People

Michael Ruiz Partner

Silicon Valley; Seattle

Michael advises his clients on a broad range of legal needs, including corporate formation and structure, venture capital financings, board and stockholder relationships and exit transactions. His current and former clients are concentrated in interactive media industries including game development, Esports, AR/VR tech, 3D animation, and artificial intelligence. Michael also advises companies in the cleantech and life sciences sectors.

His favorite video game is Final Fantasy (VII), favorite board game is Twilight Imperium (IV) and favorite science fiction book is Ender’s Game.

Faraaz Samadi Partner

Londra

He has significant experience in identifying and resolving issues which arise in cross-border technology transactions involving Europe, the U.S. and Asia, having worked in London, Singapore and Shanghai.

Faraaz regularly advises clients on technology service agreements, website terms and conditions, data privacy, renegotiations, intellectual property Iicensing and strategic alliances.

He has represented companies in a wide range of industries including software development, satellite and space, mining and resources, mobile, healthcare, digital marketing, automotive, ride-hailing and logistics.

Brandon Sanders Of Counsel

San Francisco

Brandon is a corporate attorney in Orrick’s San Francisco office. He concentrates his practice on representing technology and other high growth companies and their investors. Brandon advises companies on day-to-day corporate and transactional matters throughout their growth lifecycle, from formation to early stage and growth stage financings to exit events, and everything in between. In addition, Brandon regularly represents leading private equity, venture capital and other institutional investors on growth, venture and structured equity investments, minority and majority recapitalizations, buyouts and other complex investment transactions. He also has significant experience representing clients in the cleantech and renewable energy industries on securities transactions and joint ventures.

Ignacio Sandoval Partner

Washington, D.C.

Ignacio engages with the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) on behalf of clients on critical matters related to their business by seeking regulatory relief, interpretive guidance, exemptions and as a subject matter expert in enforcement and examination matters. He advises major U.S. broker-dealers in their clearing, retail, trading and institutional businesses, and on their financial responsibility and operational obligations.

Ignacio has counseled numerous broker-dealers on their obligations under the net capital rule (Rule 15c3-1), the customer protection rule (Rule 15c3-3), margin (Regulation T, Regulation U, Regulation X, FINRA Rule 4210, etc.), recordkeeping and reporting rules (Rule 17a-3, Rule 17a-4, Rule 17a-5, Rule 17a-8, Rule 17a-11, Rule 17a-13, etc.) and other middle office and back-office requirements. He has drafted market standard clearing and custody agreements for broker-dealers and has experience working on various types of agreements affecting market intermediaries and participants, including trading agreements, customer agreements, distribution agreements and platform agreements.

Ignacio regularly registers and provides support to alternative trading systems (ATS) and counsels market participants regarding their obligations to register as such. In addition, he has helped broker-dealers develop management platforms for clients involving money market funds and other cash equivalent instruments. He also has experience with cash sweep programs involving money market funds and bank deposit programs insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

Ignacio’s experience also includes matters relating to domestic and foreign broker-dealer registrations, customer account statement and confirmation requirements, mergers and acquisition brokers, anti-money laundering obligations for buy-side and sell-side participants, transaction confirmations and outsourcing broker-dealer technology and platforms. He counsels foreign exchanges and foreign clearing organizations regarding U.S. regulatory obligations on the access of U.S. person to foreign options markets and security-futures products.

Alexis Savini Senior Associate

Silicon Valley

Alexis advises high growth technology companies in general formation, venture capital and private equity financings, capital markets and mergers and acquisitions transactions.

Chapin Scaggs Managing Associate

Boston

Chapin focuses on representing high-growth technology companies of all sizes throughout their life-cycles-- from general formation and corporate governance through to venture capital and private equity financings.  He also advises investors and venture capital firms in their investments in early and high growth technology companies.

Sarah Schaedler Partner

San Francisco

Sarah’s practice focuses on structuring and negotiating the intellectual property aspects of complex corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, business divestitures and commercial transactions where software and technology are the principal assets. Sarah also advises on intellectual property and technology contracts related questions in the context of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Sarah routinely advises on carve-outs and business separation transactions and helps clients with structuring and implementing their intellectual property and technology separation roadmap.

Sarah has counseled several companies in their preparation for a divestiture and understands the issues a buyer is focused on in the context of intellectual property matters. She regularly helps companies implement remediation steps around their intellectual property assets to help them to a successful closing.

She has significant experience advising private equity funds on investments involving companies that are driven by technology & innovation, as well as intellectual property reliant consumer product companies and companies that are stepping into digitalization.

Sarah is also a member of Orrick’s AI leadership group and involved in thought leadership projects related to AI matters on corporate transactions.

