Christopher Moore Partner

New York

His practice focuses on financing renewable energy projects with a particular emphasis on tax equity transactions with and without construction and back-leverage debt. Chris's experience includes structuring and documenting tax equity transactions (e.g., disproportionate partnership flip and other structures utilizing PTCs and ITC), a wide variety of debt financings (including construction, back-leverage, holdco, and other types of portfolio financings) and leasing transactions (both single investor and leverage leases).

With more than 25 years in the energy and power sector and over 20 years in the renewables market, Chris represents many of the leading and most active players in the renewable sector and the power market generally. Having been across the table from almost all the tax equity and debt participants in the renewables market, Chris’s deep understanding of their motivations and objectives enables him to anticipate their concerns. While Chris typically represents sponsors, developers and strategic investors, he has also represented public power authorities, electric cooperatives and other types of investors.

Alexis Savini Senior Associate

Silicon Valley

Alexis advises high growth technology companies in general formation, venture capital and private equity financings, capital markets and mergers and acquisitions transactions.

Mark Thompson Senior Associate

New York

Orrick’s Employment Law and Litigation group was recently named Labor & Employment Department of the Year in California 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.

In addition to his litigation practice, Mark advises clients regarding a broad range of employment issues, including human resource policies and procedures, severance agreements and employee terminations.

Prior to joining Orrick, Mark was a judicial law clerk and gained experience litigating a wide range of civil and criminal cases.

James Hargrove Partner

Geneva; London

James has a particular specialization in arbitrations relating to energy, commodities, trading, finance and technology (he is particularly active in thought leadership on tech and arbitration issues).

Prior to joining Orrick, James practiced international arbitration and litigation at several international law firms in Geneva and London. James was, among other things, head of the Russia and CIS dispute resolution practice and has deep proficiency in Russia related-disputes and investigations and associated offshore litigation, applications and asset identification, tracing and enforcement.

Neil Golden Senior Counsel

Washington, D.C.

In recent years, Neil has worked extensively on transactions involving the acquisition and divestiture of both companies and assets, as well as the development and financing of renewable energy projects involving wind, solar, biomass and fuel cells, and on alternative fuels projects in the ethanol industry. He served as lead counsel for the sale of a large distributed solar, fuel cell and residential solar portfolio, named “2019 M&A Deal of the Year” by Power Finance & Risk Magazine. He has also worked extensively on the development and financing of conventional power generation facilities.

His corporate and financing experience has included representation of clients in syndicated bank financings, financings by multilateral and bilateral agencies, Rule 144A debt offerings, sale-leaseback financings, construction loans, formation of joint ventures and partnerships, equity investments, and the purchase and sale of equity interests in projects.

Internationally, Neil has represented sponsors of power projects and electric distribution companies in a number of countries including Brazil, Argentina, Jamaica, Honduras, Bangladesh, Nepal, Colombia, Turkey, the Dominican Republic and the People’s Republic of China.

Nathan Dullum Claims Counsel

San Francisco

Nathan represents and advises the firm on all issues regarding claims and is responsible for managing the firm’s complex litigation strategies. He retains and supervises outside defense counsel, coordinates coverage and related issues with the firm’s insurance carriers, and ensures the effective and efficient defense of claims against the firm. Nathan is also a member of Orrick’s Risk Management Committee, responsible for promoting risk awareness and prevention through risk management training, internal firm publications, and risk management audits.

Prior to taking on his current role, Nathan was a member of Orrick's Complex Litigation and Dispute Resolution group. With over two decades of litigation and trial experience, Nathan has practiced before state and federal courts and has arbitrated matters before The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the International Center for Dispute Resolution.

Nathan joined Orrick as a summer associate in 2001. In 2007, he took a brief leave of absence to work as a prosecutor in the San Francisco County District Attorney’s Office.

Ana Mendez-Villamil Managing Associate

San Francisco

Ana represents companies in the technology, energy, and financial sectors in a wide range of civil disputes including claims of trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract.  Her practice also includes defending companies under investigation by states Attorneys General. 

Prior to law school, Ana was a member of the legal team at Lyft supporting the Litigation, IP, Employment, Product/Commercial, and Corporate practice groups.

