Seattle

Beyond technology, we partner with energy and infrastructure pioneers, advise companies innovating in life sciences and represent top financial institutions on sophisticated transactions and regulatory work. Our team also counsels public agencies, including the City of Seattle, and we are honored to represent five of the 10 largest companies in the state of Washington.

Our Seattle office works on regulatory, litigation and transactional matters across the above sectors, collaborating closely with Orrick teams worldwide. Here are some of our strengths:

Strategic Advisory & Regulatory Enforcement

• Cyber, Privacy & Data Innovation: Our team advises companies on cybersecurity crisis management, online safety matters and regulatory compliance. Aravind Swaminathan, co-head of our global Cyber, Privacy & Data Innovation practice resides in Seattle and formerly served as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington, where he led the agency’s cybercrime outreach program.
• Public Policy: One of the preeminent public sector and regulatory practices, we work with state regulators to resolve business issues at the policy level, and advocate for clients in state AG investigations and high-profile litigation. With four former top regulators on our team, we bring a unique insight into the dynamics within state AG offices and the FTC. We’re led by Seattle partner Rob McKenna, two-term Washington State Attorney General.
• White Collar Defense & Investigations: Our Chambers Band 1 team is one of the go-to practices in the market. Audit committees of Fortune 250 companies call on our team to conduct internal investigations on accounting, compensation and other critical issues. We also serve as counsel in investigations by state and federal authorities and in related criminal and civil litigation.
• Responsible Business: Our Responsible Business team helps businesses navigate the global patchwork of existing and emerging sustainability laws and regulations, diverging sustainability reporting standards and a dynamic policy environment. Seattle partner Ashley Walter leads the Responsible Business team and serves as the firm’s Chief Sustainability Officer, and Hayden Goudy, Orrick’s Director of Responsible Business Solutions, also resides in Seattle.

Litigation

Our litigation team is deeply embedded in the region’s technology, finance and energy sectors, bringing decades of combined experience and a track record of success in the Pacific Northwest’s most complex disputes. Mark Parris, global head of our litigation practice, is based in Seattle.

• Intellectual Property: Our Seattle IP litigators, part of Orrick’s two-time AmLaw IP Litigation Department of the Year team, represent technology in patent, trade secret and technology disputes. Our team is sought after for our special expertise navigating complex litigation in high-stakes, precedent-setting environments. For example, we represent Microsoft in some of the first copyright infringement lawsuits filed to challenge generative AI.
• Financial & Securities Litigation: With the head of the practice based in Seattle, we develop compliance programs with our clients to prevent litigation and regulatory disputes and defend private litigation, including class actions and enforcement matters.

Transactional

We guide clients through transformative deals across sectors:

• Technology Companies: Our team represents groundbreaking clients in technology, spanning AI, healthtech and energy innovation. Partners Laura Barr, co-lead of our AI initiative, and Blake Ilstrup, who leads our Technology Companies Group in the Pacific Northwest, are based in Seattle, part of a team ranked top five globally by Pitchbook for venture capital nine years running.
• Real Estate: Our Seattle team counsels on property acquisitions and dispositions, secured financings, hospitality, construction and development, joint ventures and other corporate real estate activities. Real Estate partner and Seattle office leader, Katie Jones, helps clients navigate market challenges and seize opportunities in the Pacific Northwest and nationwide.
• Public Finance: Members of our LSEG No.1-ranked public finance team reside in Seattle, representing Washington and Alaska issuers, among others, and underwriters in major energy and infrastructure projects, like a utility-scale battery storage project to help a public utility company meet Washington clean energy goals. We also work on innovative P3 projects throughout the Pacific Northwest, including Portland’s $2 billion renovation of the international airport and a novel bond offering to develop one of the largest affordable housing developments in Oregon.