Santa Monica
Caroline advises emerging and high growth companies throughout their lifecycle, as well as venture funds and other investors, across a variety of industries. Her practice focuses on venture financings and corporate governance matters, and the general day-to-day legal needs of startups. She has also counseled companies on M&A, securities and technology transactions matters.
Caroline is a frequent speaker on fundraising essentials for emerging growth companies and sits on the board of the Los Angeles Venture Association.
Prior to joining Orrick, Caroline was a Partner and Co-Chair of the Venture Capital & Emerging Growth Practice at Stubbs Alderton & Markiles.
San Francisco
San Francisco
New York
With a Ph.D. in biology from MIT and the Whitehead Institute, where she was a NSF fellow, Irena represents plaintiffs and defendants in their most complex pharmaceutical and biotech patent cases. Over the last 20 years, pharmaceutical and biotechnology innovators have relied on Irena again and again for cases involving small molecules, biologics, recombinant DNA technology, gene therapy, gene editing, manufacturing processes, formulations and drug-eluting medical devices, including numerous multi-billion dollar cases involving many of the world’s best-selling drugs.
Irena has significant experience in litigation under the Hatch-Waxman Act (ANDA and 505(b)(2) actions) and the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA), as well as inter partes review (IPR) proceedings, license disputes and matters with parallel ex-U.S. litigation and proceedings in foreign patent offices. Irena also helps life sciences companies and organizations develop the law in the most important cases for the biopharma industry. She has been principal counsel on numerous amicus briefs to the United States Supreme Court and the Federal Circuit in key biopharma cases.
For plaintiffs, Irena has successfully defended generic challenges to patents protecting blockbuster medical therapies, including multi-billion dollar cancer, antiviral, diabetes and anti-psychotic drugs, including recently obtaining attorneys’ fees in a hard-fought ANDA action. She also represents innovators in biosimilar litigation from its outset, including in some of the first cases under the BPCIA involving antibodies. Irena also represents clients in innovator vs innovator disputes. For defendants, she defeated a $530 million claim of patent infringement of a competitor’s biotech patent, obtaining dismissal of all claims and discovery sanctions against the patent owner. In another high-stakes case, she obtained summary judgment of noninfringement and exclusion of plaintiff’s experts under Daubert as well as a full award of attorneys’ fees. A registered patent attorney, Irena also handles inter partes review (IPR) proceedings. For patent owners, she has obtained denial of IPR for patents protecting blockbuster drugs and has leveraged IPR for defendants to obtain freedom to operate.
Irena also coordinates U.S. proceedings with parallel ex-U.S. litigation and proceedings in foreign patent offices, recently obtaining freedom to operate for a biotech innovator’s gene therapy. She provides strategic counseling in biologics and pharmaceuticals and advises clients on their IP portfolios and transactions. Irena also represents clients in high-stakes license disputes involving biotech patents, and, in a dispute concerning the use of a recombinant protein as an enzyme replacement therapy, obtained one of the largest settlement awards over the life of the contract.
Chambers USA has recognized Irena as a leading lawyer in intellectual property, where clients have described her as “excellent,” “knowledgeable, aggressive,” “knows the science forward and backward” and “an incredibly smart lawyer.” Benchmark Litigation named her one of the “Top 250 Women in Litigation” for the last eight years and a litigation star in intellectual property. Irena was also named to the Crain’s New York Business list of “Notable Women in Law.” She is also recognized as a leading lawyer by Legal 500. Irena writes and lectures widely on biopharma patent issues and biosimilar litigation. Irena also is frequently quoted on patent-related issues, including in the Washington Post, Financial Times, Nature Biotechnology, Bloomberg and Pink Sheet.
Seattle
Lauren represents clients in high-stakes appeals, with a focus on patent litigation. Lauren also joins trial teams as embedded appellate counsel to guide the legal strategy with an eye toward appeal and draft important briefs. She has argued in the Federal Circuit on behalf of a leading video-game developer, where she secured affirmance of the PTAB's decision striking down every claim of a competitor's patent, and in the Ninth Circuit, where she won relief from removal for a client seeking asylum. She has co-authored dozens of appellate briefs, as well as briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court at both the certiorari and merits stages. Lauren also has an active pro bono practice focused on immigration matters and civil rights.
Before joining Orrick, Lauren served as a law clerk to Judge Susan P. Graber of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Judge John R. Blakey of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Lauren graduated summa cum laude from the University of Wisconsin Law School, where she received the Salmon Dalberg Award for outstanding member of the graduating class and was a Managing Editor for the Wisconsin Law Review. Before law school, Lauren worked for a major software company in the healthcare industry.
Boston
Over the course of her career, she has represented clients ranging from Fortune 50 companies to start-ups in trademark, copyright, false advertising, and trade secret litigations and at trial. She has worked with leading technology companies and some of the most recognizable brands in the world, including New Balance, Williams-Sonoma, Carnival, and Microsoft. She has tried cases to both judges and juries in federal courts across the United States and is experienced practicing before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and the International Trade Commission. Through her trial work, she has developed deep expertise in litigating novel and complex damages issues in IP cases and leveraging survey work.
Sheryl most recently earned a complete victory at trial on behalf of client Carnival in a patent and breach of contract matter related to theft of Carnival intellectual property. Following an 8-day trial in the Southern District of Florida, the jury deliberated for three hours and returned a verdict in favor of Carnival on all counts, awarding $21 million in damages.
She honed her skills in high profile, precedent setting cases. Sheryl represented Aereo against the major U.S. television networks in defense of its novel, industry-disrupting system for providing internet access to over-the-air broadcast television. That case ultimately went to the Supreme Court, which addressed copyright law issues of first impression. Sheryl currently represents Microsoft litigating novel issues related to the intersection of generative AI, copyright, and trademark law.
