People

Robert Feyer Senior Counsel Public Finance

San Francisco

Robert Feyer is a senior counsel in the San Francisco office of the firm's Public Finance Department.  After 40 years representing issuers and underwriters, Mr. Feyer retired from active practice working on bond transactions at the end of 2017, but continues to provide assistance and mentoring within the Department.

From 1986 to his retirement, Bob was the lead bond and disclosure counsel for the State of California, working with a team of lawyers to complete the issuance of an estimated 470 billion dollars of new and refunding general obligation bonds, cash flow notes and warrants and lease revenue obligations, including several of the largest long-term municipal bond issues in U.S. history. He was recognized by The American Lawyer magazine in April 2003 as one of 10 "Dealmakers of the Year" for his work on a $12.5 billion cash flow note borrowing in October 2002.  This work also garnered recognition as a "Lawyer of the Year in Transactional Law" in 2003 from California Lawyer magazine.  Bob has spoken often at conferences and webinars on municipal finance and disclosure matters, and is a member of the Securities Law Committee of the National Association of Bond Lawyers.

Bob also had an active practice in private activity financing for such purposes as solid waste disposal, pollution control and industrial development. For more than 40 years, he has been a lead bond counsel for the California Pollution Control Financing Authority.

Aside from his municipal bond practice, Bob has worked actively with low-income individuals who seek to obtain legal guardianships for young children.  In May, 2014 Bob received the James P. Preovolos Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Services in Family Law from the Justice and Diversity Center of the Bar Association of San Francisco.

From 1972 to 1975, while on a leave of absence from Orrick, Bob was a Captain in the United States Air Force where he served on the staff of the Air Force General Counsel, and he later served as a legislative assistant to a United States Senator in Washington, D.C.

Donald Field Partner Public Finance

Orange County; Los Angeles

Donald Field is a partner in Orrick's Public Finance Group and the co-chair of Orrick’s School and Community College Finance/General Obligation Bonds Practice Group.

He is also a member of Orrick's Leasing Practice Group, Assessment/Mello-Roos Practice Group, and Revenue Practice Group. Don has extensive experience, as bond counsel, disclosure counsel and underwriter's counsel, in the financing techniques used by school and community college districts, cities and counties in California. His practice focuses on local governmental infrastructure financing, including general obligation bond financing, municipal lease financing, and land-secured financing, as well as tax and revenue anticipation note (TRAN), pension obligation and other post-employment benefit (OPEB) obligation financings. Don serves as the lead lawyer for the California School Boards Association's annual tax and revenue anticipation note pool. 

Alex Fields Managing Associate Intellectual Property

San Francisco

Alex Fields is an associate in the Intellectual Property group of Orrick's San Francisco office.

Alex represents individuals and corporate clients in various civil matters involving patent and copyright infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, breach of contract, and wage disputes.

Zachary Finley Partner Banking & Finance, Technology Companies Group

San Francisco

Zach Finley, a partner in Orrick’s San Francisco office, is a member of the firm’s Banking & Finance Group.

He advises publicly held and privately owned (including sponsor-backed) companies, as borrowers, and major financial institutions, as arrangers and lenders, in syndicated credit facilities (including pro rata, first-lien/second-lien, term loan B and bridge loan facilities) used for acquisitions, recapitalizations, refinancings and general corporate purposes. His experience also extends to asset-based loans, equipment financings, debt restructurings and workouts.

Zach previously served a three-year term on the Commercial Transactions Committee (formerly called the Uniform Commercial Code Committee) of the Business Law Section of the State Bar of California, acting as its Co-Chair for the final year of his term.

In the 2019 California Banking & Finance category of Chambers USA, clients praise Zach commenting that they "especially appreciate Zach's business sense; he will provide advice on the more meaningful items of any legal question, which allows us to make appropriate business decisions." Zach is also identified by IFLR1000 in its 2015-2019 editions as a Rising Star in Banking & Finance, where clients report that Zach "is an outstanding business partner" and "his strengths are his creativity, accessibility, diligence and his ability to bring all of Orrick's resources to bear."

Tanya Fischer Senior Counsel Public Finance

Houston

Tanya practices in the public law area. Her focus is public finance, serving as bond counsel, disclosure counsel and underwriters’ counsel in tax-exempt bond transactions for school districts, junior college districts, cities, counties and state agencies throughout Texas.

Tanya also has extensive experience representing domestic and foreign banks that provide credit and liquidity facilities for tax-exempt or taxable financings.

Brad Fischer Managing Associate Public Policy

New York

Bradley Fischer uses his extensive experience as a former state regulator and legislative counsel to address state-level issues endemic to the gaming industry and other highly regulated industries.

Before joining Orrick, Brad worked as U.S. regulatory counsel for a major on-line gaming company, during which he facilitated expansion of the U.S. operations, negotiated multiple market-access agreements and oversaw licensing and compliance functions across multiple jurisdictions.

Prior to his private sector experience, Brad was a regulator with the New York State Gaming Commission, Deputy County Executive for Albany (N.Y.) County and Legislative Counsel to the Hon. Eric Adams and other elected officials in the New York State Senate. During his time at the New York State Gaming Commission, Brad was director of interactive fantasy sports and legal counsel on commercial gaming issues, after having served a key role in the selection and vetting of applicants for multiple “Las Vegas” style resort casinos licenses. While in the New York State Senate, Brad served as Counsel to the Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering and developed a depth of experience with legislative issues facing the gaming, equine industries and state-run lotteries.

