People

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.

David Sharrow Partner

Boston

David brings a wealth of expertise, focusing on diverse cutting-edge technologies, including life sciences (biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, digital health, genomic technology), fintech, artificial intelligence, information technology (hardware, software, SaaS, and database solutions), edtech, renewable energy, sustainable technologies, AR/VR and cybersecurity.

He advises clients on corporate partnerships, strategic alliances and licensing agreements with leading U.S. and global entities, as well as major research universities and institutes. His experience includes navigating the IP and technology aspects of venture capital financings, public offerings and some of the largest M&A transactions involving venture-backed companies.

David has lectured at major institutions, including Tulane, Yale, Princeton, NYU, Columbia, Cornell and Fordham.

Ariel Simmonds Associate

New York

Ariel represents clients at all stages of their life cycles as they innovate and scale. Ariel counsels clients in a variety of technology-driven industries, including artificial intelligence, SaaS and media. Ariel has experience drafting commercial, licensing and other intellectual property and technology agreements. She also assists clients with intellectual property issues in connection with mergers and acquisitions.

Ariel is active in pro bono matters, focusing on licensing and corporate matters for historically underrepresented clients. Through her law school clinic, Ariel filed trademark registrations for early-stage startup clients on a pro bono basis. 

Prior to joining Orrick, Ariel spent over two years interning with a property-tech startup and then a cruise line, supporting their respective marketing teams on CAN-SPAM and TCPA compliance. Ariel also draws on her experience in the business valuation and SBA 7(a) financing industry when advising on mergers and acquisitions.

Alex Sobolev Partner

Londra

Alex’s multidisciplinary practice and transatlantic experience enable him to provide strategic commercial advice for technology led companies, including coordinating and implementing data and consumer risk mitigation projects, providing outsourcing advice and developing key legal risk mitigation strategies in relation to products where the pace of innovation nearly always outpaces the law.

He has advised companies at all stages of the corporate lifecycle, from software development and product launch, through technology licensing, sale and purchase, to mergers and acquisitions of data and tech-heavy businesses. He has assisted organisations with the design, development and implementation of global data protection and compliance policies, as well the management of risk and security associated with data retention, processing and transfer.

Emily S. Tabatabai Partner

Washington, D.C.; Houston

Emily provides strategic counseling and advice on privacy, consumer protection and online safety matters to clients across industries, including retail, ecommerce, mobile apps, gaming, social media, advertising technology (adtech), financial services, education, business services and technology. She also represents clients subject to regulatory investigations, including before the FTC and States Attorneys General, Congressional committees and other regulatory agencies and groups.

Emily provides proactive compliance guidance, and regulatory investigation defense, on a variety of privacy and consumer protection laws, including:

• U.S. state privacy laws in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Virginia and other states
• Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
• Online safety laws for kids and teens, including California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (AADC), Utah Social Media Regulation Act and others
• Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act) and state unfair and deceptive acts and practices (UDAP) laws
• Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
• California’s Student Online Personal Information Protection Act (SOPIPA), New York’s Education Law 2-d and other state student data privacy laws
• Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) and other biometric privacy laws
• Washington My Health My Data Act and other state health privacy laws
• Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
• Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)
• Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
• Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR)
• Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA)

Emily is a frequent speaker on data privacy matters, with a particular focus on children’s privacy (COPPA), student data privacy and EdTech and online safety laws for kids and teens. She has been featured as an “Up and Coming” Privacy & Data Security attorney by Chambers USA and Chambers Global. Clients tell Chambers, “She’s been an excellent partner. She has a very good understanding of the practical realities of implementing privacy policies for large companies.” Citing her expertise in the field of educational privacy, student data and EdTech matters, Chambers reports that clients regard her as “very knowledgeable and truly an expert in this space,” with some saying, “On the student data side, she is unmatched,” and The Legal 500 notes that Emily “is the first port of call for child- and student-directed service providers for compliance advice with COPPA, SOPIPA and CalOPPA regulations.”

Emily also has an active consumer protection practice, focused on marketing and promotional issues. She counsels clients on advertisements and endorsements, retail sales and e-commerce, advertising substantiation, SMS and telemarketing, social media and online advertising.

Ramin Tohidi Partner

Silicon Valley

Ramin helps clients maximize their intellectual property and technology portfolios in a variety of ways, including drafting, negotiating, and advising on development, production, supply, procurement, and other technology licensing arrangements. He represents both mature and emerging companies in a variety of industries, including in SaaS, software, AI, hardware, information technology, business process outsourcing, enterprise resource planning, and data intelligence.

