Milan
Chiara has experience in a broad range of corporate law matters, including group reorganisations across multiple jurisdictions as well as acquisitions and corporate governance.
Los Angeles; Santa Monica
Los Angeles; Santa Monica
Mike has spent over 15 years helping founders and boards navigate the full company lifecycle—from formation and fundraising to scaling, acquisitions, and IPOs. He also serves as outside general counsel, advising on the legal and strategic challenges that come with growth.
Mike is all about efficiency, assembling legal teams that scale with his clients—from an early-stage founder sketching an idea on a napkin to executives leading multibillion-dollar companies through major transactions. His approach is rooted in trust and candid advice, particularly when navigating the complex and uncertain situations that inevitably arise in high-growth companies.
Leveraging Orrick’s sector-focused approach and legal innovation tools, Mike advises startups and high-growth companies on financing rounds, IPOs, and M&A deals. He also works closely with top venture capital and growth equity funds, guiding them through investments.
Prior to joining Orrick, Mike was a partner and co-founder of Gunderson Dettmer’s Los Angeles office.
Recognized as a “Next Generation Partner” by The Legal 500, Mike’s clients praise him as “incredibly knowledgeable, responsive, and always helpful,” with one calling him their “favorite external counsel.” Super Lawyers also named him a Rising Star in 2022 and 2023.
Mike earned both his law degree and bachelor’s degree at UC Berkeley, just a short walk from each other down Bancroft Avenue. A lifelong Cal Bears fan, he still holds out hope for a Rose Bowl appearance—ACC realignment and all.
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.
Houston
He assists global energy companies, private equity funds, renewables developers, management teams, and integrated oil and gas companies with complex commercial transactions in the renewables and oil and gas industries. He represents his clients in connection with the development, repowering, acquisition, and divestiture of wind, solar and energy storage projects, the acquisition and divestiture of upstream, midstream, and downstream oil and gas projects, the formation of joint ventures, and other corporate governance and legal due diligence matters.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Mary represents financial institutions and other entities in connection with private debt financings (secured and unsecured), co-investment transactions, private equity financings and restructurings involving privately held companies. She regularly negotiates and drafts complex legal documents to implement these transactions.
Paris
Inès intervient en matière de contrats publics, notamment en matière de contrats de concessions et de marchés de partenariat sur des projets de grande envergure. À ce titre, elle accompagne les opérateurs publics et les groupements candidats dans le cadre de la passation de ces contrats, depuis la phase de remise d'offre jusqu'à leur attribution, mais également en phase d'exécution.
Sa pratique couvre également le droit de l'énergie, en particulier des énergies renouvelables, ainsi que les sujets réglementaires liées aux activités régulées. Inès conseille régulièrement des opérateurs sur des questions complexes liées au raccordement aux réseaux de distribution et de transport d'électricité. Elle agit également en tant que conseil pour des opérateurs, sponsors et prêteurs dans la réalisation de projets ou lors d'opérations de fusion-acquisition portant sur des actifs éoliens et solaires ou encore en matière de méthanisation.
Inès intervient tant en conseil qu'en contentieux dans ces domaines.
Avant de rejoindre Orrick, Inès a acquis une expérience significative en travaillant en tant que juriste en financement de projet au sein d'une grande entreprise du secteur de la construction puis en tant qu'Avocat au sein d'un cabinet d'avocats français.
Sacramento
She has handled appellate matters in the U.S. Supreme Court, various federal appellate courts and in the California Supreme Court and appellate courts. She is a veteran trial attorney and has applied her experience as a former U.S. Department of Justice trial attorney to serving corporate and governmental clients. She recently served for five years as the partner-in-charge of Orrick’s Sacramento office. She also served for several years as head of Orrick’s Litigation Training Program and as vice-chair of the firm’s Litigation Division.
