People

Thomas Wyatt Laryea Counsel

Washington, D.C.

Thomas formerly served as Assistant General Counsel at the International Monetary Fund, where he was responsible for the IMF’s legal relations in finance and economic surveillance with each of its member countries. As the only senior IMF lawyer in private practice, he offers distinctive insights to asset managers, real money investors and hedge funds on sovereign debt and restructurings as well as large scale corporate restructurings and project financings. His practice bridges legal and strategic advice on the transactional, public policy and dispute resolution aspects of international finance and investment.

Thomas has advised on several recent high-profile sovereign debt restructurings, including representing the Argentina Creditor Committee on the restructuring of $65 billion of Argentina’s foreign currency bonds. He also recently represented the Steering Members of the Committee on Bondholders in the reprofiling of Belize’s bonds.

He is recognized as a key lawyer in the Restructuring (Including Bankruptcy): Municipal category of The Legal 500 US 2022 directory. A client remarked that he “provided invaluable advice on the IMF policies, individual personalities and missions which helped us to understand the sovereign’s priorities with the IMF” that “will then frame our negotiations with the sovereign.” “Thomas is highly respected in the sovereign restructuring space.”

Thomas is an active thought leader and has published numerous articles on sovereign debt and international finance.

Nicholas Laveris Of Counsel

New York

Nicholas A. Laveris is Of Counsel in Orrick's Restructuring Group. Nick advises investment banks, commercial banks, broker-dealers, hedge funds and other financial institutions on legal issues related to the purchase and sale of domestic and international par and distressed assets, including bilateral loans, syndicated loans, loan participations and derivative structured products.

Nick also represents clients in the purchase and sale of claims in bankruptcy, including administrative claims and trade claims. In addition, Nick represents clients in the purchase and sale of securities and other equity instruments arising out of restructurings and bankruptcy proceedings. Nick has extensive experience in working on transactions under the LSTA and LMA regimes, as well as negotiating bespoke documentation. Nick's work involves transactions throughout Europe, Asia, Latin America, Australia and the United States. Nick is an active member of the Loan Syndications and Trade Association and the Loan Market Association.

Prior to joining Orrick, Nick was an associate at Mayer Brown LLP.

Joe Lawlor Partner

Houston

He assists global energy companies, private equity funds, renewables developers, management teams, and integrated oil and gas companies with complex commercial transactions in the renewables and oil and gas industries. He represents his clients in connection with the development, repowering, acquisition, and divestiture of wind, solar and energy storage projects, the acquisition and divestiture of upstream, midstream, and downstream oil and gas projects, the formation of joint ventures, and other corporate governance and legal due diligence matters.

Amanda Lawrence Partner

Washington, D.C.

She is a trusted adviser to and first call in high-stakes litigation and enforcement matters, including government investigations, regulatory examinations, class action and complex litigation, and internal investigations. Her matters include investigations, examinations, and enforcement actions before the CFPB, FTC, federal and state bank regulators and state attorneys general, including defending a leading bank in one of the CFPB’s first enforcement actions—a joint investigation and enforcement action with the FDIC.

Amanda also represents clients in bet the company litigation, including financial institutions and lenders in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) matters, consumer class actions and other complex civil litigation matters.

Amanda is well versed in all aspects of her clients’ business and is known for providing thoughtful and practical advice. She leverages her experience with litigation and enforcement agencies to stay ahead of regulatory trends impacting the finance and fintech industries. Key among these is data monetization and regulators’ heightened focus on how data is collected, used, stored and transferred. Amanda’s practice started in the cyber and privacy spheres, and today she helps clients manage compliance with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) and Regulation P, the Safeguards Rule, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

Prior to joining Orrick, Amanda was a partner at Buckley LLP, where she was a member of the partner board. She also has an active pro bono practice.

Maiten Le Brishoual Senior Associate

Parigi

Maïten advises clients on French and international development, mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and real estate investments. She also advises companies and high net worth individuals on the management and transfer of their assets, management incentives, tax audits and litigations.

She also has a strong experience on M&A Insurance/Contingent Tax Risk.

Prior to joining Orrick, Maïten worked in a leading French law firm.

Aurélie Le Griel Managing Associate

Parigi

Aurélie advises French and international financial institutions, corporates, sponsors, investors and asset managers on French and cross border transactions. She advises on banking, structured finance and securitization transactions.

