People

David Fries Chief Financial Officer

New York

David serves as Orrick’s Chief Financial Officer, having previously served in a variety of other executive roles at Orrick. Among other responsibilities, David is responsible for overseeing the firm’s accounting, financial planning, billing and collections, tax, comp and benefits and other financial functions, as well as its real estate portfolio.

From 1998 through 2005, David served as a senior executive at NYSE-listed Prologis (formerly AMB Property Corporation) in San Francisco, Boston and Shanghai, ultimately as Executive Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Corporate Affairs, and Chairman and CEO of AMB China, Ltd. During his tenure at AMB, David was a member of AMB’s Management and Investment Committees and was responsible for overseeing AMB’s human resource, information technology, legal, environmental, engineering and risk management departments, as well as its airport facilities group, venture capital investments and other strategic business initiatives and transactions. In 2004, in addition to his other responsibilities, he moved to Shanghai and led AMB’s entry into the China market, including opening AMB’s first office in China.

From 2006 through 2008, David was a partner in both Orchard Partners, LLC, a real estate investment and development firm headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Greyfields Investors, a New York-based real estate private equity company, as well as a senior advisor to Orrick.

David currently serves on the Board of Directors of Breakfree Education, a DC-based non-profit focusing on transforming educational opportunities for incarcerated youths, as well as the Board of Winnow Solutions LLC, a leading compliance technology provider that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Orrick, and has served on a variety of company boards in the real estate and technology sectors.

Gary Frischling Partner

Santa Monica

Gary has spent his career successfully representing clients in intellectual property litigation matters, including patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret disputes. He also represents clients in contested U.S. Patent and Trademark Office proceedings, including serving as lead counsel on numerous inter partes reviews (IPRs) before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Gary litigates cases involving a broad array of technologies, such as new pharmaceuticals, drug delivery systems, medical devices, biologic therapies and biosimilars, microprocessor architecture, computers, telecommunications, semiconductors, software, and data encryption.

When it comes to his counseling practice, Gary develops proactive intellectual property strategies, delivers insightful advice on transactional matters, and provides IP portfolio management, prosecution, and licensing advice.

For nearly 20 years, Gary has been recognized by a variety of publications, including by the Daily Journal as one of the Top 75 IP Litigators and a “Top IP Lawyer” in California, by the Los Angeles Business Journal as a “Leader of Influence: Top Litigator and Trial Attorney,” and by IAM Patent 1000 as a “Leading Patent Litigator.”

Jimmy Frost Senior Associate

Houston

Jimmy concentrates his practice on various capital markets transactions, including initial public offerings, notes offerings, preferred and follow-on offerings, exchange offers, tender offers, redemptions and consent solicitations as well as corporate governance and securities law compliance. He also has experience in transactions involving special purpose acquisition companies including initial public offerings and de-SPAC transactions.

Thomas Fu Of Counsel

Washington, D.C.

Thomas's practice sits at the intersections of two of his passions: legal advocacy and data. He helps companies facing issues involving data privacy and security to translate the complex issues they face into a message that is persuasive and understandable to courts and regulators. Prior to joining Orrick, Thomas served as a law clerk for Justice Elena Kagan of the U.S Supreme Court and Judge Merrick B. Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Before that, Thomas received his J.D. and Masters in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford, where he helped teach and develop material for undergraduate computer science courses.

David Fuad Partner

Los Angeles; Santa Monica

In trial, litigation, arbitration or mediation, David delivers efficient and favorable results aligned with clients’ business objectives. From health and safety mass tort litigation for the NCAA, to complex, multimillion-dollar international breach of contract claims and countersuits for a global television manufacturer, to high-stakes, precedent-setting employment victories for Oracle, David handles a range of commercial disputes. David was named a “Litigator of the Week” by American Lawyer for achieving a complete defense verdict in a precedent-setting jury trial, and has been named a “Litigator of the Week” Runner-Up twice for securing defense verdicts, including in a $100 million negligence action. In addition to these recognitions from American Lawyer, David was also named to The Recorder's list of Lawyers on the Fast Track in California.

Not all disputes end up in court. David leverages his extensive courtroom and alternative dispute resolution knowledge to provide invaluable risk mitigation counseling to both established and emerging companies. David serves as a business partner and trusted advisor to ambitious start-ups and high-growth companies—helping these innovative clients see around corners to avoid or reduce potential exposures.

In addition to his legal practice, David is committed to challenging inequities through his pro bono work. For Equal Justice Under Law, he helped secure a favorable judgment in a federal civil rights class action, barring indigent criminal defendants unable to pay court-imposed fines and fees from being jailed in a system that was described as a “modern-day debtors’ prison.”

While attending law school, David served as an extern for two Los Angeles Superior Court judges and was a member of the Loyola Entertainment Law Review.

Naoyuki Fukuda Senior Associate

Tokyo

He mainly works on the development and financing of renewable energy projects as well as general corporate matters. 

Prior to joining Orrick, he worked for an international law firm and a Japanese company where he engaged in M&A, structured finance and renewable energy transactions.

Vanessa A. Fuller Project Attorney

Wheeling, W.V. (GOIC)

Vanessa uses a process-driven approach and machine learning technology to review contracts, amendments, company charters, board and shareholder materials, corporate filings, investor materials, and related documents to prepare detailed analyses for a variety of client needs. Examples of this work include due diligence matrices tracking red flag provisions; corporate audits identifying potential issues for acquisitions, sales, or flips; financing packages; and drafting documents. She also assists privacy and data security teams to manage privacy law programs, including drafting privacy policies and data subject request protocols, coordinating personal data inventory reviews, and reviewing data privacy agreements.