Before joining Orrick, Cynthia was an attorney at Condon & Forsyth in Washington, D.C. from 1982 to 1985. Prior to that, she was a trial attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., where she served in the Honors Program and specialized in civil trial work. Representative cases handled by Cynthia on behalf of the United States include: Sweet v. United States, 528 F.Supp. 1068 (D.S.D. 1081), aff’d, 687 F.2d 246 (8th Cir. 1982) (trial counsel); Pike v. United States, 652 F.2d 31 (9th Cir. 1981) (trial and appellate counsel); Gaspard v. United States, 544 F.Supp. 55 (E.D.La. 1982); Marek v. United States, 639 F.2d 1164 (5th Cir. 1981) (trial counsel).
Cynthia frequently writes and lectures on litigation topics. She serves as a pro tem settlement conference judge for the Sacramento Superior Court and as a federal court mediator.
In addition to being admitted in California, Cynthia is also admitted in Idaho (inactive) and the District of Columbia (inactive).
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.
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.
Beijing
Martha regularly represents Chinese and international clients in cross-border M&A, private equity investments and financings, joint ventures, foreign direct investments and other compliance matters.
She has represented clients from a broad range of industries, including TMT, financial services, healthcare, consumer products, energy, manufacturing, etc.
In addition, she has experience in handling initial public offerings, debt and equity securities offerings, pre-IPO investments, as well as advising on restructuring, employment, antitrust, and general corporate matters.
Silicon Valley
In 2020 and 2021, Don founded and served as CEO of Joinder, a SaaS engagement platform that provides a system of record for legal projects and files/documents, which was acquired by Brightflag.
Prior to founding Joinder, Don spent his legal career as a corporate partner at Orrick and Venture law Group advising high growth technology companies, public companies, venture capital firms and investment banks. He advised clients on more than 60 public offerings, 75 acquisition transactions and several hundred venture financings.
Chambers USA recognized Don for his work, noting he is "valued for his knowledge of venture capital firms and his strength in advising technology companies on public offerings, acquisition transactions and venture financings. One client insists that 'I would not dream of starting a company without him as my outside counsel.'"
Don held many leadership positions at Orrick. Don most recently led Orrick’s Technology Sector, which is one of the three focus areas (along with energy and finance) for the firm. Don is a former member of Orrick’s Board of Directors, served as head of the firm’s global corporate practice, served as head of the firm’s Silicon Valley Office and served as co-head of the firm's diversity efforts.
Don also previously served for many years on the Executive Committee of Venture Law Group.
Don recently represented companies being sold in the following transactions: Wavefront to VMware; Nervana to Intel; TOA to Oracle; Altiscale to SAP; Sailthru to Campaign Monitor; Twin Prime to Salesforce; 3Scale to Red Hat; Vendavo to Francisco Partners; FoodyDirect to Goldbelly; Yieldex to AppNexus; and LS9 to Renewable Energy Group.
Don led transactions for Google (Nasdaq GS: GOOG), Oracle (Nasdaq GS: ORCL), Tibco (Nasdaq GS: TIBX), Adaptec (Nasdaq GS: ADPT), Shutterfly (Nasdaq GS: SFLY), Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE:MSO), Sum Total Systems (Nasdaq GS: SUMT) and Rambus (Nasdaq GS: RMBS). Don also represented many investment banking clients in public offering transactions, including representing Goldman, Sachs & Co. in offerings for many issuers.
Don also is a past member of the Board of Overseers of Boston College Law School.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Arielle has briefed multiple cases before the United States Supreme Court, as well as nearly every federal appellate court across the country. She has argued appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuits.
Prior to joining Orrick, Arielle was an appellate attorney in the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, where she represented the United States and its agencies in dozens of cases involving challenges to the legality of federal laws, actions, and programs. Her experience included litigating cutting-edge matters involving federal energy policy, the Clean Water Act, the Appointments Clause, the Endangered Species Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act.
Before joining DOJ, Arielle served as a law clerk for the Honorable R. Guy Cole of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.