People

Laura L. Becking Partner

New York

Her practice is unique in the market. In addition to leading Orrick’s Global Employment & Equity Compensation practice; she is also integrated into the firm’s top-tier employment practice and compensation and benefits practice, enabling her to offer comprehensive solutions for the modern workplace.

Her strategies extend beyond regulations and compliance, into the company’s overall culture and societal nuances of their local workforce. By blending these elements, her targeted plans address a wide range of issues, including hiring, performance management, terminations, discrimination, reclassification, HR data privacy compliance, employee handbooks and policies. She also helps implement employee equity and other compensation and benefits arrangements outside the United States, and covers all aspects of securities, foreign exchange and tax filings triggered by such rollouts. Whether working with a pre-IPO start-up or an international corporation, Laura remains focused on her client’s human capital.

Laura’s distinctive approach places her in high demand for corporate transactions, in particular IPOs and acquisitions. She advised on the employment and/or equity compensation aspects of a leading global technology company and a multinational digital communications technology conglomerate’s global acquisitions; various global transactions for GoPro, Sabre, and a U.S. social media company; the pre- and post-merger integration for DigiCert’s acquisition of Symantec’s Website Security Business; as well as the global acquisitions and global tender offers for a large number of pre-IPO clients. She has also advised companies such as Alcon, Pinterest, Elasticsearch, GitHub, Nvidia, Optimizely, Scale, Twist, Viasat, and Vice on global employment and equity compensation matters and transactions.

Laura serves as co-leader of Orrick’s Women’s Initiative.

Julien Beloeil Of Counsel

Paris

Julien assists listed and unlisted companies, financial institutions, investors and founders in cross-border or domestic transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, acquisition of stakes, strategic partnerships, as well as public tender offers.

Prior to joining Orrick, Julien worked on similar operations as a legal intern at international law firms in London and Paris. Julien also worked at the economic and financial section of the prosecutor’s office of the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris.

Emmanuel Benard Partner

Paris

Emmanuel represents numerous French and international companies on all aspects of employment law including international and cross-border issues.

His practice focuses on reorganizations, collective redundancies. He notably advised key players of the Financial, Metal, Food and Beverages, Pharmaceutical, Technology, Leisure and Music Industries in implementing economic dismissals and voluntary departures. He also assists these clients with employee representation and collective bargaining and sensitive individual cases.

Emmanuel has a strong proficiency in collective litigation as well as criminal litigation and currently handles a number of sensitive cases arising from works council and health and safety committee information consultation procedure, professional elections, collective bargaining agreements and employees performance appraisal system.

With a long-standing experience on landmark M&A, he regularly supports HR Directors in dealing with works council information and consultation procedures and transfer of employees triggered by such complex projects, helping them achieving their strategic objectives.

Co-author of an insightful and pedagogic book on all labor and employment facets of companies’ reorganization, Emmanuel is described by his clients as “a guru in the field of employment law” and praised for his “business sense”.

Before joining Orrick in 2016, Emmanuel was a partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Paris, where he was in charge of the Employment, Pension and Benefits Department. Prior to that he was partner at the boutique employment law firm Bélier et Associés where he started his career.

Peter C. Bergan, Jr. Partner

Chicago

With over a decade of experience, Peter has guided clients through joint ventures, investments, financings and acquisitions/dispositions across commercial, digital infrastructure, industrial, mining, retail, hospitality, and multifamily and single-family assets nationwide.

He brings a unique focus to data center and digital infrastructure assets with a broad perspective, advising on construction, M&A, leasing, customer and other contracts. From hyperscale facilities and colocation centers to enterprise and cloud-based solutions, he draws on his experience with industry stakeholders to deliver clear, confident guidance to clients navigating this increasingly dense space.

Beyond the office, Peter is committed to community service, serving as a board member for Rugby Ohio, an organization dedicated to supporting the growth and development of children and teenagers through the game of rugby. He is also an active member of the Urban Land Institute and the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Grady Bolding Senior Counsel

San Francisco

He has extensive M&A experience involving numerous types of business. He has particular experience in the area of the taxation of REITs, having represented both public and private REITs for many years, and in the area of real estate transactions and partnerships. Grady's private investment fund practice includes the representation of real estate funds, venture capital funds and hedge funds, as well as institutional investors in such funds. 

