San Francisco
Erin's practice covers all aspects of employment law. She defends employers in class actions and other complex cases, as well as in systemic investigations and audits by the EEOC, DOJ, and the California CRD. Erin has led dozens of internal pay equity analyses and is a trusted advisor for several of the nation's most prominent employers on developing areas of employment law, including pay equity and pay transparency, DEI best practices, and the use of AI in employment decision making.
Erin also is an accomplished first chair trial lawyer. She has tried several cases before juries and in arbitration, and has obtained numerous defense summary judgment rulings and other favorable resolutions in state and federal court. Erin led the trial team that obtained a complete dismissal for Oracle in OFCCP v. Oracle, the largest pay equity case ever brought by the US Department of Labor, which garnered national media attention and earned Erin recognition as a "Litigator of the Week" by the American Lawyer and a 2021 Employment MVP by Law360. As lead counsel, Erin also successfully obtained decertification in a statewide California pay equity class action, Jewett v. Oracle.
Erin's clients include leading technology and Fortune 500 companies, including: Oracle, Meta, Microsoft, Netflix, Pinterest, Workday, PayPal, Sony Interactive Entertainment, NVIDIA, Airbnb, SiriusXM, Dropbox, Zendesk, Splunk and Goldman Sachs.
Erin frequently speaks on California and national employment law issues. She is currently a Council Member with the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section (LEL) and is the Conference Chair for the American Employment Legal Council (AELC). She is also a faculty member with the Institute for Workplace Equality (IWE), and formerly served as the management chair of the ABA Equal Employment Opportunity Committee. Erin also previously served on the Board of Directors for the Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF), as well as BASF’s Justice & Diversity Center (JDC). She has published numerous articles and papers on employment law issues in publications around the country. She also provides employment law training and conducts internal investigations on employment-related matters.
San Francisco
Annette is an experienced trial lawyer who has tried copyright, trade secret, trademark, patent and business tort claims. As a risk analyst and problem solver with deep proficiency in the software industry, Annette is a go-to counselor and speaker regarding the legal issues surrounding access and use of datasets in the development of machine learning algorithms. She was named “Litigator of the Week” by The American Lawyer for her work as co-lead counsel on the Mattel/MGA case. Chambers USA ranks her in Band 1 for Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets, with clients reporting that she is “smart, creative and terrific at oral argument” and “a very well-known authority in copyright law, a great advocate and a great trial lawyer.” Chambers reports: “Clients agree that Annette Hurst is ‘a very powerful and experienced trial lawyer for copyright cases, and a good team leader who is reliable before judges,” and “Peers consider Annette Hurst a ‘remarkably intuitive’ lawyer who ‘brings unique perspectives to soft IP cases.” Since 2018, The Legal 500 has recognized Annette as a “Leading Lawyer” in copyright law, and she was named “Female Litigator of the Year West” by Benchmark Litigation in 2013. Annette has been repeatedly named one of the top 75 IP litigators in California by The Daily Journal.
Annette’s community and professional activities include past service on the Northern District of California Patent Local Rules Committee, President of the Lafayette Elementary School PTA, and past membership on the Board of Directors of the Volunteer Legal Services Program and Board of Directors of the Bar Association of San Francisco for which she was chair of the Finance and Investments Committee. She also is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Legal Aid Society of San Francisco and the Board of Governors of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers, Northern California Chapter, as well as a past president of the Barristers Club.
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.
San Francisco
Her experience spans projects across the United States and Canada and includes award-winning transactions. She is recognized nationally as Chambers USA Band 2 for Projects: Power & Renewables: Transactional (2025) and as a Leading Lawyer: Energy-Renewable/Alternative Power by Legal 500. Clients describe her main qualities as "responsiveness, thoroughness and her understanding of the market" and as "bringing such experience to deals, it's very hard to fault her on anything." She "knows where the market is and makes strong deal points."
Kristin is a key member of Orrick's energy transition practice, which was recognized as Band 1 in Energy Transition by Chambers USA (2025). She also serves on Orrick's Board.
San Francisco
Andrew represents clients in a wide variety of industries, but specifically focuses on financial services, retail, technology, and advertising.
He has an extensive class- and collective-action practice. He routinely defends employers in such cases in state and federal courts, particularly in cases alleging violations of the wage-and-hour laws. Andrew also defends employers in numerous other types of cases, such as those related to restrictive covenants and trade secrets, wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment and retaliation.
