People

Alexandra Stathopoulos Partner

San Francisco; Los Angeles

Alex is based out of Orrick's San Francisco and Los Angeles offices and represents clients across California in their most critical employment law disputes. Legal 500 has recognized Alex as a "stand-out" attorney "who communicates quickly, confidently, and efficiently" and noted that she is "prepared, firm, and patient in depositions, with opposing counsel and with witnesses, and thinks very well on her feet." A thought leader in the employment law space, Alex is active on the Executive Committee for the California Lawyers Association (CLA) Labor and Employment Section and is an Editor-in-Chief of the CLA Labor & Employment Law Review. Alex also serves on the Executive Committee for the Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF) Labor and Employment Law Section.

Alex's north star is understanding a client's business objectives first, whether in litigation or counseling matters. Alex defends employers in class, collective, and representative actions alleging wage and hour violations, discrimination, and other claims under federal and state laws, including Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) claims. She also routinely defends employers in high-stakes single plaintiff cases involving contract disputes, leaves and accommodations, and allegations of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistleblowing, wrongful termination, and trade secrets misappropriation. In her counseling practice, Alex provides bespoke counseling advice to management, designs workplace policies and procedures, and offers creative and practical solutions to address a wide range of employment issues including new and developing areas of the law.

Orrick’s Employment Law and Litigation group was recently named Labor & Employment Department of the Year in California for the fourth consecutive year by The Recorder, the premier source for legal news, in recognition of their significant wins on behalf of leading multinational companies on today’s most complex and challenging employment law matters.

Ylan Steiner Partner

London

Following an earlier career as a computer software programmer, Ylan has a passion for technology and innovation across numerous sectors.

Ylan’s notable company-side representations include Currencycloud, EVRYTHNG, Griffin Financial, MFS Africa, nPlan, Railsbank, Signal AI and Taster. One CEO client described Ylan as the “most incredible lawyer… [who I have worked with] for years. He's that good and his deal team is good too.”

In addition to his company-side representations, Ylan acts for leading venture capital and private equity firms and other strategic investors, including Vitruvian Partners, Warburg Pincus, Kennet Capital Partners, Kinnevik, Marlin Equity Partners, Seedcamp, and Oxx.

Ylan has been consistently recognised as a leading venture capital advisor in both Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners. Ylan was described by one client in Legal 500 UK 2022 as “an exceptionally knowledgeable counsel – he helped guide me through a number of challenges around our fundraise with ease, speed and clarity.”

A recent career highlight for Ylan was being invited by HM Treasury to advise on the UK Government’s Future Fund in response to calls from the technology industry to support VC backed start-ups throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

James Stengel Partner

New York

Jim is consistently recognized as a leading lawyer in legal publications such as Chambers USA and Benchmark Litigation. Chambers notes Jim is "able to handle a wide range of mass torts and class actions, including particular strength in toxic tort-related mandates.” Clients told the publication that Jim “is extremely professional, with excellent brief writing and oral arguments,” calling him “a great guy and a great lawyer."  

Jim has served in a variety of management roles at Orrick, including Managing Director of Litigation, Member of the Executive Committee and Board, Lead Director, and as a member of the firm’s Management Committee.

Jim has written and lectured on complex litigation and mass tort subjects at a variety of law schools and seminars.

Before joining Orrick, Jim was a partner at Donovan Leisure Newton & Irvine LLP.

Tobias Stephan Managing Associate

Düsseldorf

Being born a „digital native“, Tobias is fascinated by what technology has to offer. That’s why he chose to advise on how best to implement digitization while staying within the framework of the regulations we need in our society, something that has long become a sales argument customers value.

Tobias helps clients to navigate complex data protection issues and advises on the impact of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), data processing and transfer agreements as well as a wide range of further data and privacy implications.

Prior to joining Orrick, Tobias worked as a research associate in the data protection practice of a multinational pharmaceutical company, in the IT and data protection team of a large German accountancy and business advisory firm, as well as the corporate practice of a "big 4" firm.

Amanda Stephens Partner

Houston

Amanda has advised on more than $4 billion of both publicly-offered and privately-placed charter school financings. Her work on these financings extends across the country, including Texas, Florida, Tennessee, California, Arizona and New York, among many others. Amanda works with a first-of-its-kind nonprofit social impact fund that leverages private charter loans to the public market. Since their creation in 2018, Amanda has worked on documenting more than $1 billion in loans to high-performing charter schools who do not otherwise have access to long term, low cost financing. Amanda and team are tasked with working with the local borrower’s counsel for each new borrower and each new state to create a financing structure that meets the long term needs of the borrower, while conforming with state charter law and the clients lending requirements. Amanda has also created structures to help with taxable refundings, to finance around existing new market tax credit structures and many other needs of the borrowers. 

Amanda also represents banks and other financial institutions in connection with direct purchases of tax-exempt bonds and the issuance of letters of credit and other liquidity facilities in connection with tax-exempt transactions. 

