People

Sam G. Baris Corp Deputy General Counsel

Los Angeles

Sam brings in-house and law firm experience to the role and a deep understanding of client needs. He previously served as Deputy General Counsel at The Raine Group, a global boutique investment bank and venture capital fund manager advising and investing in the technology, media, sports, entertainment, and telecom spaces. Prior to his time at Raine, Sam practiced corporate law at Gibson Dunn with a focus on M&A, private equity, capital markets, governance, and general corporate advisory matters.

He also draws on his background in quantitative economics and mathematics in advising the firm on integrating data into its practice.

Alyssa Barnard-Yanni Senior Associate

New York

Her litigation work spans a wide range of subject areas, from complex commercial litigation to white collar criminal defense.  

At the trial level, Alyssa has drafted innumerable dispositive and evidentiary motions, served on criminal defense teams representing individual defendants from indictment through sentencing, and argued in both state and federal trial court.  At the appellate level, Alyssa has drafted filings of every stripe--writs of mandamus, petitions for discretionary review, amicus briefs, and of course merits appeals--and presented argument in state and federal courts of appeals.  Alyssa also advises clients on thorny issues outside of litigation, ranging from drafting white papers advocating against criminal charges to brainstorming ways to terminate a licensing agreement, and more.

Alyssa maintains an active pro bono practice focusing primarily on criminal law matters.  She recently secured reversal of an attempted robbery conviction based on insufficient evidence in the New York Appellate Division.  She has represented defendants in state-court appeals and petitioners for habeas relief in federal court; drafted cert- and merits-stage amicus briefs in the Supreme Court case Quarles v. United States; and co-drafted an amicus brief to the Second Circuit urging that failure to advise naturalized citizens of the denaturalization risks of a plea violates the Sixth Amendment.

Alyssa served as a law clerk to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the October 2019 Term. Before that, she clerked for Judge Alison J. Nathan on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and Judge Robert A. Katzmann on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Taylor Marie Moustris Barokh Senior Associate

Los Angeles

She advises opportunity, investment and private equity funds, institutional investors and developers on commercial real estate transactions including joint venture structuring, financing, development, acquisitions, sales, lease agreements, and other corporate real estate activities. Taylor is familiar with structuring and drafting corporate organizational agreements, financing, acquisition and disposition documents. She has experience with a variety of asset types, including commercial, mixed-use and residential properties. Further, she regularly advises startups, growth stage companies and not-for-profit organizations on their leasing transactions.

Lauren Baron Associate

New York

Lauren is experienced with motion practice in federal district courts and state courts throughout New York, California, Texas, Delaware, and other jurisdictions. She has a broad base of scientific knowledge and focuses in patent practice dealing with networked technologies and biomedical engineering. Lauren also practices trade secrets law and drafts motions for cases brought under the Defend Trade Secrets Act, New York common law, and the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act.

Prior to joining Orrick, Lauren attended Columbia Law School, where she participated extensively in the Columbia Science, Health, and Information Clinic and the Columbia Science and Technology Law Review.

Laura Rose Barr Partner

Seattle

Laura co-leads Orrick's Artificial Intelligence initiative and is a founding member of Orrick’s technology companies practice in the Pacific Northwest. She is passionate about working with women founders, other underrepresented entrepreneurs, and double bottom line companies. People who think differently, and set out to create impact, inspire her.

She represents companies and their investors in a variety of verticals, including AI & Machine Learning (Anthropic), consumer applications (AppSheet, Life360, Mylio), education technology (Go1), financial technology (SoFi), information security (Stairwell) and life sciences (Cortexyme, Inmedix), among others. 

Prior to joining Orrick, Laura worked in New York as a leveraged finance attorney at Milbank, and in-house at Goldman Sachs and the New York Stock Exchange. In addition to start-up representation, she regularly provides pro bono legal advice to charitable organizations regarding non-profit incorporation and tax exemption applications.

Brian Bartholomay Counsel

Washington, D.C.

Brian’s experience includes matters initiated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as well as state attorneys general and other state regulators. In addition to his enforcement practice, Brian also represents financial services clients in individual and class actions arising under federal and state consumer protection statutes.

