San Francisco
Nathan represents leading technology companies and achieves results in cases where their most valuable assets are on the line. Nathan’s practice includes federal and state court litigation with an equal split between plaintiff and defense-side representations. He has obtained multiple preliminary injunctions for his clients, won dispositive motions, and represented his clients on appeal.
Nathan focuses on issues at the intersection of high technology and intellectual property law. He regularly represents and counsels clients in disputes involving software licensing, emerging aspects of trademark and copyright law, IP ownership, disputes involving technology products and IP, and open-source licensing.
As a trade secret litigator, Nathan has protected his clients’ intellectual property in fast-paced scenarios involving emergency forensic investigations followed closely by obtaining temporary restraining orders and injunctions.
Prior to joining Orrick, Nathan served as a law clerk to Judge Dorothy W. Nelson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Judge John A. Mendez of the Eastern District of California.
San Francisco
Lisa has significant experience in the renewable energy sector, including with respect to wind, solar (utility scale and distributed generation), storage, and waste to biofuel projects.
She regularly represents project developers and investors in energy project finance transactions, including tax equity and debt financing, preferred equity financing, joint ventures, private placements, and a broad range of corporate matters.
Lisa is on the Board of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of WRISE (Women of Renewable Energy and Sustainable Industries), and also has an active pro bono immigration practice representing undocumented victims of crime in obtaining U visas. Prior to practicing law, Lisa was a senior analyst with a policy consulting firm.
San Francisco
Michelle’s dedication to these cutting-edge areas of the law and technology over the past 20 years has earned her recognition from Chambers for Privacy & Data Security Litigation and as an up-and-coming lawyer in Privacy & Data generally – where she is described as “equally capable in both compliance and enforcement elements of privacy regulation.”
As a litigator, Michelle is adept at developing novel legal arguments to protect clients in a world where innovation is outpacing regulation. She brings deep experience representing companies in regulatory investigations, data breach and privacy litigation involving the increasing web of statutes that pose statutory damages exposure to companies, such as the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act (BIPA), the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA), and the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), and other complex commercial claims. As a crisis manager, she also represents companies in incident response and enjoys working with diverse groups of stakeholders to mitigate business and reputational risks and achieve positive outcomes.
Michelle resides in California with her three children.
San Francisco
San Francisco
Max advises public and private companies through a wide range of strategic transactions, including complex merger and acquisition transactions, debt and equity investments, joint ventures, internal reorganizations, and global expansions. Max's background includes working with early stage start-ups and competing in international Motorsports.
Prior to joining Orrick, Max was an associate at Baker McKenzie.
San Francisco
San Francisco
Melissa's practice focuses on privacy, online safety, content moderation, and cybersecurity, along with a wide array of commercial disputes. She has defended and advised one of the largest technology companies in the world for multiple years against claims challenging aspects of its online services, including product design and content moderation decisions. Her teams help their clients develop creative and effective legal strategies, not only to defend against specific lawsuits, but also to prepare for future legal risk.
Melissa has also advised multiple clients responding to government investigations, including by the FTC.
Additionally, Melissa maintains an advisory practice, working with her teams to provide recommendations and risk analyses to various clients on their online terms and policies, content moderation practices, online safety, and issues related to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
Melissa also maintains a pro bono practice. Among other matters, Melissa is currently representing multiple members of a Honduran family seeking various forms of immigration relief.
San Francisco
San Francisco
Michelle advises companies throughout their lifecycle, including at formation, on matters concerning corporate and securities law, fundraises, scaling and corporate governance. In addition to representing companies and entrepreneurs, Michelle advises investors on strategies to maximize the impact of their investments and represents funds in connection with their investments in private companies.
Before practicing law and joining Orrick, Michelle managed grant programs at an impact investment fund manager focused on microfinance and sustainable agriculture in emerging markets.
San Francisco
Monica advises renewable energy developers in site acquisition, interconnection, and power purchase agreement negotiations, as well as on the environmental aspects of their transactions. In addition, Monica represents major corporate purchasers in the negotiation of renewable energy and sustainability related agreements to help them meet their global carbon reduction goals.
Drawing on past roles at an independent power producer and in climate policy, Monica helps clients navigate the energy sector’s dynamic business and legal landscape. Prior to joining Orrick, Monica was an energy and environment associate at a global law firm.
San Francisco
San Francisco
Simon has experience representing clients in a broad range of commercial litigation disputes. He has assisted in defense of contract, trade secret, business torts, and WARN Act employment claims in mediation, arbitration, and in state and federal courts.
Prior to joining Orrick, Simon worked as a litigation associate in Kirkland & Ellis' San Francisco office. He received his J.D. from Emory University School of Law. While in law school, Simon served as a managing editor of the Emory Bankruptcy Developments Journal.
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. While in law school, Lute served as president of the Hastings Intellectual Property Association. Before law school, Lute worked as a validation engineer, advising pharmaceutical companies on compliance with FDA regulations.
San Francisco
Amanda uses her legal experience, business acumen, professional network and industry knowledge to see down the pike and navigate anticipated and unforeseen obstacles and developments. She advises at material stages of the corporate life cycle (formation, financings, and exits, including M&A’s and public offerings); and provides guidance and trusted governance advice on founder, board, advisor, employment, separation, and other commercial and transformative matters. To further help companies thrive, Amanda keeps clients informed about recent developments in their industries and connects entrepreneurs and investors with one another and other thought leaders. Amanda has also served in other leadership roles within Orrick including as Deputy Chair of Orrick’s Corporate Business, and co-leader of Orrick’s Technology Companies Group practice.
Amanda started her post-undergraduate professional career in West Africa as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer – a place where she got to deploy her French and Arabic language skills. Though the focus of her service was health education and community development, she also developed friendships and spent time in her village with Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees interested in, among other things, implementing windmill technology. Her time in the Peace Corps remains a foundational experience for how she approaches her work today — and she continues to be inspired by the power of technology, and those who are bold and want to solve problems.
Now, at Orrick, Amanda works with companies, entrepreneurs and investors in a number of industries including advanced manufacturing, financial services, food and agriculture, mobility, energy infrastructure, climate tech, and health and biotech.
In addition to her practice, Amanda also dedicates time to advancing women in leadership in the U.S. and abroad. She has served as a cultural and professional resource for emerging women leaders from the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa through Tech Women, a U.S. State Department initiative dedicated to empowering technology leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and has previously served on the Board of CodeChix, a non-profit corporation which recruits, retains and inspires women in science and engineering.
True to her professional roots in Peace Corps service, Amanda remains actively committed to advancing global economic development. As a member of Orrick’s Impact Finance and Investment group, she supports investors and entrepreneurs who make social and environmental impacts alongside financial returns.
Prior to joining Orrick, Amanda was a corporate associate at the Menlo Park, California office of Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, LLP.
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
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.