Orrick Welcomes 19 New Partners

Alexis Hojabr is a member of the firm’s M&A and Private Equity Group, based in Paris. A French avocat and solicitor in England and Wales, Alexis advises clients on French and cross-border transactions, particularly private equity and M&A. He also counsels on multi-creditor and financial restructurings involving alternative investors, hedge funds and distressed companies. Fluent in French, English and Farsi, Alexis’ international experience and multicultural roots assist him in bridging differences between parties from various cultural and legal backgrounds. He earned his LL.M from the University College London, his Ph.D. from Paris 2 – Panthéon-Assas and his master’s degree from the Université Lyon 3.

Attilio Mazzilli is a member of the firm’s M&A and Private Equity Group, based in Milan. Named one of the 10 most active M&A lawyers in the first half of 2017 by Mergermarket, Attilio advises technology companies and VC firms in corporate matters, VC financings and M&A. Dual-educated in Italy and the U.S., Attilio earned his law degree from the University of Milan and his master’s degree from the University of Southern California.

Wolfram Pohl is a member of the firm’s Tax Group, based in San Francisco. He works closely with Orrick’s energy and infrastructure teams in structuring and negotiating transactions to take advantage of tax credits, Treasury cash grants, depreciation and other benefits. Wolf also counsels on a variety of tax issues, including equity and debt financings, municipal finance, M&A, public offerings and real estate transactions. He earned his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, and his B.E. in mechanical engineering from McGill University.

Josh Pollick is a member of the firm’s Technology Companies Group, based in Santa Monica, an office he co-founded in 2017. He counsels technology companies and VC firms in corporate and securities law, debt and equity financings, M&A and public and secondary offerings. Named a Legal 500 “Next Generation Lawyer” for his startup and VC work, Josh has represented companies such as Stripe and Twist Bioscience, and funds such as Coatue and Menlo Ventures. He earned his J.D., with honors, from the University of Texas and his B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania.

Hari Raman is a member of the firm’s M&A and Private Equity Group, based in San Francisco. He advises a broad spectrum of technology companies on cross-border M&A, including buy-side transactions, exits, going-privates, minority investments and joint ventures in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Hari has managed client teams on matters ranging from billion dollar transactions to early-stage investments. He has developed a forward-looking industry focus by working with, and across the table from, leading technology multinationals, venture funds and founders, including Prosper Marketplace, IronPlanet, Humble Bundle and Twist Bioscience, among others. He earned his J.D. and B.A., cum laude, from Harvard.

Hiroki Sugita is a member of the firm’s M&A and Private Equity Group, based in Tokyo. Dual-qualified in New York and Japan, Hiroki advises on cross-border transactions, including M&A, joint ventures and private equity investments, as well as acquisition and asset-based finance. In his pro bono practice, he has been leading a team providing counsel to asylum seekers and secured a rare success for an Ethiopian client seeking refugee status in Japan. Hiroki earned his LL.M., as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, from Columbia University, where he was Staff Editor of the Columbia Journal of Asian Law, and his LL.B. from Keio University.

Noreen Phelan is a member of the firm’s Energy & Infrastructure Group, based in Washington, D.C. She counsels on domestic and cross-border equity and debt financings and investments involving power, natural gas and renewable energy assets. Noreen is a member of the firm’s client teams representing GE Energy Financial Services, OPIC and numerous private equity firms. She earned her J.D. from Fordham and her B.A., magna cum laude, from Boston College.

Dennis Bent is a member of the firm’s Structured Finance Group, based in Los Angeles and Orange County. He advises investment banks, funds and servicers on mortgage-backed securitizations, re-securitizations, repurchase facilities, servicer advance facilities and net interest margin securitizations for residential and fix and flip mortgage loans. Dennis earned his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, and his M.A. / B.A., with honors, from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He serves as an adjunct professor of Economics at Irvine Valley College. 

Patricia Eichar is a member of the firm’s Public Finance Group, based in Portland and Sacramento. She serves as bond counsel on municipal financings, including land secured finance, public infrastructure, 501(c)(3) nonprofit, enterprise fund and general obligation bonds, for a variety of local government and nonprofit issuers and borrowers. As counsel to the State of California, Trish has helped the State issue billions of dollars in fixed and variable rate debt supporting its GO programs. She volunteers with the National Veterans Legal Services Program. Trish earned her J.D., with great distinction, Order of the Coif, from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, and her B.A., Phi Beta Kappa, from San Diego State University.

Emin Guseynov is a member of the firm’s Banking & Finance Group, based in New York. He counsels direct lenders, investment banks, other lending institutions and corporate clients on a variety of finance transactions, including leveraged acquisitions, corporate financings, marketplace lending transactions, structured finance transactions, project financings and debtor in possession financings. Emin also advises pro bono client Greenlight Planet, an off-grid solar energy provider, on its financing needs. He earned his J.D., summa cum laude, from Hofstra University and his B.A., magna cum laude, from St. John's University.

Evan Hollander, named a partner, is a member of the firm’s Restructuring Group, based in New York. He counsels on in and out-of-court restructurings, particularly U.S. restructurings, ancillary proceedings under Chapter 15 and dual plenary proceedings in the U.S. and foreign jurisdictions. Most recently, Evan advised off-shore drilling company Ocean Rig on its $3.7 billion debt restructuring. He earned his J.D. from Emory University and his B.A. from Columbia University.