Prior to joining Orrick, Brian was counsel at Buckley LLP.

Alexandra Bartos-O'Neill Managing Associate

Portland

Alexandra's practice includes private activity bond financings, namely in connection with building affordable housing.

Mary Bates Project Attorney

Wheeling, W.V. (GOIC)

Mary is a member of the Orrick Analytics Group. She is an experienced corporate lawyer focused on transactional matters and strategic counsel to leading supply chain, distribution, and technology companies. She handles corporate issues typically overseen by in-house counsel, with an ardent awareness of in-house counsel’s need to receive exceptional work in an expeditious manner. She provides tactical guidance on managing the complete life cycle of corporate, supply chain, and technology agreements.

Brandon Batzel Senior Associate

New York

Based in New York, Brandon's practice focuses primarily on bankruptcy and financial restructuring matters, including representation of debtors, creditors, purchasers, and other interested parties in chapter 11 proceedings, out-of-court workouts, and related transactions. In addition, Brandon's work involves the coordination of multi-jurisdictional restructurings across the globe and high-profile litigation in the United States and abroad, with a particular focus on cross-border restructuring and Latin American insolvencies, and a developed expertise in chapter 15 proceedings.

Heidi Bauer Senior Counsel

Washington, D.C.

Heidi represents mortgage lenders and servicers, banks, consumer finance companies, fintech companies, money transmitters, securities broker-dealers and private equity firms and other financial sponsors of such entities with regulatory, compliance, licensing and transactional matters.

She assists clients with matters before state regulatory agencies, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In addition, Heidi advises financial and strategic purchasers of financial services firms and assets on regulatory matters, including due diligence of target companies and transactional structuring in light of federal and state licensing and regulatory requirements, and assists them in securing regulatory approvals for transactions.

Prior to joining Orrick, Heidi was a partner at Buckley LLP.

Marc Bauer Partner

Los Angeles

Marc partners with government bond issuers, nonprofit organizations, and universities, and has experience assisting leading affordable housing professionals, public power agencies, private universities, museums, and charter schools with their financing goals. Marc provides reliable, sought-after advice to issuer and underwriter clients in transactions involving both long- and short-term, fixed and variable rate obligations, commercial paper, credit and liquidity enhancement, and revenue bonds.

Prior to becoming an attorney, Marc was an economics consultant at Deloitte & Touche LLP and Arthur Andersen LLP.  Marc obtained his JD/MBA at the University of Southern California.

John Bautista Partner

San Francisco; Santa Monica; Silicon Valley

John focuses his practice on advising emerging companies and investors, and represents both public and private high-tech and life sciences companies in many areas, including corporate and securities law, venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, public company representation and technology licensing.

The Recorder named John the “2019 Innovator of the Year” for his work as the chief lawyer on the Long-Term Stock Exchange, a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission-approved exchange designed to change the paradigm of traditional stock markets by rewarding entrepreneurs and investors committed to long-term business strategies. Financial Times recognized John as one of the Top 10 Most Innovative Individuals of the Year in 2017, calling him “one of the most influential lawyers in the technology ecosystem of Silicon Valley.” He is ranked Band 1 by Chambers USA California, for Venture Capital and Chambers USA Nationwide, ranked him Band 2 for Startups & Emerging Companies.

John is a Board member and co-founder of the Long-Term Stock Exchange, which is creating a new stock exchange for public companies supporting long-term investors, as well as an advisor and co-founder of Clerky.com, a company automating legal work for early-stage companies. He is also recognized for his work with Y Combinator companies.

At Orrick, John serves as Lead Partner for Transactions and Lead Partner for Innovation & Technology.

Prior to joining Orrick, John was a founding attorney of Venture Law Group and served on the Executive Committee. John previously practiced at Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati. John also served as Mayor of the City of Cupertino, California and a council member from 1993-1997, where he helped build important public partnerships, including with Apple Computer, the Mid-Peninsula Open Space Preserve, and San Jose and California Water Companies.