People

Delia Bennett Associate

New York

Megan Benton Managing Associate

Sacramento

Megan helps protect the interests of some of the world's most innovative public and private companies and their founders, officers, and directors. She has experience in a wide array of complex business litigation matters, including high-stakes securities class actions, shareholder derivative suits, regulatory investigations, and multi-district litigation. Megan has worked on a diverse range of other complex litigation matters, including contract disputes, civil RICO actions, and insurance insolvency proceedings,

Megan also maintains a robust pro bono practice, and has assisted in representing clients in matters related to the compassionate release program for federal prisoners, drafting a petition for habeas corpus and clemency petition for a state prisoner, and in bringing a class action suit challenging agency violations of law and policy on behalf of disabled asylees. In 2022, she helped secure a client's release from prison after forty years behind bars based on proportionality concerns under the U.S. and California Constitutions.

Prior to joining Orrick, Megan graduated from University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law with great distinction. During law school, Megan served as the Managing Editor of The University of the Pacific Law Review, published articles relating to the commercialization of space and to sanctuary states and immigration policies, and was recognized for writing a Best Appellate Brief in the school-wide moot court competition. Megan also served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Allison Claire at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. Megan earned a bachelor's degree in history from Boston University.

Sabrina Benyammi Senior Associate

Silicon Valley

She advises companies throughout their lifecycle, including in formation and general corporate matters, venture capital financings and mergers and acquisitions. In addition to advising companies, Sabrina represents leading venture firms in connection with their investments in private companies.

Peter C. Bergan, Jr. Partner

Chicago

With over a decade of experience, Peter has guided clients through joint ventures, investments, financings and acquisitions/dispositions across commercial, digital infrastructure, industrial, mining, retail, hospitality, and multifamily and single-family assets nationwide.

He brings a unique focus to data center and digital infrastructure assets with a broad perspective, advising on construction, M&A, leasing, customer and other contracts. From hyperscale facilities and colocation centers to enterprise and cloud-based solutions, he draws on his experience with industry stakeholders to deliver clear, confident guidance to clients navigating this increasingly dense space.

Beyond the office, Peter is committed to community service, serving as a board member for Rugby Ohio, an organization dedicated to supporting the growth and development of children and teenagers through the game of rugby. He is also an active member of the Urban Land Institute and the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Crissi Berger Practice Manager of Energy and Infrastructure

Washington, D.C.

Crissi's practice focuses on project development, project financing, and acquisitions in the energy and infrastructure sectors.

Prior to Orrick, Crissi worked as an assistant superintendent for a construction firm, where she managed teams of subcontractors, architects, and engineers to build projects in the residential, mixed-use, office, and education sectors.

Genet Berhane Innovation Attorney Energy and Infrastructure

New York

Genet supports firm efforts to optimize client service delivery and increase efficiencies across practice groups, connecting Orrick attorneys with tools and resources to support their work.

Genet’s practice previously focused on a variety of energy transactions as a managing associate in the firm's Energy & Infrastructure group. She has also worked as Senior Counsel at Clearway Energy and as a Legal Manager at Acumen, a non-profit global venture fund.

Jesse Beringer Senior Associate

Washington, D.C.

Jesse routinely handles all aspects of civil and class action litigation, including arbitration and trial. She applies her knowledge of the federal rules and the discovery process to litigation matters across a wide array of industries—including technology, energy, and healthcare—from the outset to think strategically and pragmatically with clients about how to obtain the best result in each circumstance.

Recently, Jesse was the lead associate on the trial team in client Zillow Group, Inc.’s successful defense against false advertising litigation in the Western District of Washington, REX—Real Estate Exchange, Inc. v. Zillow Group Inc., where the jury delivered a full defense verdict.

Jesse also has substantial experience concerning mergers and acquisitions and competition-related investigations before the DOJ and FTC, including compliance with onerous Second Request merger investigations.

Prior to joining Orrick, Jesse was a litigation associate in the Washington, DC office of another international law firm.

Olivier Bernard Partner

Paris

Olivier conseille des institutions financières, des fonds, des assureurs et des groupes français et internationaux dans le cadre d’opérations de titrisation, de financements structurés et de marchés de capitaux, domestiques ou multi-juridictionnelles, faisant l’objet de placements privés ou publics, et sur des sous-jacents aussi variés que les créances commerciales, le crédit export, le crédit corporate, les financements d’infrastructures et de projets, le crédit-bail, le crédit à la consommation ou le crédit immobilier.

Il a participé à la mise en place d’un grand nombre d’opérations d’émissions d’obligations sécurisées et de titrisations innovantes.

Avant de rejoindre le cabinet Orrick en 2016 comme associé, Olivier était counsel au sein du département financements structurés du cabinet Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Carsten Bernauer Partner

Dusseldorf; Munich

A special focus is on the comprehensive support of start-up technology companies and their investors. In this context, he accompanies his clients through all stages of growth with the aim of providing fast and efficient support in the implementation of their growth plans and investment strategies.

