
Washington, D.C.
Described by Chambers USA as having “an in-depth understanding of securities regulations” and with clients commenting that “his knowledge base is superior,” Mike has extensive experience representing issuers and underwriters in consumer asset-backed securitization transactions. Mike has one of the top credit card securitization practices in the market and he also advises on a broad range of ABS, including transactions supported by consumer loans, motor vehicle loans and leases, dealer floorplan receivables, student loans, and residential and commercial mortgages.
Mike serves as counsel to financial institutions in capital markets and debt financing transactions and regularly advises clients on application of the federal securities laws and Dodd-Frank implementing regulations in the structured finance market.
Mike has served as outside counsel to the Structured Finance Association, and previously to the American Securitization Forum (ASF). He has drafted industry comment letters on Regulation AB (2004), Regulation AB2 (2010/2011), the Prohibition on Material Conflicts of Interest (2012), and Cybersecurity Risk and Incident Disclosure Rules (2022). Mike has also served as Chair of the Structured Finance Association's Revolving Master Trust Working Group in connection with its industry advocacy on Risk Retention.
Mike joined Orrick in 1997 and was a partner in Orrick’s Structured Finance Group until 2012. Prior to rejoining the firm in 2021, Mike was a partner in Chapman and Cutler’s Asset Securitization Department. He has also served as a Special Counsel with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the Office of the Chief Counsel for the Division of Corporation Finance. At the SEC, Mike had extensive involvement in oversight of the structured finance market and worked on a proposal—a precursor to Regulation AB—to develop disclosure and reporting guidelines for asset-backed issuers.
San Francisco
He has represented secured and unsecured creditors, indenture trustees and others in bankruptcies and workouts in a variety of industries, including technology, rail transportation, air transportation, securities trading, commodities trading, supermarket, automobile sales, construction (including solar energy), retailing, convenience store, health care, telecommunications, film and television production, restaurant, home construction, real estate development, and equipment manufacturing.
He also has extensive experience in the structuring of asset securitization transactions to resolve bankruptcy and commercial law issues, representing issuers, underwriters, and credit enhancers with respect to many asset types, including mortgage loans (residential and commercial, U.S. and foreign), credit cards (secured and unsecured), trade receivables (U.S. and foreign), consumer and marketplace loans, property assessed clean energy (PACE), delinquent property tax receivables, tobacco settlement payments, attorneys’ fee payments in connection with the tobacco settlement, whole business securitization, home equity loans, auto loans, time share loans, excess servicing fees, manufactured home loans, aircraft leases, home relocation receivables, defaulted receivables, electric utility stranded costs, franchise loans, dealer floorplan loans, equipment leases, mutual fund fees, limited partnership interests, bank funds flows, annuity fees, health care receivables, insured student loans, repackaged securities, viatical loans, and insurance premium receivables. In addition, he has been responsible for commercial law and bankruptcy structuring of collateralized debt obligations, municipal derivatives, lease to service contracts, Indian tribe financings, and a wide variety of public finance transactions and project finance transactions. He also represents borrowers and lenders in secured transactions.
IFLR1000, US and California Restructuring and Insolvency, Notable Practitioner, 2021
Mentioned in the Structured Finance: Securitization category of The Legal 500 US 2021
New York
Rob has experience with a wide variety of asset classes, including credit and charge card receivables, auto loans and leases, dealer floorplan receivables, consumer and small business loans, student loans, tender option bonds and residential mortgages. He represents a variety of market participants, including issuers, sponsors, underwriters, placement and remarketing agents, lenders, borrowers and liquidity providers. Rob also advises clients on the application of securities laws and other financial industry regulations, including Regulation AB II and the rules and regulations promulgated under the Dodd-Frank Act.
Rob joined Orrick in 2005. He serves as Hiring Partner in the New York Office and is a member of the firm’s Professional Development Committee.
Paris
Nicolas advises French and international banks and financial institutions as well as sponsors and borrowers on French and cross-border structured finance transactions.
Prior to joining Orrick, Nicolas was an associate in the Assets & Structured Finance department of Watson, Farley & Williams.
Washington, D.C.
His experience includes securitizing a diverse range of assets, including credit cards, personal loans, corporate loans, oil and gas wellbores, and cell tower ground leases. Mitch leverages his deep finance background and creative structuring skills in advising investors in 4(a)(2) transactions, particularly in the securitization of emerging esoteric asset classes.
In addition to his investor-side practice, Mitch represents issuers and underwriters in securities backed by credit card and other consumer receivables. These transactions often involve master trust structures and span publicly registered, 144A, and private placements.
Mitch also advises on regulatory considerations, such as application of risk-retention requirements, the Volcker Rule, and other aspects of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Before joining Orrick, Mitch was a partner in Chapman and Cutler’s Asset Securitization Department.
Milan
Filippo has developed significant experience in real estate transactions and all types of acquisition financings and leveraged buyouts transactions both in the syndicated and in the take-and-hold space, including senior debt, unitranche financings, high yield debt and mezzanine capital, structured as loan facilities as well as bonds issuances.