Educated and trained in Germany, France and the United States, Sarah’s international experience provides her with additional knowledge on cross-border transactions and international matters.

Jay Wilder Schau Senior Associate

San Francisco

Jay represents high growth technology companies in several areas, including corporate and securities law, formation, and venture capital financings.

Jay received his JD from the University of Michigan in 2017. He is also a 2014 graduate of the University of Alabama where he double majored in Economics and Finance.

Prior to joining Orrick, Jay worked as a Bates Fellow at The Silicon Cape Initiative in Cape Town, South Africa, where he worked to grow the tech and entrepreneurship ecosystem in and around the Western Cape.

Dr. Christian Schröder Partner

Düsseldorf

Christian helps clients consider the privacy and artificial intelligence implications of new technology, supports their compliance programs, and helps them stay ahead of enforcement trends. One particular focus of his work deals with internal data transfer agreements, external data transfers with external providers, and product launches that comply with international data protection standards, as well as privacy requirements for connected cars. Furthermore, Christian provides guidance on privacy and data protection considerations for developing, acquiring, using, licensing and selling technology, data and intellectual property, including M&A transactions and IP focused joint ventures. He supports companies on the set-up of webshops, outsourcings, license agreements, in cases of trademark or unfair and deceptive trade practice issues, as well as on hard and software license and information technology (IT) project agreements.

Christian maintains strong working relationships with German data protection authorities and EU regulatory authorities with jurisdiction over privacy and data security matters. He effectively defends companies in cybersecurity and privacy-related investigations initiated by EU regulatory authorities. He also engages with authorities on behalf of clients and helps clients avoid proceedings and possible litigation. When litigation can't be avoided, Christian vigorously defends his clients.

For companies facing global cybersecurity incidents, Christian helps with crisis mitigation, including counseling on notification requirements, coordinating media strategies, and representing clients before data protection authorities in related regulatory investigations.

Christian regularly contributes practical thought leadership to global privacy industry publications and German privacy books and journals. Christian authors the Chapter V (international data transfers) of Germany’s leading GDPR commentary Kühling/Buchner (4th ed.) and is co-author to the Corporate Privacy Handbook (Betrieblicher Datenschutz). As an active member of the Sedona Conference, Christian drives the development and understanding of cross border privacy. He also participates in, hosts and moderates speaking programs with fellow private practitioners, EU data protection authorities, and academics focused on privacy and data security. Legal 500 Germany named Christian one of the top 15 practitioners in 2023 and noted that he is "a pioneer in the legal field, a data protection guru." They also recognized Christian and Orrick as "truly global" and how that it is "vital as they require the various leaders of each region to participate and bring issues to the table as a forum".

Prior to working in private practice, Christian interned with the German Federal Data Protection Commissioner and www.epic.org.

David Schulman Partner

Washington, D.C.

He provides strategic guidance on transactions involving mergers, acquisitions, collaborations, strategic alliances, licenses, capital markets, royalty and revenue-sharing and other financings for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and financial sponsors.

David is highly ranked for his life sciences work by Chambers USA and Chambers Global, with clients recognizing him as “one of the best business and corporate lawyers in the life sciences sector” with “a deep knowledge of the industry, which he successfully combines with great legal skills.” He has also been recognized by The Legal 500 and is listed as a “Life Sciences Star” in LMG Life Sciences.

Prior to joining Orrick, David was a partner with Dechert LLP, based in its Washington, D.C., and London offices and was a co-head of their Life Sciences practice. He is currently a member of the Board of Overseers of the School of Arts and Sciences of the University of Pennsylvania.

Ilona Schütz Managing Associate

Düsseldorf

When working with clients, she pays special attention to providing them with efficient and pragmatic advice that offers them appropriate support at all stages of growth.

Ilona has special experience in university spin-offs, restructurings and employee ownership programs (ESOPs, VSOPs).

She advises companies on venture capital transactions and international venture capital investors on their investments in German technology start-ups and scale-ups.

Prior to joining Orrick, Ilona worked as a research assistant and trained in mergers and acquisitions and corporate litigation at two other international law firms.

David Schwartz Partner

New York

David is recognized as a trusted advisor who delivers valued execution and results.

• Thomson Reuters has recognized David as a Stand-out Lawyer.
• BTI Consulting has ranked David as a Client Service All Star.
• Chambers has ranked David for his M&A work, with clients noting he is “on top of cutting-edge trends and ideas", "proactive, engaged and personable", and possesses a “depth of legal expertise” and “creative solutions to thorny problems” that “make him our go-to."
• Legal500 has ranked David as a Leading Partner for M&A. He has also been featured in Legal500's US M&A Powerlist, with clients noting he "is an incredible relationship partner. His dedication to understanding our business and our ways of working is complimented by his proactive approach to providing innovative solutions and ideas."