His clients benefit from his extensive experience in structuring, managing and coordinating complex transactions, including all other advisors involved in the transaction. In international transactions, he has access to Orrick's comprehensive technology, private equity and venture capital platform.

Carsten Bernauer also advises on national and international corporate transactions, in particular in the field of technology, as well as on corporate restructurings.

After many years working for an American and an English commercial law firm, Carsten Bernauer joined Orrick's Düsseldorf office in 2019.

Charlotte Berrat Associate

Paris

Charlotte Berrat intervient en matière de contrats publics, notamment des concessions et des partenariats public-privé sur des projets de grande envergure (aéroportuaire, portuaire, autoroutier, bâtimentaire, télécommunication). À ce titre, elle accompagne les groupements candidats à l'attribution de ces contrats, depuis la phase de l'offre jusqu'aux étapes ultérieures, incluant la passation des contrats, leur exécution, et, le cas échéant, la gestion des litiges.

Elle a notamment conseillé le groupement attributaire de la concession pour l'exploitation de l'aéroport de Beauvais-Tillé, ainsi qu'un groupement candidat dans le cadre de la procédure de mise en concurrence pour l'attribution du contrat de service public des lignes 16 et 17 du Grand Paris Express.

Charlotte Berrat possède également une expertise approfondie dans le secteur de l'énergie et en droit de l'environnement. Elle conseille régulièrement des opérateurs sur des questions complexes liées au raccordement aux réseaux de distribution et de transport d'électricité. Elle contribue également à la rédaction et à la négociation de plusieurs Corporate Power Purchase Agreements (PPA), intervenant tant du côté des producteurs que des acheteurs selon les opérations.

Charlotte Berrat 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, tant en France qu'à l'international.

Sa pratique couvre également l'ensemble des aspects réglementaires liés aux secteurs régulés tels que les télécommunications, le transport et l'énergie.

Elle intervient en outre au contentieux dans ces secteurs.

Avant de rejoindre Orrick, Charlotte a acquis une expérience significative en travaillant au sein de plusieurs cabinets d'avocats internationaux spécialisés en droit public et en droit de l'énergie, ainsi qu'au sein d'un opérateur de transports publics.

William Berry Senior Counsel

San Francisco

William also has substantial experience with the employee benefit aspects of sales and acquisitions of businesses (including bankruptcy transactions), the restructuring of defined benefit pension plans, the defense of ERISA class action litigation, and public pension plan matters.

His clients include a wide range of large and medium-sized corporations, as well as individual and public clients. He also provides tax and retirement planning advice to many of Orrick's corporate clients.

William has been a frequent lecturer on employee benefits and related individual tax and fiduciary topics for the American Law Institute-American Bar Association; California Continuing Education of the Bar; the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans; the Practicing Law Institute; the Western Pension & Benefits Conference; various Bay Area Estate Planning Councils; and other organizations.

William became a senior counsel in 2013 after having been an Orrick partner since 1999.  Before joining Orrick, William was a partner at the law firm of Pillsbury Winthrop LLP in San Francisco.

Geoffroy Berthon Partner

Paris

Geoffroy intervient en matière de contrats publics, notamment dans le cadre de concessions et de PPP. En matière d’infrastructures et de bâtiments, il est notamment intervenu sur les projets relatifs au financement, à la construction et à l’exploitation du Stade Vélodrome de Marseille, de la ligne à grande vitesse Sud Europe Atlantique, du village des athlètes en vue des Jeux Olympiques de Paris 2024, du Grand Paris Express ou encore de l’extension en mer de la Principauté de Monaco. Il est également intervenu sur plusieurs projets autoroutiers (A412, A69, RCEA, A88, A41, A150), portuaires (Calais, Cannes) et aéroportuaires (Nice, Lyon, Beauvais).

En matière d’énergies renouvelables, il intervient aux côtés de l’Etat (Ministère de la Transition énergétique) dans les appels d’offres relatifs à la réalisation des parcs éoliens en mer, posés et flottants. Il conseille également des opérateurs, notamment, dans la réalisation de projets de biomasse et de géothermie, ainsi que des investisseurs dans le cadre d’opérations « M&A » portant sur des actifs éoliens et solaires ou encore en matière de méthanisation. Il dispose également de plusieurs références en matière d’hydroélectricité. Il conseille à la fois les sponsors et les prêteurs et travaille régulièrement avec les entités publiques et les gouvernements. Il a également développé une pratique de conseil dans la rédaction et la négociation de corporate PPA, à la fois aux côtés de producteurs d’énergie et aux côtés d’acheteurs.

Reconnu par Legal 500 EMEA 2023 parmi les « Leading Individuals » (« Grands Avocats du Marché ») en droit public et en énergie, ses clients le décrivent comme "un avocat de haute qualité dont les analyses sont très précises et rigoureuses et dont l'approche pragmatique est très estimée".

Geoffroy est Docteur en Droit public, et a été maître de conférences en droit des contrats publics à Sciences Po et publie régulièrement en français et en anglais.