People

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.

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.

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.

Amy Padgett Partner

Washington, D.C.

She represents leading sponsors, developers, investors and electric utilities in cash equity and tax equity financings, joint ventures, M&A, private placements and a broad range of corporate matters for renewables projects across the United States and Canada.

Zac Padgett Partner

Austin

Zac advises clients on:

• growth equity transactions
• buyout acquisitions and mergers
• venture capital investments
• exit transactions
• take-private deals
• management buyouts
• joint ventures
• private placements
• debt-like preferred equity and project finance investments

As co-lead of the firm’s Energy Tech Team, Zac focuses on supporting companies and investors developing technologies like hyperscale data centers, alternative fuels, carbon capture, eVTOL aircraft, agtech and digital infrastructure. Zac is a key member of Orrick's energy transition practice, which was recognized as Band 1 in Energy Transition by Chambers USA (2023).

Zac is passionate about legal tech and implementing AI tools to enhance legal services. He helps lead the firm’s MAPE 2.0 project team, a platform that transforms M&A execution, which won the Financial Times' Reinventing the Legal Practice category.

Joanna Pak Senior Associate

New York

Joanna advises public and private companies in domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions.

Prior to joining Orrick, Joanna was a corporate associate in the New York office of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP.

Bryn R Pallesen Senior Associate

Seattle

As an antitrust litigator, Bryn has successfully defended clients in monopolization and restraint of trade cases, including cases advancing novel “product hopping” and “reverse payment” theories of liability; guided clients through government investigations, including DOJ leniency proceedings; and helped clients negotiate and respond to third party subpoenas.

In addition to her antitrust work, Bryn maintains an active complex litigation practice. She has litigated derivative shareholder, private right of action, consumer protection, insurance, breach of contract, and fiduciary duty claims, as well as state and federal constitutional claims. Bryn has considerable appellate experience, including administrative appeals, and she regularly serves as local counsel in cases pending in Washington federal and state courts.

Prior to joining Orrick, Bryn was a litigation associate in the New York office of an international law firm and, more recently, at a Seattle trial boutique. She also served as a law clerk to two federal district court judges.