People

Emmanuel Benard 合伙人

巴黎

Emmanuel represents numerous French and international companies on all aspects of employment law including international and cross-border issues.

His practice focuses on reorganizations, collective redundancies. He notably advised key players of the Financial, Metal, Food and Beverages, Pharmaceutical, Technology, Leisure and Music Industries in implementing economic dismissals and voluntary departures. He also assists these clients with employee representation and collective bargaining and sensitive individual cases.

Emmanuel has a strong proficiency in collective litigation as well as criminal litigation and currently handles a number of sensitive cases arising from works council and health and safety committee information consultation procedure, professional elections, collective bargaining agreements and employees performance appraisal system.

With a long-standing experience on landmark M&A, he regularly supports HR Directors in dealing with works council information and consultation procedures and transfer of employees triggered by such complex projects, helping them achieving their strategic objectives.

Co-author of an insightful and pedagogic book on all labor and employment facets of companies’ reorganization, Emmanuel is described by his clients as “a guru in the field of employment law” and praised for his “business sense”.

Before joining Orrick in 2016, Emmanuel was a partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Paris, where he was in charge of the Employment, Pension and Benefits Department. Prior to that he was partner at the boutique employment law firm Bélier et Associés where he started his career.

高级顾问律师

旧金山

William also has substantial experience with the employee benefit aspects of sales and acquisitions of businesses (including bankruptcy transactions), the restructuring of defined benefit pension plans, the defense of ERISA class action litigation, and public pension plan matters.

His clients include a wide range of large and medium-sized corporations, as well as individual and public clients. He also provides tax and retirement planning advice to many of Orrick's corporate clients.

William has been a frequent lecturer on employee benefits and related individual tax and fiduciary topics for the American Law Institute-American Bar Association; California Continuing Education of the Bar; the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans; the Practicing Law Institute; the Western Pension & Benefits Conference; various Bay Area Estate Planning Councils; and other organizations.

William became a senior counsel in 2013 after having been an Orrick partner since 1999.  Before joining Orrick, William was a partner at the law firm of Pillsbury Winthrop LLP in San Francisco.

Brett Cooper 合伙人

旧金山

In the corporate finance and securities areas, his experience includes a range of public and private equity and debt financings, representing U.S., Canadian, European and Asian issuers and underwriters. His transactions have included over one hundred SEC registered and Rule 144A public offerings of securities, ranging from investment grade and high yield debt offerings, convertible note offerings, initial public offerings, follow-on equity offerings and preferred securities offerings, venture capital financings and issuer tender offers.

In the mergers and acquisitions area, Brett has represented clients in all aspects of mergers and acquisitions transactions involving public and private companies, including friendly mergers, leveraged recapitalizations, tender offers, spin-offs, restructurings and purchases and sales of divisions and subsidiaries.

Jason D. Flaherty 合伙人

旧金山

Jason advises both public and private companies on compensation and benefits issues that arise in mergers and acquisitions, including pre-signing negotiations, executive and equity compensation and post-closing employee integration issues. Jason assists companies with compensation and benefit issues that arise with respect to their initial public offerings.

Jason's practice also focuses on counseling clients on all aspects of employee benefits related to the design, implementation, operation and any related fiduciary obligations with respect to tax-qualified retirement plans, including defined benefit and defined contribution plans, nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements with a particular focus on Code Section 409A compliance and employee welfare benefit plans, including compliance with HIPAA, COBRA and other health laws.

Prior to attending law school, Jason served as a Sergeant in the United States Army.

Elizabeth Harris 高级律师

旧金山

Elizabeth advises clients on a range of employment-related matters outside the United States, including global/local offer letters and employment contracts, performance management issues, termination and settlement agreements, HR/employee policies, procedures and handbooks, employee relations issues, and contractor, vendor and third-party services agreements. 

Elizabeth assists clients on various aspects of equity-based compensation including the design and implementation of global equity programs, local and cross-border tax obligations, and securities law compliance.  She also works with clients to address employment, tax and equity-related implications in the context of U.S. and cross-border mergers and acquisitions.

Prior to joining Orrick, Elizabeth served as a federal law clerk to the Honorable David Gustafson at the United States Tax Court in Washington, D.C. 

Katherine K. Hogan 高级律师

Santa Monica

She advises clients on the tax and securities issues related to equity-based compensation, including stock options, restricted stock, employee stock purchase plans and deferred compensation arrangements for both private and public companies as well as in the context of initial public offerings and acquisitions.

Christine McCarthy 合伙人

硅谷

Christine has extensive experience advising on all aspects of equity and executive compensation plans and arrangements for multinational private and public companies, including large Fortune 500 public companies. Such advice covers the design, administration, and implementation of such plans and arrangements, as well as compliance with applicable federal and state laws, including corporate, securities and tax laws, NASDAQ/NYSE rules, and accounting rules. In addition, Christine counsels clients on corporate governance related issues that arise with respect to such plans and arrangements and regularly prepares disclosure required to be included in annual proxy statements, Form 10-K reports and Form 8-K filings.

• regularly advises compensation committees, Boards of Directors, companies, management and executives on employment agreements, severance agreements, equity compensation plans and agreements and similar arrangements;
• has extensive experience advising late stage private companies on the specific compensation-related challenges facing these companies and, in particular, is known for her thought-leadership in designing and creating private company restricted stock unit programs and extended stock option exercise programs;
• advises late stage private companies on the issues that arise during the preparation, lead-up to and implementation of their initial public offering, including issues related to executive and equity compensation, as well as, corporate governance and disclosure related matters; and
• advises clients on merger and acquisition transactions, including issues related to executive and equity compensation, post-closing integration, Internal Revenue Code Section 409A (deferred compensation) and Internal Revenue Code Section 280G (the golden parachute rules).

Before joining the firm, Christine practiced at Cooley Godward Kronish LLP, Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich LLP, and McDermott Will & Emery LLP.

Christine speaks and publishes articles regularly on executive and equity compensation related topics.