Brenna Ferris Neustater 主理律师, Supreme Court and Appellate
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Before joining Orrick, Brenna clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Prior to clerking, Brenna was an associate at Covington & Burling LLP, where she focused on litigation and investigations.
Brenna graduated from the University of Michigan Law School, magna cum laude, and was elected to Order of the Coif. During law school, Brenna served as the Managing Online Editor for the Michigan Journal of Law Reform, a research assistant to Professor Nina Mendelson, and a student-attorney for the International Refugee Assistance Project and Criminal Appellate Practice Clinic.
西雅图
As the Director of Responsible Business Solutions at Orrick, Hayden helps clients design, build and defend their approach to responsible business. This includes non-legal strategic advice on developing strategies, addressing compliance, and preparing disclosures. Focusing on data analytics and peer benchmarking, Hayden manages a team of non-legal analysts and advisors who help businesses navigate the patchwork of existing and emerging sustainability laws and regulations, diverging sustainability reporting standards, and a dynamic policy environment.
Using data, Hayden and his team provide visibility over changing approaches and emerging best practices for responsible business across a fast-moving market.
Hayden's areas of focus include:
Hayden has provided advice on building climate change programs, preparing standards-aligned sustainability reports, and defending against shareholder and activist proposals. This includes outsourced solutions for CDP and EcoVadis reporting, addressing and improving third-party sustainability ratings and rankings, and building and running sustainability governance and management committees. Hayden has also helped dozens of clients prepare sustainability reports aligned with the SASB Standards, recommendations of the TCFD, and GRI Standards.
西雅图
Prior to Orrick, Meghan worked at Ramboll, a global engineering, architecture, and consulting company. Meghan worked as an ESG and Sustainability consultant based in the Seattle office, where she served as the local subject matter contact for a global team of environmentally-focused ESG experts. In her role, Meghan delivered buy-side ESG due diligence assessments for private equity clients and assisted corporate clients with ESG program development through priority assessments, target setting exercises, disclosure framework alignment, and ESG report writing. In addition, Meghan worked with colleagues to develop competencies related to ESG, climate, air quality, and environmental justice deliverables. Meghan has worked for clients in several industries, including healthcare, food products, infrastructure, and beauty.
Meghan is a thought leader in environmental justice, and presented on the nascent state of environmental justice, corporate attention and regulation at the Pacific Northwest International Section (PNWIS) of Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA) in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in October 2022.
旧金山
Prioritizing the importance of client relationships and formulating viable solutions tailored to each client’s unique strategic goals, Rich works extensively in the healthcare, energy prepay and public utilities and affordable housing housing sectors. He serves as the lead tax attorney on dozens of transactions each year. This substantial deal volume has given Rich experience with myriad complex and unique tax issues associated with such transactions and allows him to provide clients with practical guidance and market-tested advice.
Healthcare: Rich has focused on healthcare transactions for over two decades. Clients range from large systems such as Kaiser and Sutter to single-site hospitals. Deals include multibillion green bond deals to finance environmentally friendly improvements, complex acquisition financing deals, workout deals for financially distressed systems, smaller equipment financing deals, and everything between.
Energy Prepay and Public Utilities: Rich has served as tax counsel on many gas and electricity prepayment transactions for clients which include Black Belt Energy District and Southeast Energy Authority. Rich has worked with the Bonneville Power Administration and a California Electric Utility Company for over 20 years on a range of financing programs primarily aimed at financing and refinancing Bonneville’s nuclear generating resource and the California Electric Utility Company's generation, distribution, and transmission facilities. In addition, Rich has an extensive history working on deals for the San Diego County Water Authority and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.
Affordable Housing: Rich focuses on the tax-exempt financing of all types of housing projects, including 100% affordable projects that combine tax-exempt bonds with low-income housing tax credits, workforce housing projects that cater to middle income tenants, and mixed income housing.
Aside from transactional work, Rich is also an advocate, representing governmental issuers, conduit borrowers, and investment banks in IRS and other regulatory proceedings, including tax-exempt bond audits, voluntary closing agreement program (VCAP) requests, and requests for private letter rulings. Rich has successfully closed IRS examinations relating to multifamily housing, healthcare, solid waste, and arbitrage matters. He has been involved in numerous regulatory and legislative projects and has found that a strong working relationship with IRS and Treasury Department personnel facilitates obtaining good results.
Rich served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL) from 2011 to 2021 and, in 2019-20, was President of NABL. Rich has written and lectured extensively on the tax aspects of public finance transactions, having served as editor of the Federal Taxation of Municipal Bonds Deskbook, chaired the National Association of Bond Lawyers Bond Attorneys Workshop, and served on several other panels at industry seminars and roundtables. Rich became a fellow of the American College of Bond Counsel in 2018.
旧金山; 沙加缅度
Justin's practice is focused primarily in the following areas:
Justin is on the Board of Directors of the California Housing Consortium and is a past Chairman of the Bond Buyer's California Public Finance Conference. He speaks frequently at conferences and other industry events.
