People

Sheryl Koval Garko Partner

Boston

Over the course of her career, she has represented clients ranging from Fortune 50 companies to start-ups in trademark, copyright, false advertising, and trade secret litigations and at trial. She has worked with leading technology companies and some of the most recognizable brands in the world, including New Balance, Williams-Sonoma, Carnival, and Microsoft. She has tried cases to both judges and juries in federal courts across the United States and is experienced practicing before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and the International Trade Commission. Through her trial work, she has developed deep expertise in litigating novel and complex damages issues in IP cases and leveraging survey work. 

Sheryl most recently earned a complete victory at trial on behalf of client Carnival in a patent and breach of contract matter related to theft of Carnival intellectual property. Following an 8-day trial in the Southern District of Florida, the jury deliberated for three hours and returned a verdict in favor of Carnival on all counts, awarding $21 million in damages.

She honed her skills in high profile, precedent setting cases. Sheryl represented Aereo against the major U.S. television networks in defense of its novel, industry-disrupting system for providing internet access to over-the-air broadcast television. That case ultimately went to the Supreme Court, which addressed copyright law issues of first impression. Sheryl currently represents Microsoft litigating novel issues related to the intersection of generative AI, copyright, and trademark law.

Having prepared countless cases for trial, Sheryl has a clear understanding of the importance of identifying litigation strategy early on to direct the case in a cost- effective and efficient manner. Sheryl also leverages her wealth of experience to counsel clients on strategies to protect intellectual property when avoiding litigation is a strategic business priority.

Having also litigated a number of patent cases throughout her career, she brings to each matter a unique understanding of the intersection of copyright, trademark, trade secret and patent law. A superb communicator, she is able to explain diverse areas of complex technology to a judge or jury.

Sheryl has been consistently named as one of the leading intellectual property litigators in the world by World Trademark Review 1000, a peer and client survey. In its 2017 publication, WTR 1000 described her as “'highly recommended’ for her ‘helpful and creative advice,’ which is ‘always of first-rate quality.’” In the 2018 edition, WTR 1000 stated that Sheryl “offers significant firepower to any contentious mandate.” In the 2021 edition, WTR 1000 said Sheryl ”puts her heart and soul into driving favorable outcomes.” In 2022 Sheryl and her team were lauded for being “tried and tested” in litigation and “emerging victorious in many forums. And in 2023, they were praised for “steering [clients] through complex litigation,” with work that was quick, efficient and “with the highest level of integrity.”

Sheryl is the Global Chair of Orrick's Women's Initiative and is the Co-Chair of Orrick’s Intellectual Property Business Unit.

She was named a 2017 Woman Worth Watching by Profiles in Diversity Journal. Sheryl was also singled out for Metropolitan Corporate Counsel’s Women in Business and the Law 2017 edition. In 2015, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly named her one of the Top Women of Law and she received a 2015 Leadership Excellence Award from the National Diversity Council.

Samual Garner Managing Associate

Washington, D.C.

Before joining Orrick, Sam was an associate at another international law firm in their Data Privacy and Security, Commercial Disputes, and Appellate practice groups. 

Prior to attending law school, Sam spent eight years at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), primarily as a bioethicist in the Division of AIDS. Sam advised on research ethics challenges in the design and conduct of international infectious disease clinical trials and genetics studies. 

Thomas Garvey Senior Associate

New York

Tom provides valuable complex litigation and class action litigation experience, including for clients like Goldman Sachs, UBS O’Connor, Jefferies, and Credit Suisse.

Prior to joining Orrick, he practiced at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York and clerked for the Honorable Kevin C. Newsom in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and for the Honorable James B. Loken in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Tom received his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.

Jade Gasek Managing Associate

Sacramento

Jade's practice includes a broad set of commercial and employment litigation matters defending employers, financial institutions, and healthcare and technology companies against breach of contract and business tort claims, claims of discrimination and retaliation, and fraud claims, among others.

Prior to joining Orrick as an associate, Jade was an Orrick Fellow at the Howard University School of Law Civil Rights Clinic where he represented plaintiffs in federal civil rights litigation at both the trial and appellate levels.

As a law student, Jade worked as a judicial extern in the Eastern District of California for Chief Judge Kimberly J. Mueller.  He also co-mediated Section 1983 claims brought by incarcerated individuals with magistrate judges also in the Eastern District of California.

Jessie Gaston Partner

Paris

With almost 20 years’ experience, Jessie has advised clients in the private equity, insurance, banking, technology, energy (including nuclear), hospitality, and luxury goods industries, including Antin Infrastructure, AXA REIM and AIG on, amongst others, the consequences of Brexit, transfer pricing audit issues, intellectual property rights, stock option incentives packages, management compensation schemes and structuring multinational joint ventures. Jessie offers clients strategic tax planning and is adept at liaising with the relevant authorities to minimize the risk of litigation and, when necessary, assists clients in litigation proceedings both before the French courts.

