People

Cathleen Chang Senior Associate

Houston; Austin

In public finance matters, Cathleen has served as bond counsel and special tax counsel for a variety of transactions, including health care facilities, multifamily housing, airport, ports, transit authorities, non-profit organizations, public utilities, hospitality projects, as well as tobacco revenue securitizations. In addition to tax-exempt financings, Cathleen also represents clients in IRS audits and non-profit corporation tax matters.

Nathan Dooley Corporate Client Service Transformation Director

Austin

Nathan is the point person for the unit on transforming and re-engineering Orrick’s approach to corporate transactional work for its clients. This includes the redesign of workflows and processes in a way that, among things, leverages technology and data analytics and develops a robust knowledge management function.

Before his current position, he served as Orrick’s Chief Practice Officer for its Corporate Business Unit. In that capacity, he worked closely with business unit and practice group leaders to lead strategic and financial planning efforts, improve global operations and business management, and coordinate business development and lawyer recruiting.

Prior to Orrick, he served in a variety of capacities at Baker McKenzie, including Director of Practice Management, Director of Knowledge Management, Practice Support Lawyer and Associate. Nathan also was an Associate at Brobeck Phleger & Harrison.

Julia Foley Managing Associate

Austin

Julia is passionate about working with founders who think outside the box to grow their companies and become the next big thing across a wide breath of industries and across the globe. Julia has advised early-stage companies in several dozen equity and convertible financings.

Julia also represents investors and venture capital firms on their investments in early and high-growth technology companies.

Julie Houston Partner

Austin

Julie has served as bond counsel to various state agencies and local governmental entities, including, special districts, cities, counties and public facility corporations; as underwriter and bank counsel to financial institutions that underwrite and purchase tax-exempt and taxable governmental obligations; and as outside counsel to a public facility corporation that owns and operates a convention center hotel and to professional sports teams that lease bond financed sports venue facilities. Julie also has experience representing domestic banks that provide credit and liquidity facilities for tax-exempt financings. Prior to entering private law practice, Julie served as an assistant attorney general in the Public Finance Division of the Office of the Attorney General of the State of Texas.

Rachael Jensen Managing Associate

Austin

Rachael has represented clients in multiple cases before the United States Supreme Court, as well as federal and state appellate courts across the country. She has argued before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Army Court of Criminal Appeals.

Prior to joining Orrick, Rachael clerked for the Honorable Denny Chin of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She graduated with Honors from The University of Texas School of Law, where she was champion in moot court, Chief Articles Editor for The Review of Litigation, a research assistant, a teaching assistant, and a member of the Supreme Court Clinic. She received her Bachelor’s degree from The University of Arkansas, where she developed her nationally recognized research on political rhetoric.

Brooks Kenyon Senior Associate

Austin

Brooks has represented innovative, multinational companies—both offensively and defensively—in intellectual property disputes. He has handled an array of technologies in the electrical, medical device, communications, and software spaces. Prior to joining Orrick, Brooks was an associate in the Intellectual Property practice group of a large international law firm.

Brooks graduated from Boston College Law School, where he was a finalist in the Wendell F. Grimes Moot Court Competition, served as a judicial intern for the Honorable Indira Talwani of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and served as an executive editor of the UCC Reporter-Digest.

Brooks holds a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Texas A&M University, where he was a member of the IEEE Honor Society (Eta Kappa Nu).

Jerry V. Kyle, Jr. Partner

Austin

Jerry has been active in traditional bond financings for governmental entities such as school districts, cities, counties and special-purpose districts, advising them on general obligation, ad valorem tax-secured financings and special or limited obligation financings, such as utility system revenue-secured financings, conduit financings, financings for state agencies and financings for entities authorized to act on behalf of the State of Texas and its political subdivisions, including tax and revenue anticipation and general obligation and special-purpose facility revenue financings.

Barbara Jane League Partner

Houston; Austin

Barbara represents state and local governmental, for-profit and nonprofit corporations, and other market participants in the issuance of qualified 501(c)(3) private activity bonds for eligible residential rental projects for affordable and middle-income housing, as well as related infrastructure financing, including tax and revenue anticipation notes (TRANs). She serves as special tax counsel to one of the largest sports authorities in Texas, with the goal to promote local and community development, including maintenance and expansion of the city’s stadiums and parks.  

She also has significant experience representing nonprofit organizations. Formerly an attorney with the Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service, Barbara has represented clients before the IRS in a variety of matters involving tax-exempt bonds, including audits and private letter ruling requests. She has participated in all facets of the tax analysis associated with the issuance of governmental purpose bonds, certain tax credit bonds, qualified 501(c)(3) bonds, qualified residential rental bonds and qualified small issue bonds.

Barbara has served on the Steering Committee and has chaired the Working Capital panel and the Bond Direct Purchase - Advanced Tax Topics panel for the Bond Attorneys’ Workshop, the oldest and largest annual gathering of bond lawyers.

Trudie Makens Managing Associate

Austin

Trudie focuses her practice on project financing, joint ventures and project development in the renewable energy sector. Trudie represents clients in a wide variety of transactions, including debt and tax equity financing, joint ventures, project development matters, and project acquisitions and sales.

Bill Medaille Of Counsel

Austin

Bill’s experience in public finance includes representing issuers such as state agencies, local governments, public utilities, and public improvement districts on both general obligation and revenue financings, as well as representing the underwriters for various municipal bonds.

Prior to joining the firm, Bill served as in-house counsel at both the City of Austin and the Lower Colorado River Authority (Austin, Texas).

Ana Molina Associate

Austin

Ana's practice focuses on public finance, which includes representing local governments, school districts, and financial institutions that underwrite bonds. She represents her clients in a range of public finance matters, such as general obligation and revenue bonds and public improvement districts.

Michael Morehead Senior Associate

Austin; Houston

Michael regularly engages in his clients' most complex and sophisticated matters involving eight, nine and ten figure exposure. Whether it be securing billion-dollar summary judgments or obtaining full dismissals for energy companies in mass tort cases, Michael defines success as winning, and doing so in a manner that enhances and protects the reputation and prospects of his clients.

Michael understands how courts think and what they want. He managed a federal court civil docket for two years and drafted judicial opinions for the highest levels of the Texas judicial system. He regularly assists his clients navigate their most complicated legal obstacles, and does so with bottom-line clarity.