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452945

Practice:

  • International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution
  • Complex Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Ramona Sorgenfrei Managing Associate

Düsseldorf

She has experience in telecommunications licensing disputes and litigating FRAND objections and D&O disputes, as well as in disputes under the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

In addition to experience in arbitration proceedings under the rules of the ICC, LCIA, UNCITRAL VIAC and the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce (ACHCCI), Ramona acts as administrative secretary in DIS arbitrations. 

She is a lecturer in arbitration and international commercial law at the University of Bayreuth where she also coaches the university's team in the Willem C. Vis Moot. Further to her legal studies, Ramona has also completed a university degree in economics.

During her education, she worked in US firms in Germany and Paris, where she deepened her knowledge of arbitration, litigation, and dispute resolution. Prior to joining Orrick, Ramona worked as a litigation lawyer for a magic circle law firm in Germany, including patent litigation involving patent infringement, nullity, and patent vindication proceedings, particularly in the telecommunications and automotive industries.

387623

Practice:

  • Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Life Sciences & HealthTech

Kayla Z. X. Southworth Senior Associate

New York

Kayla advises public and private life sciences, technology, and energy companies, and private equity funds and their portfolio companies, on domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, minority and majority investments, joint ventures, licenses, collaborations, royalty and revenue-sharing financings, and other complex transactions. She also advises clients on New York and Delaware corporate, partnership, limited liability company, and non-profit law, including corporate governance and fiduciary duty matters.

Prior to joining Orrick, she was an Antitrust Associate at Davis Polk and a Litigation Associate at Sullivan & Cromwell.

399517

Practice:

  • Technology & Innovation Sector
  • Technology Companies Group

Manon Speich Senior Associate

Paris; Paris Tech Studio

Manon advises startups and high growth technology companies in raising capital and building their businesses from formation through exit. She assists founders developing and implementing effective corporate governance strategies throughout the life of their startup and issuing customized equity instruments for their fundraising. 

Before joining Orrick, Manon worked as an M&A and Private Equity attorney at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel in Paris.

311699

Practice:

  • Technology Companies Group
  • Blockchain & Digital Assets
  • Japan
  • Mergers & Acquisitions

Ben Spitz Counsel

Tokyo

Ben works with innovative technology companies and the investors who back them, focusing on those that operate in the blockchain, web3, NFT, and cryptocurrency sectors or have a relationship to Japan.

Drawing from his in-house experience at a global cryptocurrency exchange, Ben has a keen understanding of the challenges faced by high-growth companies developing transformative technologies and products in a regulated industry. He has also gained insight into both the Silicon Valley and Japanese tech and venture ecosystems, having previously worked in the Palo Alto office of another major law firm before practicing in Japan.

 

Not admitted in Japan.

740

Practice:

  • Finance Sector
  • Public Finance

Stephen Spitz Partner

San Francisco

Steve serves as bond counsel, disclosure counsel and underwriters’ counsel in a variety of municipal enterprise revenue bond issuances, including financing for water, wastewater, solid waste and airport facilities. His practice is, in addition, focused on single family and multifamily affordable housing financings. Steve also has extensive experience in higher education financings, interest rate swaps and swap based products in the municipal market. He often assumes a leading role in bond and disclosure work for new and complex clients.

411563

Practice:

  • Technology Companies Group
  • Mergers & Acquisitions

Christopher Sprado, LL.M. (University of Virginia) Partner

Düsseldorf

Christopher has profound experience in advising multinational corporations and international investors on their most important transactions and strategic challenges. His clients particularly value his pragmatism and his ability to break complex issues down to the essentials and to find efficient solutions.

Prior to joining Orrick in 2021, Christopher worked at Linklaters LLP for more than 10 years. During such time, he had the opportunity to undertake client secondments at two large German-listed companies.

470729

Practice:

  • Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Private Equity

Sitraka St. Michael Managing Associate

New York

Sitraka concentrates his practice on representing public and private companies, private equity funds and private credit funds in a wide variety of domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, including leveraged buyouts, strategic mergers, take-private deals, carveouts, reorganizations, joint ventures and other complex investment transactions. Sitraka also counsels clients with respect to corporate and governance matters.