Jack Machalow is a member of the firm’s Real Estate Group, based in San Francisco. He represents public and private institutions and funds in the acquisition, disposition, financing and development of commercial property, as well as in the organization of real estate investment funds, joint ventures and capital platforms. Jack advises institutional investors and developers, including Swift Real Estate Partners, MacFarlane Partners, Gerding Edlen, Bristol Group and GLL Real Estate Partners. He earned his J.D., cum laude, as a Harno Scholar, and his B.A. from the University of Illinois.

Sushila Nayak is a member of the firm’s Banking & Finance Group, based in London. Dual-qualified in New York and England and Wales, Sushila works closely with financial institutions, public and privately owned companies, asset managers and alternative lenders on complex, multidisciplinary financings. She has a broad range of experience in debt financing transactions, including corporate finance, structured finance and project finance. Sushila also provides counsel to several technology companies on trade finance matters, including receivables financing arrangements, vendor financing, and structures and supply chain financing. Active in pro bono work, she leads the London office’s pro bono efforts. Sushila earned her J.D. from the University of Virginia and her B.A. from George Mason University.

Mel Bostwick is a member of the firm’s Supreme Court & Appellate Group, based in Washington, D.C. She advises on high-stakes appeals in the technology sector, with a particular emphasis on patent appeals before the Federal Circuit, as well as proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Mel has been a member of the firm’s client teams representing Oracle and Dow AgroSciences, among others. She maintains an active pro bono practice, representing clients before the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. Mel clerked for Judge Timothy Dyk of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and Judge Thomas Griffith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard and her B.A., magna cum laude, from Northwestern.

Karsten Faulhaber is a member of the firm’s International Arbitration Group, based in Düsseldorf. He counsels on domestic and international arbitrations and dispute resolutions in the energy & infrastructure, finance and tech sectors. With a background in transactional law, Karsten is able to provide his clients’ with solutions, often before they reach a courtroom. Recognized as a “Rising Star” by Legal Media Group, his reputation and experience has led to his appointment as an arbitrator in several complex disputes, including as sole arbitrator by the International Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. Karsten earned his J.D. from the University of Freiburg and his undergraduate degree from the University of Tübingen.

Brian Goldman is a member of the firm’s Supreme Court & Appellate Group, based in San Francisco. He focuses on briefing and arguing high-stakes appeals. Brian played a leading role in Microsoft’s successful challenge in the Second Circuit to a search warrant for customer emails stored in a foreign country. He also successfully defended an Alameda County, California, ordinance regulating gun stores, arguing before the en banc Ninth Circuit. In his pro bono practice, Brian has secured several wins against the federal government in appeals of deportation orders. He clerked for Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Judge Stephen Reinhardt and worked in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division. Brian’s standing in the appellate field led to his appointment by the Ninth Circuit as an Appellate Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference. He earned his J.D. from Stanford and his B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale.

Jacob Heath is a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property Group, based in Silicon Valley. He advises clients in trade secrets, cybersecurity, privacy, IP and general commercial litigation. Jake has served on client teams representing Microsoft, Oracle, Ruckus Wireless, Flextronics and Brunswick Rail Management. He earned his J.D. from the University of Southern California, Gould School of Law and his B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Alvin Lee is a member of the firm’s Complex Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group, based in New York. He counsels clients in complex commercial litigation, most notably in the chemical/energy and finance sectors, as well as in mass tort and products liability suits and accountants’ liability and securities-related actions. For the past several years, Alvin has advised Hemlock Semiconductor in cross-border disputes, resulting in over $1 billion in precedent-setting judgments. An experienced appellate advocate, Alvin has argued multiple federal appeals, most recently securing a victory for KBC Bank in the Second Circuit. He is active in the LGBT and Asian-American legal communities and is a conservatory-trained violinist. Alvin earned his J.D. from Harvard and his B.A. from Cornell. He was a Fulbright Scholar.

Emily Tabatabai is a founding member of the firm’s Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Group, which was named a Privacy Practice Group of the Year by Law360. She advises companies on data privacy laws, data use-cases and in privacy and cybersecurity investigations before the Federal Trade Commission and State Attorneys' General. Legal 500 highlights Emily’s "extraordinary depth of knowledge in student data privacy matters," which includes her representation of leading innovators in the Ed-Tech space. She earned her J.D. from the University of Virginia and her B.B.A. from Emory University.

Scott Ward is a member of the firm’s Public Policy Group, based in Washington, D.C. He advises clients with issues before state legislatures, attorneys general and other state and local agencies. Scott recently served on the Orrick team that crafted a state-by-state strategy to persuade legislators to clarify the legality of the daily fantasy sports industry which resulted in the passage of laws in 19 states. He has testified in front of legislative committees on topics ranging from telecommunications, life insurance, taxes and gaming. Scott previously worked for the majority staff of the U.S. House Budget Committee and was President of the Republican State Leadership Committee during the 2008 and 2010 election cycle. He earned his J.D. from Wake Forest University, where he served as National Chairman of the American Bar Association’s Law Student Division, and his B.A. from the University of Richmond.