People

Kathleen Orr Managing Director

Washington, D.C.

Named as one of the Most Innovative Intrapreneurs by Financial Times in 2022, Kate leads efforts with clients and our lawyers to transform the way legal services are delivered through the trifecta of people, process, and technology.  Her work has contributed to Orrick being ranked among the top 10 firms for innovation by Financial Times for nine consecutive years - eight of them in the top three.

Kate also leads CaseStream, Orrick's homegrown litigation and transaction management system, which was recognized by Financial Times as a #1 most innovative New Product and Service.

Kate is a former litigator and represented commercial clients in complex litigation throughout the United States at Orrick. She remains active in numerous pro bono matters and was awarded the first annual Orrick Pro Bono Award. Kate also served as an adjunct professor of Legal Writing and Oral Advocacy at the University Maryland School of Law.

Edwin Oswald Partner

Washington, D.C.

His practice also includes advising on post-issuance tax compliance matters including working with non-profit borrowers of tax-exempt bonds on new IRS Schedule K annual reporting matters.

He served in the Office of Tax Legislative Counsel at U.S .Treasury Department, where he developed policy, legislative initiatives and regulations affecting public finance and structured finance.

Ed Oswald is the author of "From Ronald to Donald: How the Myth of Reagan Became the Cult of Trump." In this book, he explores the tax policy behind “supply side economics” and the transformation of conservative politics from Ronald Reagan’s presidency to Donald Trump’s rise. Ed is frequently sought after for his expertise and is quoted by top publications, including Newsweek and The Bond Buyer.

Joel Othen-Lawson Associate

Londra

Joel often works on cases with a multijurisdictional focus and has represented clients from across the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America in disputes seated around the world.

He has also acted for several professional services firms in connection with cross-border litigation, investigations and regulatory enforcement matters.

Joel also acts for sovereign states in actions brought against them. His practice represents clients in all stages of disputes – from pleadings to trial including advising in relation to alternative dispute resolution methods.

Joel joined the firm as a trainee in 2022.

Chris R. Ottenweller Senior Counsel

Silicon Valley

Chris has served as first-chair counsel in more than 75 cases, successfully resolving virtually every one of them; and has tried many cases to judgment, in all types of forums, including jury trials, bench trials, the ITC and arbitrations. His cases involve cutting-edge legal issues and run the full gamut of technologies, including data storage, mobile devices, semiconductors, computers, graphical user interfaces, flash memory and many other technologies.

Chris has been recognized by clients, peers, and multiple publications as a leading lawyer in the IP field. He has been honored by The National Law Journal as one of "50 Intellectual Property Trailblazers and Pioneers," by IP Law360 as an Intellectual Property MVP, by Managing Intellectual Property as an "IP Star," by Chambers USA as a Leading Attorney in Intellectual Property, and by The Daily Journal as one of the "Top 75 IP Litigators" in California. A number of his victories have been profiled by The American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel, The National Law Journal and National Public Radio.

Robert Owen Sr Litigation Career Associate

Wheeling, W.V. (GOIC)

Prior to joining Orrick, Robert was a Senior Associate in the Pittsburgh, PA office of the global law firm Reed Smith LLP and a Senior Attorney at Houston Harbaugh, P.C., also in Pittsburgh.  At Reed Smith and Houston Harbaugh, Robert represented clients in a wide range of complex commercial litigation, with a focus on product liability, mass/toxic tort defense, and commercial contract disputes, including insurance coverage matters.  Robert has represented numerous companies in environmental, toxic tort, and asbestos litigation on a national level.  Robert also has represented both policyholders and insurers in insurance contract litigation.  He has extensive experience litigating complex matters in state and federal courts, as well as alternative dispute resolution.

Kathleen M.K. Owen Of Counsel

Wheeling, W.V. (GOIC)

Kate leads Orrick’s national state legislative campaign to criminalize sexual extortion on behalf of our pro bono client, Legal Momentum. She collaborates with Legal Momentum to identify the gaps in state laws that have failed to keep pace with the use of technology by perpetrators to commit sexual extortion and to advocate for updates to those laws in various states across the country, working in coordination with state attorneys general, lawmakers, and advocates. Her leadership on behalf of Legal Momentum has included attending meetings with countless legislators, testifying in multiple state legislative committees in support of bills, and assisting with the drafting of bill language. 