Jessie is “an excellent lawyer” “highly skilled” and “an exceptional team leader who thinks out of the box” (Client Commentary, Legal 500 EMEA) as well as being a Highly Regarded Practitioner (ITR World Tax, 2023); the Thomson Reuters Foundation also nominated her as Lawyer of the Year for pro bono. She has acted as an expert witness before the New York State Supreme Court, is frequently interviewed by Bloomberg, LCI, and quoted by the BBC concerning tax regimes for tech companies in Europe.

Jessie previously served as the deputy office leader of Orrick's Paris office. Before joining Orrick Jessie worked for one of the leading auditing and consulting services firms in the world and the Paris office of two multinational law firms.

Sara Gates Corporate Innovation Attorney

Silicon Valley

Sara advises on a variety of corporate matters, including both domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions on the buy- and sell-side, corporate governance issues, venture capital financings and other strategic transactions. Sara works with a wide range of companies, including public companies, tech startups, private equity portfolio companies and unicorn companies. 

Prior to law school, Sara worked in operations for a tech startup in North Carolina.

Magda Gathani Senior Associate

Washington, D.C.

Magda advises payments companies and commercial clients engaged in money transmission with regard to federal and state compliance, including the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), anti-money-laundering (AML) laws, licensing obligations and consumer compliance. She also counsels clients on consumer privacy issues arising from the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) and Regulation P, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) Cybersecurity Rules, and other state and federal laws that address data privacy and information security.

Prior to joining Orrick, Magda was an associate at Buckley LLP.

She is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US).

Bradford Gathright Partner

Houston

He represents investors and developers in a broad range of transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity investments and other commercial transactions involving the development, construction, financing, acquisition, sale and investment in power generation, exploration, production, storage, transportation, distribution, marketing and other energy-related projects and businesses.

Brad is recognized as Band 1 for Chambers Global and Chambers USA for Projects: Power & Renewables: Transactional, where clients describe him as having "seen a lot of deals and is good at explaining complicated issues."

Jake Gatof Partner

Boston

Jake counsels visionary founders and top-tier venture and growth equity funds on venture financings, complex M&A, corporate governance, strategic collaborations, and other mission-critical transactions. Known for his steady counsel and deep market knowledge, Jake helps emerging companies scale with confidence and investors deploy capital with clarity.

Jake’s experience also includes representation of top growth equity and venture capital funds in the execution of their deals and deployment of capital, including work with TPG Capital, 5AM Ventures, and Pillar VC, among others.

He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (New England) and is an active member of the Boston venture and emerging company ecosystem, including frequent speaking engagements for founders and other stakeholders on entrepreneurship, capital formation, and strategic transaction matters.

Prior to joining Orrick, Jake worked with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in its Boston office upon its founding. He lives in Boston with his wife Emily, an oncologist here in Boston, and their daughter Mia.

Elizabeth Gavin Managing Associate

London

She is broadly experienced with venture capital financing transactions, as well as corporate formation and governance matters. Elizabeth has also advised a number of leading venture capital funds.

Prior to joining Orrick, Elizabeth worked in the Boston office of another US law firm.

Matthew Gemello Partner

Silicon Valley

A seasoned deal lawyer, Matthew guides global technology companies and their financial sponsors through transformational domestic and cross-border transactions. These deals range from private company buyouts and public takeovers in the United States and around the world, to complex, multi-jurisdictional spinoffs and business carveouts.

Matthew has been recognized as a leading lawyer by numerous publications, including Legal 500 and he was selected by the San Francisco and Los Angeles Daily Journal as one of the top 10 Innovative Corporate Lawyers in California.

William George Of Counsel

London

William is an experienced lawyer and certified fraud examiner who has acted for shareholders, investors, creditors, insolvency practitioners, and high net worth individuals in all aspects of litigation arising from fraud and financial mismanagement in the UK and all of the major offshore jurisdictions. Will's experience includes applications for injunctive relief and third-party disclosure orders, and claims for deceit, fraudulent misrepresentation, and unlawful means conspiracy.

William also has a depth of experience in shareholder and trusts litigation, having acted for corporations, shareholders, trustees and beneficiaries in high value disputes across multiple jurisdictions, including a leading role in the frequently cited cases of Singh vs. Singh, and Re Edwardian Group Limited.

William's involvement in Pro Bono work around the world has included high profile projects such as the negotiation of the UN Arms Treaty, the development of refugee law in Tanzania, and assisting victims of crypto fraud in the United Kingdom.