Prior to joining Orrick, Aurélie was an associate for five years in the Securitization and Structured Finance teams of two leading international law firms in Paris.

Lana Le Hir Partner

Orange County

She focuses on innovating creative solutions for all types of utility scale renewable power purchase agreements and carbon offset and removal agreements. This work includes virtual, physical, master-confirm portfolios, block delivery, aggregation, 24/7 hourly delivery, load following, battery storage, REC agreements, on-site solar, and green tariff direct agreements. Lana leverages her deep sell-side experience as Senior Counsel to one of the largest renewable energy developers in the world, with her extensive corporate buy-side knowledge, and background in electrical engineering, to advise effectively and close deals swiftly. Lana and her team at Orrick are at the forefront of corporate renewable energy procurement and are setting the industry standards for implementation of energy justice and Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) considerations.

Prior to joining Orrick, Lana was a Senior Associate at an international law firm where she managed portfolio growth for leading corporate purchasers and developers representing over 3.5 GWs of renewable transactions. She also served as Senior Counsel to Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of Iberdrola Renewables, for 8 years, where she was responsible for its entire US portfolio of power purchase agreements (7.5 GWs). Before her legal career, Lana managed a product engineering team in the development of a new cutting-edge wireless technology for consumer electronics.

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.

Jennifer C. Lee Partner

San Francisco

Jennifer defends her clients in federal and state litigation across the country that allege fraud, breach of contract, or securities law violations.  She is a key member of an Orrick trial team that has shaped the legal landscape of RMBS litigation after the 2009 financial crisis, delivering out-of-the box arguments and innovative solutions for her clients, from initial receipt of pre-litigation demands through expert work, summary judgment and trial.

Jennifer's mortgage-backed securities litigation experience, which spans the last decade, includes:

• Representing Credit Suisse Securities in multiple million and billion-dollar actions across the country brought by monoline insurers, trustees, and regulators alleging breaches of representations and warranties, fraud, and securities violations. Recent highlights include conducting direct examination of an expert witness in a trial in February 2023, and securing partial dismissal of claims in December 2023 after arguing a motion to dismiss.
• Representing Goldman Sachs in two RMBS putback actions pending in the Southern District of New York alleging that Goldman breached representations and warranties regarding the characteristics of the deal loans.

Jennifer also has significant mortgage servicing expertise, including the following matters:

• Representing Nationstar in a breach of contract dispute alleging that Nationstar failed to properly service and made misrepresentations regarding thousands of early buy-out loans.
• Representing Ocwen Mortgage Servicing in a consumer class action in the Eastern District of California alleging numerous claims including RICO, California consumer protection statutes and fraud.

Jennifer also represents financial services companies related to commercial disputes, including:

• Representing Pipe Technologies, Inc. in multiple commercial disputes regarding payment of services.
• Representing a large financial services platform in multiple subpoenas issued for production of documents.

Jennifer is dedicated to pro bono work, including asylum claims, a cause close to her heart as a child of immigrants. Prior to joining Orrick, she held a fellowship position in the Law Reform Unit at the Legal Aid Society of New York, litigating both individual cases as well as class actions.

Jennifer is a leader and advocate for inclusion and belonging initiatives in the legal profession. She leads Orrick's Inclusion & Belonging Committee in San Francisco. She has served as a fellow for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, and is active in the California Minority Counsel Program.

Betsy Lee Partner

San Francisco

Previously, Betsy served as a Law Clerk at the National Center For Youth Law (Oakland). Prior to law school, she also worked as an Investigator with the New York City Department of Education and as a Legal Assistant at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP (New York).

Julie Lee Senior Associate

Washington, D.C.

Julie focuses her practice on business litigation, and she represents clients across the financial, technology, and energy sectors. She has extensive experience in successfully litigating complex commercial cases, both at the trial and appellate levels. Julie also tailors her experience to our clients' specific needs to achieve favorable results through mediation, arbitration, regulatory proceedings, and strategic business negotiations.

Prior to joining Orrick, Julie was a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Dana M. Sabraw of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.

Aaron Lee Managing Associate

San Francisco

Aaron advises sponsors, lenders and financial institutions in debt and equity financings across the renewable energy, conventional energy and infrastructure sectors.

As a law student, Aaron worked as a legal intern at the International Finance Corporation. Prior to law school, Aaron worked as a credit ratings analyst for public finance transactions in the water and wastewater sectors. Aaron is also a licensed civil engineer in the State of California.