Prior to joining Orrick, Grady worked for the firm of Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP, where he served on the firm’s Executive Committee and as Chair of the Tax Group.

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.

Devin Brennan Partner

San Francisco; Boston

Such transactions have involved both long- and short-term, fixed and variable rate obligations, public-private partnerships (P3s), commercial paper, swaps, credit and liquidity enhancement, and revenue bonds for transportation and utility issuers, as well as a number of sizable special purpose financings. Devin has also represented multiple clients in connection with chapter 9 bankruptcies, restructurings and other workouts.

Devin is a partner in Orrick’s San Francisco and Boston offices and chairs the Firm’s Transportation Finance Group.  Devin is a frequent speaker on topics in infrastructure finance, having previously served as Chair of both the Bond Buyer's California Public Finance Conference and its national Infrastructure Conference.  Devin has been a member of the Firm's Hiring and Summer Program Committees, and continues to help organize Orrick's annual summer associate surf trip to Capitola Beach. Devin is also a member of the Strategy Council for OneJustice, an organization dedicated to transforming the delivery of legal services to people in need.

Dr. Christoph Brenner Partner

Munich

Christoph regularly acts for private equity sponsors, corporate and strategic buyers, owners and management teams.

He is frequently recommended by Legal500, JUVE and Best Lawyers Germany for M&A and Private Equity transactions and JUVE describes him as “very experienced, fast, solution-oriented”.

Christoph leads the German Orrick offices together with Stefan Schultes-Schnitzlein.

Cathleen Chang Senior Associate

Houston; Austin

In public finance matters, Cathleen has served as bond counsel and special tax counsel for a variety of transactions, including health care facilities, multifamily housing, airport, ports, transit authorities, non-profit organizations, public utilities, hospitality projects, as well as tobacco revenue securitizations. In addition to tax-exempt financings, Cathleen also represents clients in IRS audits and non-profit corporation tax matters.

Chris Chavez Senior Counsel

Sacramento

Chris has experience in acquisition, disposition and financing of large portfolios of commercial real estate; distressed debt; negotiation of joint ventures for development projects; construction contracts; data center leasing/co-location; office leasing; and transactions involving multi-family housing.

Chris is very involved in Orrick’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and has served as a co-chair of the San Francisco DEI Committee for many years. She is also involved in diversity efforts at UC Berkeley School of Law and has previously served on its Alumni Board and the Board of the East Bay Community Law Center.

Chris was resident in the firm's Tokyo office from 1999-2002.

Joseph Chern Senior IP Career Associate

Orange County

Joseph has experience drafting and prosecuting patents in several technical fields, including signal processing, memory control, optical medical devices, computer networks, database management, thermal conductivity and geomechanics, nanostructuring, e-commerce, capacitive touch panels, complex circuit designs, data security/encryption, semiconductors, in-flight entertainment systems, power systems, neural networks, and software applications.

Joseph's practice further includes conducting intellectual property due diligence to assess the quality and quantity of intellectual property assets.  For example, Joseph has represented several clients in open source licensing matters and provided counseling to develop open source software strategies.  He also has extensive experience in intellectual property and technology matters related to mergers and acquisitions.

Joseph also has substantial experience in patent infringement litigation cases in federal district courts and the United States International Trade Commission (ITC).  Joseph also has represented clients in post-grant opposition procedures with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, including ex parte reexaminations and inter partes reviews (under the America Invents Act).

Joseph began his career as a summer associate at Blakely, Sokoloff, Taylor & Zaffman, LLP, in Los Angeles, and an attorney at One, LLP, in Newport Beach, Calif. Prior to law school, he worked as a software and systems engineer for a diversified systems and services company in transportation, defense and RFID markets worldwide.

Thomas Coleman Senior Counsel

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.