Brad is a graduate of Indiana University-Bloomington School of Law and Union College, where he received a B.A. in Political Science.

Dr. Arne Fischer Associate M&A and Private Equity

Düsseldorf

Arne's practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, including private equity and venture capital. 

Arne advises national and international clients in all aspects of corporate law. His focus lies on domestic and cross-border M&A and Private Equity transactions.

Prior to joining Orrick in 2018, Arne worked at another leading international law firm and gained experience in the field of internal investigations. He has also worked as a PhD Student at the University of Hagen.  

Avalon Fitzgerald Senior Associate Employment Law & Litigation

Sacramento

Avalon uses her analytical skills and thorough understanding of the litigation process to guide clients through high-stakes employment matters.

Avalon learned firsthand how cases are decided while clerking for Ninth Circuit Judge Consuelo M. Callahan and District Judge Morrison C. England. These experiences provided her with a clear view of how to effectively litigate a case from the initial complaint through the appellate process. Using a mix of sharp advocacy, strategic thinking, and a strong work ethic, Avalon helps clients navigate litigation and obtain effective results. She draws upon that invaluable experience to help Fortune 500 companies resolve a variety of employment matters, from federal single-plaintiff discrimination and retaliation litigation to wage and hour class actions in California state court. She is currently helping to defend a global technology leader from the largest OFCCP litigation to date. 

In recognition of her achievements, she was recently named to the Sacramento Business Journal’s “Best of the Bar” list. 

As a former federal law clerk, Avalon understands the importance of advocacy both in and out of the courtroom. She’s a board member of the Federal Bar Association’s Sacramento Chapter, a Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit, and the Vice Chair of the Eastern District of California’s Judicial Conference.

Jason D. Flaherty Partner Compensation & Benefits

San Francisco

Jason D. Flaherty, a partner in the San Francisco office, is a member of the Compensation and Benefits Group. Jason is an experienced advisor on the design, implementation and taxation of executive compensation and equity compensation arrangements, including severance arrangements and executive employment agreements, for both public and private companies.

Jason advises both public and private companies on compensation and benefits issues that arise in mergers and acquisitions, including pre-signing negotiations, executive and equity compensation and post-closing employee integration issues. Jason assists companies with compensation and benefit issues that arise with respect to their initial public offerings.

Jason's practice also focuses on counseling clients on all aspects of employee benefits related to the design, implementation, operation and any related fiduciary obligations with respect to tax-qualified retirement plans, including defined benefit and defined contribution plans, nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements with a particular focus on Code Section 409A compliance and employee welfare benefit plans, including compliance with HIPAA, COBRA and other health laws.

Prior to attending law school, Jason served as a Sergeant in the United States Army.

Ashley Fletcher Project Attorney Litigation & IP

Wheeling, W.V. (GOIC)

Ashley Fletcher is a member of the Orrick Analytics group. The group specializes in using technology and project management discipline to assist firm attorneys with litigation and transactional tasks, particularly tasks that involve large volumes of data and documents.

Ashley works with litigation attorneys and third party vendors to manage the review and production of documents relevant to investigations and litigation. This work includes using early case assessment technology to analyze, categorize and cull data. She also manages teams of specialists performing document review, redaction, analysis, production and drafting privilege logs. Ashley assists the litigation team to prepare for trial, including drafting deposition summaries, factual memoranda and exhibit charts. She also works with practice office attorneys on transactional tasks, including contract review and due diligence.

Ashley has dedicated significant time to pro bono matters, including assisting trial counsel representing abused and neglected children. She is an active member of Orrick’s Associates of Color Mentoring Group, which promotes diversity and leadership among minority associates.

James Anglin Flynn Managing Associate Supreme Court & Appellate

Washington, D.C.

James is a Managing Associate in the Supreme Court & Appellate practice group.

Before joining Orrick, James served as a law clerk to the Honorable A. Raymond Randolph of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, to the Honorable Timothy B. Dyk of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and to the Honorable Analisa Torres of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.  He was previously a litigation associate at Covington & Burling LLP in Washington.  There, he represented corporate officials in federal investigations, as well as municipal, nonprofit, and individual clients in civil rights litigation at the trial and appellate stages.

James graduated from Yale Law School, where he served as an executive officer of the Yale Law Journal and as a member of the Veterans Legal Services Clinic.  Before law school, James worked as a strategy and project management consultant for clients in the education and healthcare industries.

William J. Foley Senior Associate White Collar, Investigations, Securities Litigation & Compliance, Financial Services Litigation

New York

William Foley is a Senior Associate in the New York Office and a member of the Securities Litigation, Investigations and Enforcement practice group.

His practice focuses on the representation of financial institutions, investment advisors and other public and privately-held companies in corporate and securities litigation, and other complex business litigation matters. In particular, he has wide-ranging experience representing clients in stock-drop class actions, shareholder derivative actions, M&A and hostile takeover disputes, and complex contractual and business tort cases before federal and state courts and the Delaware Court of Chancery.

Mr. Foley also devotes a significant portion of his practice to providing pro bono services, primarily in civil rights and immigration matters.

He has written and contributed to articles appearing in the New York Law Journal, Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, Financial Law Fraud Report, Bloomberg BNA, and Westlaw Journal. He was previously an associate with Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP.