
Santa Monica
London
James has experience working on acquisitions, disposals and investments, primarily in the technology sector.
London
On the company side, Pete advises on the full range of corporate transactional and advisory matters including incorporation and structuring matters, venture capital financings, governance, M&A activity and exit events, as well as the day-to-day matters and broader commercial transactions that high-growth companies encounter as they scale.
In addition, Pete regularly represents a wide range of venture funds, growth equity funds and other strategic investors on their investments into high-growth companies and portfolio company-related matters.
Pete has worked in a broad range of sectors and has particular experience advising clients operating in the European tech ecosystem. Pete also has extensive private equity experience, particularly in the context of sales of high-growth companies to private equity buyers.
Pete is recommended by Legal 500 UK 2022 with its client reviews including "Pete Sugden is outstanding. He combines exceptional legal skills with a practical approach, and to top it all off, he’s a pleasure to work with" and "Pete Sugden offers a superb level of balanced advice and service."
Pete has served as a guest lecturer to the Masters Degree in Corporate Law at Cambridge University and the LLM Masters of Law at the London School of Economics, and acted as a mentor to a climatetech programme at Oxford University.
Boston
Reilly focuses on representing high growth technology and life sciences companies through their business life cycle. He advises on a broad range of corporate and transactional matters from formation to exit, including incorporation, governance, financing, and M&A matters. Reilly regularly counsels clients on both venture capital transactions as well as day-to-day governance and equity compensation matters.
Prior to joining Orrick, Reilly worked with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in its Boston office and served in the United States Marine Corps.
New York
Having long represented issuers of asset backed securities and drawing on that experience, today, in addition to issuer representation, Leah’s practice includes a significant focus on investor-side representation. Leah represents both issuers and investors in complex deals of first impression and brings a unique, creative approach to securitization transactions, with deal execution as top priority.
Leah and her team have pioneered proved developed producing (PDP) oil & gas wellbore securitizations, acting as investor counsel on substantially all of the transactions that have been executed in the market to date. Also a pioneer of the C-PACE market, Leah regularly advises the top C-PACE issuers in both 144A and 4(a)(2) transactions, including Greenwork Lending’s first Rule 144A Commercial PACE securitization which was recognized as the 2022 Esoteric ABS Deal of the Year by GlobalCapital. Leah also advises on novel IP securitizations related to musical composition, sound recording copyrights, television and other royalties. Most recently, Leah represented the investors in the groundbreaking securitization by Syco Entertainment of intellectual property in the “Got Talent” franchise.
Leah’s experience further extends to a wide variety of other esoteric assets, including tax liens, diamond receivables, participations, tax credits, solar and wind ground leases and whole business operating company securitizations.
Recognized in Band 1 of Chambers USA Nationwide Securitization: PACE, Leah is described by clients as “one of the best lawyers that I have worked with” and someone who “fights tooth and nail for her clients.” Resources for the Legal 500 USA directory have called Leah “the best there is in esoteric financing products and bonds,” and note they are “incredibly impressed with the gender diversity on the team. Extremely ethical – name carries a lot of weight with investors.”
San Francisco
Lute has litigated cases in a wide range of technologies, including on-demand transportation solutions, smart-home and smart-health devices, telecommunications, video games, semiconductors, virtual machines, and consumer electronics. In addition to her litigation practice, Lute advises emerging companies on intellectual property strategy, helping them identify and protect core innovations to support growth and future development.
Lute earned her J.D. from the University of California, College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly known as University of California, Hastings) and her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, with a concentration in Signals and Images, from Northwestern University. Before law school, Lute worked as a validation engineer, advising pharmaceutical companies on compliance with FDA regulations.
Paris; Paris Tech Studio
Paris; Paris Tech Studio
Manon advises startups and high growth technology companies in raising capital and building their businesses from formation through exit. She assists founders developing and implementing effective corporate governance strategies throughout the life of their startup and issuing customized equity instruments for their fundraising.
Before joining Orrick, Manon worked as an M&A and Private Equity attorney at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel in Paris.
Washington, D.C.
Kyle's practice targets the novel issues posed by the intersection of business, technology, and media. Leveraging his entrepreneurial background, he strategically advocates for clients with their specific business concerns in mind. With a focus on advertising and technology, Kyle has experience handling every stage of a lawsuit. He also provides counsel regarding brand protection, helping clients enforce trademarks and assess copyright risks.