Alex Straughn Patent Agent

Houston

Alex has authored scientific papers in peer-reviewed publications examining the molecular basis of regenerative myogenesis and cancer-induced cachexia. His doctoral work in Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology from the University of Louisville focused on transgenic animal studies and in vitro paradigms to discern critical signaling pathways necessary for the repair of skeletal muscle. He has extensive experience in molecular biology, including the generation of viral vectors and CRISPR/Cas9 constructs, and in performing electrophysiological recording of skeletal muscle in situ. In his postdoctoral studies, he focused his research efforts on interrogating the molecular basis for the induction the skeletal muscle wasting disorder “cachexia” in a novel model of ovarian cancer-induced cachexia.

Simon Willis Partner

London

Simon has wide experience of acting for major financial institutions, companies and professional firms in complex litigation, investigations and proceedings by domestic and overseas regulators, professional disciplinary proceedings, ad hoc governmental inquiries and internal investigations. In particular he has acted for those subject to investigations by a wide range of regulatory bodies including the Financial Reporting Council, the Financial Conduct Authority, the Prudential Regulation Authority, the Serious Fraud Office, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and others. He has considerable experience of advising clients on risk management and reputational risk arising from contentious matters.

Simon has been recognised in the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners as: “an outstanding litigation solicitor”, who is “highly experienced in conducting heavy litigation”, and “one of the best lawyers operating in the Accountant’s liability space”. His clients describe him as “tactically astute and painstaking" and “tough, hardworking, well informed and highly tactical in his thinking.” with a “winning combination of legal knowledge and practicality”.

Eric Hochstadt Partner

New York

Major players across technology, life sciences, financial services, retail, sports and transportation hire Eric again and again. Chambers USA describes him as "one of the foremost experts in antitrust law," praised for his creativity and practical approach. Clients commend him as a "really good trial lawyer," who is "skilled, savvy, and practical.” Lawdragon names him among the 500 "Leading Litigators in America."

Eric has played a pivotal role in shaping modern antitrust law through his involvement in significant cases challenging important business or industry-wide practices and transformational acquisitions. This has ranged from securing a complete defense verdict in the rare antitrust jury trial attacking an asset swap transaction – a case American Lawyer dubbed “An Antitrust Unicorn — With $800M on the Line”; to defeating a government merger challenge based on the novel “potential competition” theory that a “Big Tech” firm should enter a new market by “building versus buying”; to upholding a private equity firm’s ability to do “joint bids” for investment opportunities; to securing the dismissal of an alleged “no poach” class action by avoiding automatic or per se scrutiny of a distribution arrangement at the outset of the lawsuit – a win highlighted in American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week” column; to achieving a landmark class action settlement against a copyright collective with 20 years of licensing and royalty rate-setting conduct relief after regulators declined to bring an enforcement action. This work often involves the testimony of C-suite witnesses, opinions of leading economic experts, and the intersection of antitrust law with employment and intellectual property laws.

A member of the Executive Committee of the Antitrust Section of the New York State Bar Association, Eric speaks regularly before antitrust bar associations and at PLI and GCR programs.

Ramin Tohidi Partner

Silicon Valley

Ramin helps clients maximize their intellectual property and technology portfolios in a variety of ways, including drafting, negotiating, and advising on development, production, supply, procurement, and other technology licensing arrangements. He represents both mature and emerging companies in a variety of industries, including in SaaS, software, AI, hardware, information technology, business process outsourcing, enterprise resource planning, and data intelligence.

Ramin also counsels companies in developing artificial intelligence (AI) policies and deploying AI tools, and he also advises clients on open-source licensing and intellectual property issues in connection with mergers, acquisitions, and financing transactions.

According to Chambers USA, Ramin is “an excellent, practical, client- and business-oriented tech transactions attorney”, and “someone clients can work with as a tech expert, a business confidant and, of course, a legal expert." Chambers USA ranked him as an Up and Coming Partner, and Legal 500 ranks him as a Rising Star in 2021 and 2022 for Technology: Transactions.

Nicholas Gonzalez Managing Associate

Los Angeles

At Orrick, Nick's practice focuses on tackling novel legal issues affecting leading technology companies and financial institutions—whether by offering pre-litigation counsel, or by developing winning arguments in trial and appellate courts nationwide.

Before joining Orrick, Nick clerked for the Honorable Michelle T. Friedland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Honorable Jon S. Tigar of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. During law school, Nick was a member of the Stanford Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, where he co-drafted merits-stage briefs in Holguin-Hernandez v. United States (2020) and Seila v. CFPB (2020), and co-drafted the successful certiorari petition in Lange v. California (2021).