Prior to joining Orrick, Vanessa practiced real estate law and oil and gas law. In addition, she was a Project Manager implementing IT software.

Sulina Gabale Partner

Washington, D.C.

As innovation pushes the limits of technology, those ideas challenge the boundaries of what is considered “personally identifiable information.” Sulina answers the question - how can we create tomorrow’s technology with yesterday’s privacy and consumer protection laws? Sulina works closely with innovators at all levels of a business – executives, engineers, marketing and product, HR and customer service teams – to gain a true understanding of their goals and the data they’re collecting, using and sharing. She places herself in her client’s shoes as well as in consumers’ mindset to devise creative privacy-by-design solutions, ensuring her client’s business and data innovation strategies withstand multi-national rules, government regulations, industry standards and consumer scrutiny.

With experience in both data privacy and consumer protection, Sulina utilizes a comprehensive approach to counsel clients on a myriad of issues affecting consumers and businesses. She routinely guides companies of all sizes through the existing patchwork of laws, self-regulatory standards and industry practice impacting data privacy and security. She advises clients subject to regulatory investigations and litigation involving a spectrum of federal and state laws, including:

• California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA)
• Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
• Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and related state student data privacy laws
• Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
• Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)
• Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) and other biometric privacy laws
• Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act)
• U.S. state privacy laws in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Virginia and other states

Sulina advises companies of all sizes on the development and deployment of cutting-edge technologies and services, including ad-tech, AI and machine learning, biometric tools, social media, robotics and IoT devices, marketing and promotions and more. Sulina began her legal career focusing on consumer protection. She continues to counsel clients on marketing and promotional issues, including interest-based ads; sweepstakes and promotions; automatic renewal and subscriptions; advertising substantiation; influencer programs and social media; SMS text messaging and telemarketing (including matters involving the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)); and other state and federal consumer protection laws.

Sulina’s practice is industry-agnostic. She has represented clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500s, non-profits, academic institutions and city governments across a range of industries from fashion and ecommerce, financial services, retail, food and beverage and technology services. Prior to law school, Sulina worked in the highly interactive fields of journalism, entertainment and digital media. This well-rounded background helps her connect with clients on a personal level, and ensure her advice integrates legal solutions with business practicality.

Before joining Orrick, Sulina was a member of the Privacy & Data Security Group; Entertainment & Media Group; and IP, Information & Innovation Group at Reed Smith, LLP in New York and Washington, D.C.

Richard Gallagher Chief Practice Officer Lit&IP

San Francisco

Rick has first-chair jury trial, bench trial and arbitration experience and has prevailed as lead partner in lawsuits in state and federal courts. He also leads internal investigations, SEC and DOJ matters, M&A and corporate disputes arising under Delaware corporate law, and other matters creating corporate governance risk. Prior to becoming our Chief Practice Officer for Litigation and IP, Rick was an Orrick partner and was also the co-Managing Partner of the California offices of another top AmLaw firm.

Rick’s clients include public companies, private equity funds, portfolio companies, mutual funds, investment advisers, hedge funds, VC funds, private investment funds, board members, officers and other individuals across several industries. He has particular expertise in the technology, life sciences, private equity, and investment management areas.

Rick has been named for multiple years in the The Best Lawyers in America and in the Legal 500 for Litigation.

Amanda Galton Partner

San Francisco

Amanda uses her legal experience, business acumen, professional network and industry knowledge to see down the pike and navigate anticipated and unforeseen obstacles and developments. She advises at material stages of the corporate life cycle (formation, financings, and exits, including M&A’s and public offerings); and provides guidance and trusted governance advice on founder, board, advisor, employment, separation, and other commercial and transformative matters. To further help companies thrive, Amanda keeps clients informed about recent developments in their industries and connects entrepreneurs and investors with one another and other thought leaders. Amanda has also served in other leadership roles within Orrick including as Deputy Chair of Orrick’s Corporate Business, and co-leader of Orrick’s Technology Companies Group practice.

Amanda started her post-undergraduate professional career in West Africa as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer – a place where she got to deploy her French and Arabic language skills. Though the focus of her service was health education and community development, she also developed friendships and spent time in her village with Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees interested in, among other things, implementing windmill technology. Her time in the Peace Corps remains a foundational experience for how she approaches her work today — and she continues to be inspired by the power of technology, and those who are bold and want to solve problems.

Now, at Orrick, Amanda works with companies, entrepreneurs and investors in a number of industries including advanced manufacturing, financial services, food and agriculture, mobility, energy infrastructure, climate tech, and health and biotech.

In addition to her practice, Amanda also dedicates time to advancing women in leadership in the U.S. and abroad. She has served as a cultural and professional resource for emerging women leaders from the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa through Tech Women, a U.S. State Department initiative dedicated to empowering technology leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and has previously served on the Board of CodeChix, a non-profit corporation which recruits, retains and inspires women in science and engineering.

True to her professional roots in Peace Corps service, Amanda remains actively committed to advancing global economic development. As a member of Orrick’s Impact Finance and Investment group, she supports investors and entrepreneurs who make social and environmental impacts alongside financial returns.

Prior to joining Orrick, Amanda was a corporate associate at the Menlo Park, California office of Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, LLP.

Ramon Galvan Of Counsel

Los Angeles

Ramon has a wide range of experience in financings involving Native American tribes and tribal entities, including financings for new casino construction projects and casino expansions, and serving as lead counsel for some of the largest tribal financings on the West Coast.

Nina Ganti Associate

Los Angeles