As a litigator, Kyle has represented plaintiffs and defendants within multiple jurisdictions. He has litigated claims in state and federal courts, in arbitration, and before the International Trade Commission. Outside the courtroom, Kyle actively advises emerging companies and larger corporations across various industries on how to develop and protect intellectual property. His experience includes trademark prosecution, licensing, domestic industry, and contract disputes.
Kyle also maintains a robust pro bono practice, which includes drafting contracts and negotiating settlements for creative enterprises. Before joining Orrick, he interned at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and the Pro Bono Institute. While attending the University of Michigan Law School, Kyle represented Detroit-based entrepreneurs at the Community Enterprise Clinic and served as an editor for the Michigan Journal of Race and Law.
Sacramento; Silicon Valley
Sacramento; Silicon Valley
Blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies have caused business leaders to rethink the way we own, govern and share the benefits of enterprise. James advises entrepreneurs and investors as they pioneer new, more inclusive operating models in professional sports, finance, social media, gaming, agriculture and other industries.
To do this, James draws from two complementary sources of experience. The first is his practice assisting public companies, private equity funds and venture capitalists with registered and unregistered securities offerings; high-stakes M&A; corporate governance; and Exchange Act reporting. The second is his experience advising clients outside the Wall Street and Silicon Valley mainstream, including cooperatives, limited cooperative associations and nonprofit corporations. By combining these two worlds, James is able to offer unexpected legal solutions to blockchain-based companies as they seek venture financing, design and issue tokens, and select business entities for DAOs.
James also appreciates the inherently global reach of blockchain and cryptocurrency. After law school, he spent two years clerking for the US Court of International Trade in New York City. Before that, James lived for two years in the eastern Ukrainian cities of Dnipro, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Mariupol. James is fluent in Russian and maintains ties with his friends in the war zone.
Austin
Adil Shaikh is an experienced patent litigator, adept at handling cases from their initial phases through to trial. With appearances in over 120 cases, he consistently strives to achieve the best possible outcomes for his clients in every engagement.
With extensive technical knowledge and experience, Adil offers invaluable insights and assistance in intellectual property cases. As a former software engineer, he possesses a unique ability to understand clients' innovations, communicate effectively with inventors, scientists, and expert witnesses, and explain complex technologies in clear, comprehensible terms. His practice focuses on patents, particularly in complex software technology and semiconductors.
Before transitioning to the legal industry, Adil held software engineering roles at Sabre Corporation, specializing in data engineering and big data systems. He also gained experience in software development at Nokia Corp and Cisco Systems. Additionally, Adil co-founded a company dedicated to technical education and recruitment.
New York; Silicon Valley
New York; Silicon Valley
Stephen’s practice focuses on the representation of life science, medical device, health IT, and other technology companies in transactional matters, including public and private financings, licensing, collaborations and strategic alliances, and mergers and acquisitions. He also represents venture capital firms in public and private financing transactions.
Stephen is recognized as a Leading Life Sciences Lawyer by LMG Life Sciences in their 2021/2022 rankings and short-listed as Venture Capital Attorney of the Year. He has served as a member of the Board of Tech Council of Maryland, the leading technology and life science association in that state, and of BayBio, Northern California’s leading life sciences association. Stephen is a frequent speaker on venture capital financings and served on the faculty at the 2005 and 2007 Emerging Entrepreneurs workshops at Stanford University.
Prior to joining Orrick, Stephen was a partner at Morrison & Foerster, Venture Law Group and Heller Ehrman. He began his legal practice as a litigator, focusing on securities and intellectual property. He also served as a law clerk to the Hon. Vaughn R. Walker in the United States District Court in the Northern District of California. Stephen graduated Order of the Coif from Stanford Law School, where he was managing editor of the Stanford Law Review, and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in Biology.
London
Rebecca has acted for “Big Four” audit firms and global listed companies in a range of matters. These have included complex professional negligence litigation in the High Court, internal investigations and investigations by domestic and overseas regulators including the Financial Reporting Council, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
In addition to the above, Rebecca has also advised on UK and EU public procurement legislation including the application of the OJEU notification requirements to real estate developments.