People

Carsten Engelings Counsel

Düsseldorf

Carsten advises on all sorts of German tax and accounting issues arising for industry clients, financial institutions and private equity funds. Mainly focusing on corporate and real estate transactions and restructurings. He also advises and represents clients with respect to tax field audits and in tax litigation against the fiscal administration and before German fiscal and civil courts. Prior to joining Orrick Carsten completed his legal traineeship in both national and international law firms.

Alison Epperson Senior Associate

New York

Alison represents individuals and corporations in a broad range of white collar criminal defense, anti-corruption, regulatory, and trade matters across the globe with a focus on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and other anti-corruption laws and regulations. Alison's practice involves conducting internal investigations, representing clients in matters before the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, and U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Controls, and enhancing corporate compliance programs. Alison has extensive experience responding to subpoenas and information requests from government entities and has trial and litigation experience in multiple federal district courts. She has also helped clients navigate shareholder books and records inspection demands and shareholder derivative lawsuits. Alison has represented companies around the world in the oil and gas, medical technology, digital entertainment, pharmaceutical, education, blockchain, technology, and financial industries.

Alison's practice also includes online safety issues, including advising companies on compliance with online safety-related obligations and best practices in the US and conducting online safety compliance risk assessments, especially as it relates to user safety on internet dating platforms. Alison's experience includes representing clients in connection with criminal and civil investigations conducted by state attorneys general related to state online safety legislation. 

Alison remains committed to serving her community through pro bono representation and has experience in reproductive rights cases and policies, immigration and asylum matters, death penalty cases, policing and racial justice cases and policies, and a range of other constitutional issues. Alison has represented clients on civil and criminal matters in federal court, including a domestic violence survivor in a Hague Convention proceeding. Most recently, Alison helped achieve a meaningful settlement on behalf of the family of a man killed by police officers in Greenville, Mississippi after convincing the district court to deny qualified immunity for the officers involved.

Prior to joining Orrick, Alison graduated from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. In addition, while pursuing her undergraduate degree from Centre College, Alison worked on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., specifically in the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee. In 2016, Alison co-founded the non-profit, CTE Hope, an organization dedicated to addressing the issues and research of traumatic brain injures and chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Andrew Erskine Partner

Santa Monica; Los Angeles

Andrew works closely with founders and venture capitalists globally on the formation, operations, fundraising and successful exits of technology and other venture-backed companies. Leveraging a unique professional background and skill set as well as the premiere, full suite of services of our global law firm to devise strategic and creative solutions for his clients, Andrew shares their vision for change, and helps them build the vessel that delivers that vision to the world.

Prior to joining Orrick, Andrew served as a legislative adviser to Congress, a lobbyist for the University of Illinois, and a tax fellow for Deloitte advising companies on Sarbanes-Oxley tax compliance and building internal control systems.

Shari Esfahani Senior Counsel

Washington, D.C.

A substantial part of Shari’s practice involves aiding life sciences (pharma, medical device, and biologic) and healthcare companies with internal investigations and working with clients on compliance with government investigations, subpoenas, and investigative demands, as well as the defense of whistleblower qui tam suits involving the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute. Shari has also managed litigations and helped lead trial teams involving diverse fields of science and technology including pharmaceuticals, various medical fields, and seals used in the semiconductor industry. She specializes in mastering complicated science and technologies and explaining them to judges and juries.

Shari regularly represents companies with FDA-regulated products and healthcare companies on strategic regulatory counseling matters. She also regularly conducts regulatory due diligence for private equity funds, acquirers, sellers, and underwriters in corporate transactions.

Shari also has substantial experience advising clients on complex advertising/promotion issues, including claim substantiation, disputes before the National Advertising Division of the BBB National Programs (NAD), and advertising lawsuits under Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act. She also regularly advises consumer product companies on Consumer Product Safety Commission related compliance.

Upon graduation from Harvard Law School, Shari clerked for the Honorable Frank A. Kaufman, United States District Court for the District of Maryland, who sat by designation on the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the Fourth Circuit, the Seventh Circuit, and the Eleventh Circuit.

Lauren Estell Managing Associate

Washington, D.C.

Her practice focuses on project finance and development, mergers and acquisitions and general corporate matters with a particular focus on renewable energy. Lauren advises clients in debt and tax equity financings, development of solar and wind projects, and infrastructure projects.

Rebecca Evans Senior Associate

London

Rebecca acts for clients on a broad range of litigation and regulatory matters. She has particular experience in acting for professional services firms in contentious regulatory investigations, enforcement proceedings and negligence claims.

Jamie Evans Partner

Seattle

Jamie has comprehensive experience in capital markets transactions where he has represented issuers, underwriters and other parties in a variety of public and private offerings in the areas of equity and debt securities. He is particularly skilled at advising technology companies on their initial public offerings. Jamie has been part of some of the most well-known technology public offerings and has led or co-led offerings that have raised more than $40 billion of aggregate proceeds. In addition to his capital markets experience, Jamie advises on mergers and acquisitions, and related securities law issues. He also advises public and private companies in areas including, but not limited to compliance, SEC reporting and governance matters.

Chambers USA has ranked Jamie for his expertise in Capital Markets and noted that "He is a talented attorney. He is a technical lawyer and a go-to for big deals."

