development gives her a practical understanding of how brands grow and operate, helping her offer trademark advice that supports her clients’ business goals. She assists with counseling clients on managing domestic and international trademark and copyright portfolios, guiding them through all stages from trademark selection, searching, prosecution, and registration to brand enforcement and protection. Her work also includes handling takedown procedures and resolving domain name disputes. In addition to her prosecution practice, Abigail also has experience with opposition and cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
Abigail previously worked with The Coca-Cola Company, AT&T, the Georgia State-wide Business Court, and Emory University’s Office of Ethics and Compliance, where she developed her skills and grew her passion for global trademark and copyright law while assisting with legal matters in international marketing, emerging technology, and privacy.
New York
Max has extensive experience in a broad range of domestic and cross-border corporate and transactional matters, including venture capital and growth equity financings, mergers & acquisitions, fund formation and SPAC transactions. He has represented both early and growth stage companies in hundreds of venture capital financings, growth equity investments and M&A transactions, and he regularly advises leading venture capital and private equity funds on their investments across the innovation ecosystem.
Max is also known for working closely with clients to provide strategic business insights and outside general counsel services, advising clients on corporate governance and boardroom matters, product development and design, fundraising strategy and general commercial matters.
In addition to representing US companies on domestic transactions, Max has substantial experience representing clients outside the US, including emerging companies and venture funds operating in Canada, Europe, Latin America, India, Japan, Singapore, China, Australia, Israel, the Cayman Islands and various other jurisdictions.
Wheeling, W.V. (GOIC)
Wheeling, W.V. (GOIC)
Mary is a member of the Orrick Analytics Group. She is an experienced corporate lawyer focused on transactional matters and strategic counsel to leading supply chain, distribution, and technology companies. She handles corporate issues typically overseen by in-house counsel, with an ardent awareness of in-house counsel’s need to receive exceptional work in an expeditious manner. She provides tactical guidance on managing the complete life cycle of corporate, supply chain, and technology agreements.
Los Angeles
Natalie is a true client advocate who appreciates a client’s needs and reputational concerns involved in high-stakes litigation. Her areas of focus include technology litigation, mass torts and product liability, complex breach of contract, and consumer class actions including Proposition 65 and the Consumer Legal Remedies Act. She has helped numerous clients by developing innovative and effective strategies to resolve cases. Natalie served as first chair in an arbitration where she successfully defended Microsoft in a matter involving the permanent suspension of a Skype user claiming millions in damages. Additionally, Natalie recently obtained a favorable result for Microsoft in a separate arbitration where the team creatively set forth a defense under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
Natalie’s representation of clients in the mass tort and product liability space involves clients with significant potential damages, multiple jurisdictions and plaintiffs, and high risk to critical product lines. In most of these cases, in addition to serving as a key trial team player, Natalie serves as the point person for expert development and discovery. With her experience, she has created highly efficient and effective methods to analyze and synthesize the key facts in complex matters and use expert opinions and testimony to develop compelling stories for her clients in the courtroom. Most recently, Natalie was part of a trial team that obtained a complete defense verdict for the NCAA in a case brought by a former University of Oregon football player who was seeking $100 million in punitive damages.
Other notable engagements include:
Natalie is also active in pro bono matters including representing victims of domestic violence.
While attending UCLA School of Law, Natalie served as an extern for two U.S. Bankruptcy Court (Central District of California) judges, was the Production Editor of the Women's Law Journal, President of the Armenian Graduate Students Association and Vice President of the Armenian Law Students Association.
Peking
Jeffrey has extensive experience representing both Chinese enterprises in fund raising and investing abroad and foreign investors investing in China.
He regularly represents issuers and underwriters in the U.S. and Hong Kong public securities offerings, including initial public offerings (IPOs) and Rule 144A/Regulation S offerings for PRC-based companies.
In addition, he is experienced in handling complex cross-border mergers and acquisitions, foreign direct investment, strategic alliances, joint ventures and regulatory compliance matters for numerous foreign investors and Chinese companies. He also counsels global private equity funds on their investment activity throughout Greater China and across Asia.
Some clients he has represented include Bright Food, JD.com, Trina Solar, China Sunergy, Perfect World, ReneSola, Tudou, Pactera Technologies and some international investment banks and private equity funds.
Jeffrey is consistently recognized as a leading lawyer for China M&A by prestigious legal publications such as Chambers Asia, Asia-Pacific Legal 500 and IFLR1000. Clients recognizes him as “an excellent business partner, above his legal counsel role”, who “gives practical advice not only based on legal proficiency, but really helpful for our business”.
Prior to joining Orrick, Mr. Sun worked with a major international law firm, and he was a former partner in a local law firm based in Shanghai.