Andrew is a highly regarded trial lawyer. Chambers USA ranks Andrew as a leading employment law lawyer, with clients reporting that he is "very thoughtful, pragmatic and strategic in his thinking" and "distills very complex matters in a way that's easily understood." Legal 500 recognizes Andrew as a "excellent litigator" and notes that he is "exceptional in his ability to organize complex factual and legal arguments into a simple and persuasive presentation." The Daily Journal has listed him as a Top Labor & Employment Attorney a number of times, and he has been selected as a BTI Client Service Allstar.
Orrick’s Employment Law and Litigation group was named Labor & Employment Department of the Year in California for a 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.
San Francisco; Los Angeles
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.
Silicon Valley; San Francisco
Silicon Valley; San Francisco
Prior to joining Orrick in 2017, John was a senior associate in the corporate law practice of Latham & Watkins in Silicon Valley.
San Francisco
She advises sponsors, investors and buyers in the renewable energy sector on all stages of a project, from drafting and negotiating offtake, procurement and construction contracts to coordinating debt, tax equity and preferred equity financing, as well as facilitating tax credit transfer structures, joint venture arrangements, and project acquisitions and sales.
Helen takes a collaborative approach to help clients build consensus and manage stakeholders across an increasingly complicated capital stack to close the deal. She understands both the legal and business challenges of the energy transition from a variety of perspectives, including through direct experience on secondment to the project finance group of a major U.S. renewable energy developer.
As a law student, Helen worked as a summer legal intern in the Administrative Law Judge Division of the California Public Utilities Commission, as a senior business analyst with Pacific Gas and Electric Company and as a legal trainee at Positive Planet UK.
Before practicing law, she led programs with state and local governments and ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs to advance the adoption of clean technologies, including battery storage, virtual power plants, commercial and industrial lighting and advanced building control systems.
San Francisco
In addition to representing clients in state and federal courts nationwide and in arbitration, Ariel also counsels public and private companies and their directors and officers on a wide range of issues relating to corporate governance and litigation risk and strategy. On the regulatory side, Ariel represents institutions and individuals in connection with investigations by the DOJ, SEC, FINRA, and other state and federal agencies. She also has defended clients in several high-profile SEC and DOJ enforcement actions.
Ariel additionally maintains an active pro bono practice focused on immigration and civil rights matters.
San Francisco
San Francisco
Uniquely positioned as a business advisor within Orrick, Neel drives opportunities for clients throughout the technology sector.
Neel has always been fascinated with technology’s ability to shape the way we live, work, think and play. At Orrick, he’s able to help technology entrepreneurs and investors capitalize on their innovative vision. To do so, Neel leverages his global network of companies, investors and entrepreneurs to identify fund raising and commercial opportunities, and advise on financing and business strategy. He’s also able to connect clients with the precise legal help to meet their specific needs.
Neel is a graduate of Suffolk University Law School (JD/MBA, International Business). He has served in senior strategy roles at some of the world’s leading law firms and Fortune 500 companies.
Neel is active in the community and is the Co-Chair of the La Scuola Internazionale di San Francisco Advancement Committee, a board member of the La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Hillsborough Chapter, and serves as secretary of his community HOA. In his free time, Neel enjoys hiking, skiing and traveling with his family.
San Francisco; Sacramento
San Francisco; Sacramento
Sean serves as bond counsel, disclosure counsel, and underwriter's counsel on a variety of public finance transactions, including general obligation and revenue bond financings. Sean's experience includes counseling large public transportation agencies, and assisting in the financing of affordable housing, charter schools and higher education institutions throughout California.
Sean earned his J.D. from the University of California, Davis in 2018, and his B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2013.
San Francisco
Sarah is an associate in the firm's Intellectual Property group. Before law school, Sarah worked for four years in the in-house legal departments of major technology companies. She draws on her in-house experience to understand her clients' businesses and needs and to come up with creative solutions to their legal challenges.
Immediately prior to joining Orrick, Sarah clerked for Justice Daniel E. Winfree of the Alaska Supreme Court.
During law school, Sarah gained civil litigation experience as a clinical intern in the East Bay Community Law Center's Consumer Justice Clinic and served as a student director of Berkeley Law's Appellate Advocacy course.