Prior to joining Orrick, Filippo was an associate in a primary standing international law firm.
New York
Bola has extensive experience representing leading financial services firms and other institutions, acting as counsel to issuers, underwriters, and other capital markets participants in a wide range of transactions.
Bola’s experience also includes advising clients in a variety of real estate capital markets transactions, secondary loan trading transactions (LSTA and non-LSTA), ISDA derivatives transactions, and securitization litigation and disputes.
New York
Ekaterina (Katya) Popoff is experienced in closing complex deals, acting for issuers and underwriters both in the U.S. and abroad in structured securities offerings across a broad range of asset classes including residential mortgages, credit cards, oil and gas assets and commercial loans, and structures, including public and private offerings, repos, CLOs and cost recovery bonds. Drawing on her background as an entrepreneur, she approaches her work with a pragmatic and solution-focused mindset, ensuring that clients receive efficient and practical solutions.
Katya is a passionate and dedicated mentor to junior associates, ensuring that her colleagues receive support and guidance to help them advance their skills and gain confidence. Her other areas of interest include designing, creating and refining deal management systems on complex deals, including learning new strategies, implementing workflows for the associate team to follow and refining approaches from prior deals.
Before joining Orrick, Katya practiced in structured finance at a leading national firm in Canada. Prior to that she founded a specialty tea producer and wholesaler that sold packaged tea blends into the U.S., Canadian and international markets. Under her leadership, the business won numerous awards for taste, packaging design and marketing. She is an avid reader and has recently rekindled her interest in cycling as a means to explore the outdoors and discover new places.
Los Angeles
Alex represents issuers, sponsors, underwriters, investors, borrowers and lenders in connection with securitizations, warehouse financings, and asset acquisitions and sales. Alex has experience working with a wide range of asset classes, including agency and non-agency forward and reverse residential mortgage loans, residential transition loans, residential solar loans, tax liens, whole businesses, lease receivables, and non-performing loans.
New York
He regularly advises on bank regulations (including, but not limited to, the Bank Holding Company Act and Regulation Y; the Federal Reserve Act; OCC regulations; Regulations U, X, and T; Regulation W; Regulation K; New York Banking Law; and U.S. regulation of foreign banks); CFTC and derivatives regulatory matters (including uncleared swap margin and capital rules, commodity pool operator and commodity trading advisor requirements, product and registrant definitions, the application of CFTC requirements to digital assets, the cross-border framework, swap data reporting, business conduct rules, mandatory clearing and related exceptions, and various key issues for derivatives end users); broker-dealer regulation; regulation of fintech companies, including digital asset clients, robo-advisers, and nonbank lenders; the Investment Advisers Act; the Investment Company Act; and the securities laws generally.
He also regularly negotiates equity and other types of derivatives transactions and related derivatives documentation on both the sell and the buy sides. In addition, he represents issuers and underwriters in commercial mortgage, auto loan, credit card, and other types of securitizations. He also has a broad background in mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, venture capital, corporate governance, and general corporate matters.
Paris
Judith advises French and international banks, financial institutions, funds and corporates on both cross-border and domestic financing transactions. Judith has significant experience in structured finance, securitisation, covered bonds and asset-based financing transactions.
Prior to joining Orrick, Judith was an associate for two years in the Banking & Finance department of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and for five years in the Securization department of Gide Loyrette Nouel.New York
She represents a variety of market participants, including sponsors, issuers and underwriters, in public and private offerings of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS).
Formerly, an associate at Thacher Proffitt and Wood, LLP in New York City (also in the Structured Finance group), Emily left Manhattan in 2008 and founded and operated her law firm in the U.S. Virgin Islands, providing a wide variety of legal services, spanning from general civil litigation and bankruptcy litigation, to estate planning, probate, commercial contracts, and general business and transactional law. She also acted as a legislative consultant to a USVI Senator working to craft legislation in various fields, including without limitation, renewable energy law. As part of her diverse practice, and before she engaged in consulting work for the Senator, Emily gained invaluable experience in the field of renewable energy (including related policies and legislation) when she was hired by an off-island private power company to act as legal counsel for all transactional, regulatory and litigation work necessary to complete a ground breaking renewable energy project on the island of St. Thomas.
At Thacher Proffitt & Wood, LLP, Emily represented issuers, underwriters, sellers and servicers in mortgage-backed securities transactions (including public and private offerings of residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities); she also represented banks and other financial institutions in their capacities as lenders, borrowers, issuers and purchasers in structured finance transactions and in connection with asset-based and other secured lending transactions and warehouse facilities with collateral spanning various asset classes. Prior to her structured finance experience, Emily worked in Merrill Lynch’s State Regulation, Legislation and Government Affairs Department researching, state securities laws, drafting responses for securities litigation and compliance matters and participating in industry committee conferences regarding pending state legislation of industry-wide concern.