Kate is also a key member of the Orrick team working alongside the government affairs teams at DISH Network and DIRECTV. She enthusiastically advocates for DISH and DIRECTV in multiple states around the country, which included helping them pass bills in three states in 2022. She manages multiple state legislative relationships, advises on state legislative issues, monitors legislation, and coordinates and attends legislative meetings and conferences. 

Kate’s experience in the Public Policy Group also includes the representation of clients in connection with insurance regulatory matters, including attending meetings with insurance regulators and staff from various states.

Previously, Kate was a Senior Associate at Reed Smith LLP in Pittsburgh. She was a member of the firm’s Insurance Recovery Group and an affiliate member of the Commercial Litigation Group, where she began her practice. At Reed Smith, Kate represented clients in a wide range of complex commercial litigation matters. She also represented policyholders in insurance coverage disputes, including counseling, negotiation, litigation, and dispute resolution related to a variety of insurance policy forms. 

After practicing law at Reed Smith and prior to joining Orrick, Kate taught two semesters of an online “Business and Organizational Writing” course for Chatham University as an adjunct instructor.

Nadège Owen Partner

Parigi

Nadège advises French and international companies on all employment law matters with a recognized experience on employment law aspects of corporate transactions. She regularly deals with employment law related issues arising in the context of restructurings (in particular social plans), mergers and acquisitions as well as more generally on all employment law aspects for domestic and international clients, regarding day to day issues, executive severance and relations with employee representatives and trade unions.  

Prior to joining Orrick, Nadège was an associate for eight years in the Employment, Pensions & Benefits team of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Carly Owens Managing Associate

New York

Carly counsels clients across several sectors, including health technology, financial services, private equity, insurance, and technology on a range of United States (U.S.) federal and state privacy laws, including, but not limited to:

• Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) and other biometric privacy laws
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
• Washington My Health My Data Act and other state health privacy laws
• U.S. state privacy laws in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Virginia and other states
• Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
• Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM)
• New York Department of Financial Services Cybersecurity Regulation 500

She also prepares clients for regulatory inquiry and government investigation and provides assessments of privacy and security practices for companies carrying out due diligence in the context of corporate transactions. Carly also maintains an active pro bono practice, which has included helping clients in immigration and criminal justice matters.

Carly has obtained the Certified Information Privacy Professional - United States (CIPP/US) designation from the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

William W. Oxley Partner

Los Angeles

Bill has a winning record trying cases to verdict in jurisdictions throughout the United States, including products liability, breach of contract, trademark, IP, and business tort cases for global, household-name clients. Bill has also litigated class actions, false advertising, and real estate disputes, and has effectively defended manufacturers and nutritional and health product-related companies against Proposition 65 claims.

Onur Öztürk Counsel

Monaco

He regularly advises founder teams on the establishment of a two-tier U.S./German holding structures, be it in connection with their admission to a U.S. accelerator or be it for better access to early-stage financing opportunities in the richer U.S. funding ecosystem.

During his legal training, Onur had been with the M&A practice of a Big Four accounting firm and the legal department of a major German technology company in Germany and Canada. In 2022, Onur worked from our San Francisco and Menlo Park offices for three months to take a deep-dive into the Silicon Valley's start-up ecosystem.

Damon Pace Senior Counsel

New York

He has practiced in the area of public finance for more than 15 years, serving as bond counsel, underwriters’ counsel and borrower counsel in various revenue bond financings, including those related to public power, sewer and storm water, tobacco, higher education, student loans, hospitals and multi-family and single-family housing. He is also bond counsel to various issuers relating to their commercial paper programs. 

Noel Pacheco Consultant

San Francisco

He practices general corporate law and advises both public and private companies in commercial finance transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and securities law and corporate governance matters.