Julia Fabian Managing Associate

Düsseldorf

She advises domestic as well as international clients on German and European antitrust and competition law, including mergers, compliance, internal investigations, cartels and abuse of dominance. In addition, Julia advises on foreign direct investment proceedings before the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action . Another part of her practice is to provide general corporate counselling.

At the beginning of her career at Orrick, Julia advised national and international clients on complex cross-border mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital investments, so she is experienced in corporate transactions to that extent.

Prior to joining Orrick, Julia worked as research assistant and trainee lawyer for several international law firms in Düsseldorf and Frankfurt.

Craig Falls Partner

Washington, D.C.

Craig has cleared the way for high-profile and highly scrutinized mergers and defended such transactions in litigation when challenged by enforcers. Complementing his merger work, Craig also represents companies in exclusionary conduct investigations and related litigation brought by antitrust enforcers, rival companies, and classes of consumers.

Craig has been on the front lines of cutting-edge antitrust issues, including scrutiny of asset managers under the “common ownership” theory, investigations of patent assertion entities, scrutiny of e-commerce business models, and challenges to pharmaceutical licenses and patent settlements.

He regularly provides antitrust counseling, helping companies structure their joint ventures, licensing arrangements, and other commercial agreements to achieve their business goals at minimized antitrust risk. Craig has published frequently on questions concerning the application of antitrust law to vertical restraints, pricing practices and other relationships between companies operating at different levels of the supply chain.

Craig serves clients in a wide variety of industries, including life sciences, technology, energy, transportation, consumer packaged goods, and retail.

Passionate about pro bono work, Craig focuses on representing the interests of those experiencing homelessness and protects D.C. neighbors facing eviction. He has also represented victims of human trafficking and helped to obtain a trial victory for plaintiffs challenging Wisconsin’s photo identification voter law.

Niki Fang Partner

San Francisco

Niki concentrates her corporate practice on representing issuers and underwriters in public offerings and capital markets transactions.  Niki also regularly counsels public and late-stage private companies on securities law compliance, disclosure matters, SEC reporting obligations, corporate governance and stock exchange listing obligations. In addition, Niki’s practice includes venture capital financings and advising start-up companies on general corporate matters. She represents a wide range of technology and life sciences companies, from privately held start-ups to publicly traded corporations.

Prior to joining Orrick, Niki was at Fenwick & West LLP and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.

Nicholas Farnsworth Partner

Boston

Nick provides compliance guidance on both proposed and effective laws on a federal and state level in the United States, including:

• Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM)
• Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
• Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) and other biometric privacy laws
• Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
• Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)
• Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC) Act
• Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
• U.S. state breach notification laws
• U.S. state privacy laws
• U.S. artificial intelligence laws

He also counsels clients on the impact of international laws from a U.S. perspective, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the ePrivacy Directive (ePD), and the EU Artificial Intelligence Act.

Nick helps clients develop flexible governance frameworks for the development and use of artificial intelligence in the face of ever evolving AI legislation. He also advises clients on strategies, policies and procedures for the sourcing of AI training data, the responsible use of AI by employees, the assessment of risks presented by AI tools, the design of consumer-facing AI, the negotiation of AI-related contracts and the handling of AI-related regulatory inquiries and investigations.

Nick also devotes a portion of his practice to innovative client solutions and community engagement. He was part of the Orrick team that developed Orrick’s AI Resource Center, EU AI Act reference guide, U.S. AI Law Tracker and Gen AI Policy Builder. His pro bono practice has included representing clients in immigration and innocence matters and assisting small businesses with their legal needs.

Nick has obtained the Certified Information Privacy Professional -/ United States (CIPP/US), Certified Information Privacy Technologist (CIPT) and Privacy Law Specialist (PLS) designations from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).

Diana Szego Fassbender Partner

Washington, D.C.

Diana’s experience in managing intricate, high-stakes litigation is evident in her innovative and cost-effective case strategies that consistently lead to favorable resolutions.

Diana's clients rely on her sophisticated, thoughtful approach to ensure solutions align with their overall business goals. Whether it’s through inception, trial, or appeal, Diana's involvement in all phases of litigation guarantees a seamless and effective process. When a business dispute requires aggressive action, Diana is equally adept at representing plaintiffs, showcasing her versatility and determination to achieve fair outcomes for her clients.

Though her experience spans a range of high-stakes commercial disputes, class action and product liability litigation are cornerstones of her practice. In addition to her skill in product liability, Diana has over a decade of experience litigating a variety of intellectual property matters. Her portfolio includes complex multi-defendant, multi-patent district court infringement actions, fast-paced Section 337 Investigations in the International Trade Commission, and high-stakes copyright and trademark cases.

Beyond her litigation success, Diana is dedicated to fostering talent and diversity within the legal community. She has served as a deputy to Orrick's Women's Initiative and played a key role in Orrick's recruiting efforts. Diana previously co-chaired the Associates Committee of Orrick's Washington, D.C., office, earning the Mentor of the Year award in 2011 for her outstanding contributions.

Since joining Orrick's New York office in 2007, Diana has been actively involved in community service. Before Orrick, Diana practiced law in Miami, where she was involved in the local legal community, serving on the Board of Directors of the Dade County Bar Association and participating in the Dade County eMentor program and the Women's Fund of Miami-Dade.