Having prepared countless cases for trial, Sheryl has a clear understanding of the importance of identifying litigation strategy early on to direct the case in a cost- effective and efficient manner. Sheryl also leverages her wealth of experience to counsel clients on strategies to protect intellectual property when avoiding litigation is a strategic business priority.
Having also litigated a number of patent cases throughout her career, she brings to each matter a unique understanding of the intersection of copyright, trademark, trade secret and patent law. A superb communicator, she is able to explain diverse areas of complex technology to a judge or jury.
Sheryl has been consistently named as one of the leading intellectual property litigators in the world by World Trademark Review 1000, a peer and client survey. In its 2017 publication, WTR 1000 described her as “'highly recommended’ for her ‘helpful and creative advice,’ which is ‘always of first-rate quality.’” In the 2018 edition, WTR 1000 stated that Sheryl “offers significant firepower to any contentious mandate.” In the 2021 edition, WTR 1000 said Sheryl ”puts her heart and soul into driving favorable outcomes.” In 2022 Sheryl and her team were lauded for being “tried and tested” in litigation and “emerging victorious in many forums. And in 2023, they were praised for “steering [clients] through complex litigation,” with work that was quick, efficient and “with the highest level of integrity.”
Sheryl is the Global Chair of Orrick's Women's Initiative and is the Co-Chair of Orrick’s Intellectual Property Business Unit.
She was named a 2017 Woman Worth Watching by Profiles in Diversity Journal. Sheryl was also singled out for Metropolitan Corporate Counsel’s Women in Business and the Law 2017 edition. In 2015, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly named her one of the Top Women of Law and she received a 2015 Leadership Excellence Award from the National Diversity Council.
New York
Colby has deep experience in financial services, asset-backed security and mortgage-related litigation, and has been at the forefront of litigation arising out of the financial crisis.
Prior to joining Orrick, he was a Director and senior litigation counsel at Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, where he chaired the firm's Mortgage Securities Litigation Task Force and helped direct the bank's litigation response to the mortgage crisis. He previously practiced law in the New York offices of King & Spalding and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.
Milano
Lucrezia ha esperienza in un'ampia gamma di questioni di diritto societario, tra cui fusioni e acquisizioni e corporate governance.
Boston
Carly is a Boston-based senior associate and litigator in our Intellectual Property group. Carly’s practice focuses on patent infringement litigation in federal district courts involving pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and biologics. She has a background in biomedical engineering, including medical device research & design, academic research, and business management.
San Francisco
Rachel has defended financial services, technology, and retail industry clients on a broad range of employment law issues in federal and state courts and administrative agencies in California and throughout the country. She has significant experience with single plaintiff and class action litigation involving wage and hour claims, collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and representative actions under the California Private Attorneys General Act.
In addition to her extensive litigation practice, Rachel also provides employers with advice and counsel on employment law issues, including best employment practices, at-will employment, compensation and equity, reductions in force, and employee classifications.
Rachel maintains an active pro bono practice by providing advice and counsel on employment matters to non-profit organizations, as well as volunteering with a number of non-profit organizations committed to advancing the right to vote and voting accessibility.
New York
Prior to joining Orrick, Sarah worked as a pro bono fellow at New York Legal Assistance Group. At Orrick, Sarah has broad experience representing financial institutions in claims brought by investors and trustees and extensive trial experience advising clients in all stages of litigation. Sarah has supported trial teams in various matters through the discovery process, expert witness preparation, summary judgment motions, extensive trial preparation and trial. Sarah also continues to contribute to the pro bono practice at Orrick and is a member of New York Legal Assistance Group's Pro Bono Associate Advisory Board.
New York
Valerie's practice has a focus on warehouse lending, secured credit facilities, and publicly registered and privately placed asset securitization transactions. Her experience extends to various asset classes, encompassing marketplace consumer loans, solar loans, residential mortgages, single family rental assets, student loans, small business loans, credit card receivables, auto loans, and aircraft loans and leases.
Before joining Orrick, Valerie was counsel in Chapman and Cutler LLP's Asset Securitization Department. She began her career at Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP as a corporate associate.
Washington, D.C.
Chris has represented numerous individual defendants in parallel proceedings involving the Department of Justice (DOJ), the SEC and state attorneys general investigations, as well as administrative and/or regulatory enforcement litigation with agencies such as the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
His broad range of experience includes conducting internal investigations and the defense of criminal and/or grand jury investigations involving accounting fraud, disclosure issues, internal controls and corporate governance, tax fraud, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations, antitrust violations, mail and wire fraud, theft of trade secrets and a wide array of environmental crimes. He has been involved in all aspects of the SEC’s enforcement program including the Wells process and the emerging issues surrounding the agency’s whistleblower programs and employee protections thereunder.
His environmental practice ranges from conducting internal investigations to trial defense, with a strong focus on the unique suspension and debarment issues that arise under the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) program. In addition to his civil and criminal enforcement experience, Chris is proficient with lender liability issues, environmental due diligence, toxic tort ligation, superfund cost recovery and contribution actions and compliance planning for environmental health and safety issues.
Chris is recognized in Chambers as a Recognized Practitioner in D.C. White Collar Crime & Government Investigations, in Legal 500 for Corporate Investigations and White Collar Criminal Defense, and Best Lawyers in America in the fields of Criminal Defense: White-Collar, Corporate Governance Law, Corporate Compliance Law, and Litigation - Securities.
Prior to joining Orrick, Chris was a partner at Buckley LLP.