373601

Practice:

  • Energy & Infrastructure Sector
  • International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution
  • Complex Litigation & Dispute Resolution
  • Internal Investigations
  • Energy
  • Oil & Gas
  • Infrastructure

Benjamin Stafford Managing Associate

London

Ben is admitted as a solicitor advocate with rights of audience in all civil proceedings before the English higher courts. In addition to his core experience in international arbitration and litigation in the energy, construction and commercial spheres, previously Ben has also acted for energy & infrastructure clients and advised on mergers & acquisitions, private equity and venture capital transactions for clients based in Europe and the US.  Ben is currently deputy chair for the Association of International Energy Negotiators sub-group drafting a Green Hydrogen Sale and Purchase Agreement.

470938

Practice:

  • Corporate Governance
  • Private Equity
  • Mergers & Acquisitions

Wallace Stage Associate

Miami

Her practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, and securities transactions. She also counsels clients on corporate governance matters.

399061

Practice:

  • Mergers & Acquisitions

Sky Stallbaumer Associate, Currently on client secondment

New York

Sky's practice focuses on general corporate representation, including domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, both buy side and sell side.

154550

Practice:

  • Finance Sector
  • Tax
  • Public Finance

John Stanley Partner

San Francisco

In his municipal finance practice, John has served as bond counsel, special tax counsel and underwriter’s counsel for a variety of transactions, including particularly governmental, airport, and public power financings. John has represented issuers and borrowers before the Internal Revenue Service in connection with audits, private letter rulings, and requests pursuant to the voluntary closing agreement program (VCAP). 

John has worked with issuers to establish post-issuance compliance programs tailored to their specific financings, and also has significant experience with tax-exempt commercial paper programs for both governmental and exempt facilities.  John is a regular speaker at various conferences focused on public finance and tax, including conferences organized by the National Association of Bond Lawyers, the American Bar Association Tax Section, and the California Bond Buyer Conference.  John is serving as Chair of the National Association of Bond Lawyers' "The Institute" conference in 2024.  

432805

Practice:

  • Financial & Fintech Advisory
  • Strategic Advisory & Government Enforcement (SAGE)
  • Fintech

Caroline Stapleton Partner

Washington, D.C.

Client-centered experiences are at the heart of Caroline’s practice. She has provided a wide variety of institutions, from fintech startups to multinational banks, with tailored, practical guidance that considers each company’s unique characteristics and strategic goals. Caroline draws on her prior experiences as an attorney at a federal prudential regulator and as the head of compliance at a consumer finance company to give clients a comprehensive picture of the legal risks and opportunities each new matter presents.

Her work on behalf of financial services providers has included:

  • Providing guidance regarding novel or complex regulatory questions, often in the context of developing new financial products and services
  • Performing compliance risk assessments of marketing, underwriting, pricing, origination, servicing and loss mitigation activities
  • Advising banks and supervised lenders with examinations by federal and state regulators, including responding to exam findings, CAMELS ratings, Matters Requiring Attention (MRA/MRIA) and enforcement referrals
  • Strategically responding to and defending enforcement actions by state and federal regulators, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Federal Reserve Board and Department of Justice (DOJ), and, if necessary, negotiating favorable settlements
  • Developing strategies for bank partnership, state licensing and bank charter opportunities for consumer financial services providers
  • Conducting internal investigations of suspected misconduct or violations of an institution’s policies and/or regulatory requirements

In these and other representations, Caroline brings strong substantive knowledge of the key federal and state statutes and regulations governing the financial services industry. Her specific areas of focus include:

  • Fair lending and anti-discrimination laws, including the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)
  • Prohibitions on unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices (UDAP and UDAAP)
  • Technical regulatory compliance under federal and state laws governing loan marketing, disclosures, settlement practices, servicing and collection practices, consumer reporting and electronic payments
  • Federal preemption, including under the National Bank Act
  • Compliance management best practices and regulatory expectations, including third-party vendor and merchant oversight
  • Treatment and disclosure of confidential supervisory information (CSI)
  • State lease-to-own laws and regulations

Prior to joining Orrick, Caroline was senior counsel at Buckley LLP. She also has served as an attorney-advisor in the litigation division of the OCC, where she represented the agency in civil litigation, bank receivership preparation, employment disputes and other administrative contexts. Caroline also gained valuable in-house experience as the head of compliance and assistant general counsel of a Richmond-based consumer finance company.