Ramin also counsels companies in developing artificial intelligence (AI) policies and deploying AI tools, and he also advises clients on open-source licensing and intellectual property issues in connection with mergers, acquisitions, and financing transactions.

According to Chambers USA, Ramin is “an excellent, practical, client- and business-oriented tech transactions attorney”, and “someone clients can work with as a tech expert, a business confidant and, of course, a legal expert." Chambers USA ranked him as an Up and Coming Partner, and Legal 500 ranks him as a Rising Star in 2021 and 2022 for Technology: Transactions.

Kjell Tönjes Associate

Düsseldorf

He advises start-ups and scale-ups from inception through early-stage financing rounds and in their growth phases, as well as on internationalization projects. In addition, he advises institutional and corporate investors on venture capital investments.

Kjell also advises on national and international M&A and private equity transactions with a focus on technology.

Prior to joining Orrick, he had been a lawyer with one of the big 4 firms in Düsseldorf, where he focused on venture capital. During his studies, Kjell had been a research associate with a Berlin-based venture capital boutique for several years.

Shannon Yavorsky Partner

San Francisco; Londra

She advises public and private companies across several sectors, including life sciences and health technology, financial services, private equity, insurance, social media and technology on a range of EU and U.S. federal and state privacy laws. Shannon’s strategic counseling advice includes, but is not limited to:

• Advertising and payment card processing self-regulatory frameworks
• Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM)
• Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA)
• EU AI Act
• EU e-Privacy Directive (EPD)
• EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
• Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act (GLBA)
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
• National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) AI Risk Management Framework (AIRMF)
• Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
• U.S. state breach notification laws
• U.S. state privacy laws in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Virginia and other states
  

Shannon also helps clients undertake comprehensive privacy, cybersecurity and AI risk assessments, evaluates privacy, security and AI risks in corporate transactions and drafts and negotiates data-related contracts. She advises clients on cross-border data transfers, data breaches and developing global privacy and AI compliance programs.

Daniel Yost Partner

San Francisco; Silicon Valley

Highly regarded for his expertise, Chambers USA has ranked Daniel for his expertise in Technology Transactions and noted that “His work is solution-driven and his positive personality helps both sides of a negotiation work towards the outcome.” Legal 500 describes his practice as “exceptional” and recommends the practice for its “high client service ethic and great commercial awareness." He is known for his ability to handle complex transactions for science-based technology companies, with work ranging from intellectual property and licensing to distribution agreements and cross-border collaborations, counseling clients on commercial law, copyright, licensing, marketing, patent, privacy, strategic alliances, trademark and trade secrets matters.

Daniel has represented companies in various industries, including biotechnology, cleantech, energy, consumer electronics, entertainment, hardware, internet, media, semiconductor, services, software, telecommunications and wireless. His energy clients include clients in the solar, biofuels, waste to energy and geothermal sectors.

Daniel has acted as key legal counsel in:

• Manufacturing, distribution and sale arrangements for makers of software, chips, security devices, batteries and solar technologies, among others.
• Technology transactions with universities, governments and non-profit entities.
• Copyright, privacy and online pitfalls applicable to Internet companies.
• Domestic and international collaborations for developers of pharmaceutical products, medical devices, semiconductors and software, among others.
• Mergers, acquisitions, spin-offs and asset divestitures in a wide range of industries, including biotechnology, health databases, semiconductors medical software, entertainment, Internet browsers and e-commerce.
• Open software source policy development and compliance.
• IT and business process services agreements.
• Venture capital investments in technology-based enterprises.

The former co-chair of both the Technology Transactions and Technology Companies Practice Groups, Daniel is a thought leader on technology transactions issues and programs that focus on the protection and exploitation of intellectual property, having advised on clients such as Weta Digital, Fulcrum BioEnergy, CelLink Corporation, Telenor, Luminar, and Motorola Solutions. He is regularly called up to speak about intellectual property and technology matters and has done so at UC Berkeley, Stanford and other universities and conferences. His work on incentivizing innovation has been published in major papers, including Forbes, the Daily Journal San Francisco and the San Jose Mercury News.

Daniel’s current volunteer work includes serving on the Board of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, the Advisory Counsel for UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment and California Environmental Voters. Daniel also advises state and local elected officials on policies to encourage the development and deployment of zero emissions technologies. Daniel’s prior volunteer work includes serving as Mayor and Councilmember in Woodside, California and serving as a founding Board Member of Peninsula Clean Energy – the community choice energy provider serving San Mateo County.