Over the course of her career, Amanda has prepared, negotiated and reviewed contracts, loan documents, amendments, closing documents, default letters, demand letters, payoff and buyout agreements, intercreditor subordination agreements, and federal tax lien subordinations. She also has reviewed client contracts and MSA agreements in the oil and gas, construction, medical, retail and transportation industries, and she has addressed regulatory and compliance issues for the finance industry and oil and gas industry. Amanda previously served as an in-house attorney for a national financial services company. She also has served as a staff attorney for Judge Jaclanel McFarland of the 133rd Civil District Court in Harris County, Texas, and as assistant district attorney for the Harris County District Attorney’s office.

Eric Stephens Partner

San Francisco

Eric helps clients design and build successful renewable energy businesses by advising on how projects and portfolios large and small can maximize their value through well-informed negotiation, efficient diligence and acquisition techniques, and responsive and creative problem solving.

Eric has particularly deep knowledge in helping developers strategically procure the equipment and services necessary to develop, construct, commission, operate and sell renewable energy projects of all sizes, and in helping investors evaluate the development work of potential investments. Development and procurement managers excel at sourcing and pricing a project’s needs, and Eric can build on this by bringing these contracts to completion with deep market knowledge, in a way best suited to the client’s commercial objectives and so that they withstand the scrutiny of project investors, lenders and buyers. Eric balances work for utility-scale projects with the growing distributed energy generation and storage sector, both of which recently include negotiation of contracts to “safe harbor” equipment or construction activities to preserve higher levels of ITC or PTC. He has represented energy project developers, equipment suppliers and installers, publicly-owned utilities, private equity investors and other parties in developing energy projects from very early stages of securing technology and land/resource rights to buying and selling operating assets, and everything in between.

Alexa Steranko Project Attorney

Wheeling, W.V. (GOIC)

Alexa works with corporate teams across practice groups to increase efficiency of client services by utilizing new technologies and data analytics. She applies a process-driven approach and machine learning technology to review information from 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 draft documents. Alexa also 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 manages teams of skilled professionals performing document review, redaction, analysis, production, and privilege log drafting. She assists the litigation team to prepare for trial, including drafting deposition summaries, factual memoranda, and exhibit charts.

Evan Stergoulis Partner

London

Evan advises lenders, ECAs, institutional investors, renewable energy companies, investment firms and pension funds on financings, M&A, joint ventures and other strategic combinations. He brings considerable experience in wide range of renewable energy portfolio deals, as well as gas and power transmission and distribution projects and he has a market-leading offshore wind practice.

Chambers Global 2020 notes that clients say Evan is a “leading figure who has secured incredible and loyal clients because he does an excellent job.” He has also been named to The Lawyer’s Hot 100. and named to A Word About Wind's Top 100 Legal Power List.

Jessica Stern Associate

San Francisco

Her experience also includes providing clients with IP diligence and patent portfolio management advice, including preparing competitive landscapes, patentability assessments, and freedom to operate analyses. She is a graduate of University of San Francisco School of Law and has a master’s degree in Biochemistry from the George Washington University.

Prior to pursuit of a career in law, Jessica worked in industry on the development of novel cancer and autoimmune disease therapeutics and biomarkers in both early discovery and clinical laboratory settings.

Guy Stevenson Senior Associate

London

In addition to advising established financial services firms, Guy advises new innovative Fintech businesses on UK regulation including whether their activities will require authorisation and how best to launch their business in the UK. He has significant experience advising firms on regulatory issues connected to the selling of financial services products through apps and online journeys.

Guy frequently advises clients on financial crime issues, including AML controls, reporting obligations, failure to prevent offences, anti-corruption and market abuse.

He has a deep knowledge of consumer credit law and excels in providing practical advice on how the law/regulation should be interpreted and applied.

He also advises on contentious matters including regulatory investigations and conduct issues.

Damon Stewart Of Counsel

New York

Damon focuses his practice on state and locally based legislative and regulatory issues. He has experience inside of government, having served as Assistant Counsel to the New York Senate Majority. Subsequent to his time in the Senate, he served as a Vice President for the Parkside Group, a New York lobbying firm. He eventually transitioned to an in-house corporate position as Vice President for State Government Affairs for DIRECTV, with a national purview overseeing all aspects of state and local legislative matters for the company. Immediately prior to joining Orrick, he served as Vice President of Government Affairs and State Advocacy Coordinator at AT&T, maintaining national responsibility for satellite-related issues.

Andrea Alfonso Stigliano Of Counsel

Milan

Andrea has extensive experience in cases involving anti-money laundering and export sanctions, financial crimes, corporate crimes, bankruptcy offenses, tax crimes, corruption and bribery in both the public and private sectors, environmental crimes, occupational health and safety offenses, intellectual property crimes, data protection and privacy crimes/cybercrimes.

Before joining Orrick, Andrea worked in the Milan office of Clifford Chance for eight years and, in 2017, he spent six months in the London office working both on UK and transnational matters.