Justin is known in the affordable housing community in particular for being a solution-oriented lawyer who understands the business fundamentals of affordable housing and real estate finance as well as being fully versed in the applicable laws and regulations. He frequently collaborates with developers and other participants in the development of new financial structures and products designed to lower overall financing costs for housing providers and thereby increase both the supply and quality of available affordable housing.
旧金山
Nathan represents and advises the firm on all issues regarding claims and is responsible for managing the firm’s complex litigation strategies. He retains and supervises outside defense counsel, coordinates coverage and related issues with the firm’s insurance carriers, and ensures the effective and efficient defense of claims against the firm. Nathan is also a member of Orrick’s Risk Management Committee, responsible for promoting risk awareness and prevention through risk management training, internal firm publications, and risk management audits.
Prior to taking on his current role, Nathan was a member of Orrick's Complex Litigation and Dispute Resolution group. With over two decades of litigation and trial experience, Nathan has practiced before state and federal courts and has arbitrated matters before The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the International Center for Dispute Resolution.
Nathan joined Orrick as a summer associate in 2001. In 2007, he took a brief leave of absence to work as a prosecutor in the San Francisco County District Attorney’s Office.
旧金山; 硅谷
Recognized as a leader in Securities Litigation by Chambers USA, clients praise Jim as, “a spectacular relationship manager” and tell the publication, “Jim is one of the first people I will call to think through an issue. I would use him for any securities matters.” Jim is also regularly featured among Benchmark Litigation’s list of the nation’s Leading Litigators.
Jim is a frequent lecturer on securities and class action litigation and an editor for the Securities Reform Act Litigation Reporter. Jim is past chair of the Embarcadero YMCA Board of Managers and remains active in YMCA philanthropy. In his spare time, he enjoys time with his family and is a recreational long course triathlete.
旧金山
Cathy also engages in complex commercial litigation including employee mobility, breach of contract, and fraud cases. Her matters are often high-profile and industry-changing. Cathy's practice also includes trade secrets investigations as well as counseling on joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, third-party vendor relationships, and emerging technology to help minimize the risk to companies. Cathy has significant experience in actions arising from the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), which created the first federal civil misappropriation of trade secrets claim in May 2016. Cathy has helped shape DTSA law on behalf of her clients through her involvement in some of the earliest DTSA litigation. Many of her trade secrets cases involve parallel criminal proceedings.
For her achievements, Legal 500 recognized Cathy as a "Leading Lawyer" in trade secrets in 2024 and 2025. The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association also honored Cathy as a 2019 Best Lawyer Under 40. This annual list recognizes individuals within the APA community who have achieved prominence or distinction in their field and demonstrated a strong commitment to the APA community or civic affairs.
Cathy also regularly speaks and writes about trade secrets issues. She previously served as the Co-Vice Chair of the Trade Secrets Interest Group of the California Lawyers Association's (formerly of the California State Bar) Intellectual Property Section and she writes an annual column about trade secret hot topics in the CLA's "New Matter" publication.
Cathy is very active within the firm and her community. Cathy previously served as the Hiring Partner for the San Francisco office. Orrick selected Cathy to serve as the firm's 2020 Fellow for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, and Cathy previously served as the Co-Chair of the Asian American Bar Association's Judiciary Committee, which is focused on increasing representation on the bench.
Cathy also maintains an active pro bono practice. Cathy's dedication to pro bono service was demonstrated by her work in an asylum merits hearing representing a Salvadoran religious activist persecuted by gangs in El Salvador. For her work on this matter, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights honored Cathy with the Father Cuchulain Moriarity Award. In addition, the Justice & Diversity Center of the Bar Association of San Francisco recognized Cathy as an Outstanding Volunteer in Public Service in 2014 through 2020 for her work with helping homeless clients remove outstanding warrants barring them from access to housing and employment.
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Todd regularly advises companies and their boards on corporate governance best practices and fiduciary and disclosure duties, and has extensive experience in responding to shareholder litigation demands and other shareholder activism.
Before joining the firm, Todd was an associate at the San Francisco office of Clifford Chance US LLP. In his spare time, Todd is a musician, screenwriter and father to three fantastic kids.
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Rick has first-chair jury trial, bench trial and arbitration experience and has prevailed as lead partner in lawsuits in state and federal courts. He also leads internal investigations, SEC and DOJ matters, M&A and corporate disputes arising under Delaware corporate law, and other matters creating corporate governance risk. Prior to becoming our Chief Practice Officer for Litigation and IP, Rick was an Orrick partner and was also the co-Managing Partner of the California offices of another top AmLaw firm.
Rick’s clients include public companies, private equity funds, portfolio companies, mutual funds, investment advisers, hedge funds, VC funds, private investment funds, board members, officers and other individuals across several industries. He has particular expertise in the technology, life sciences, private equity, and investment management areas.
Rick has been named for multiple years in the The Best Lawyers in America and in the Legal 500 for Litigation.
旧金山
John advises issuers, borrowers and underwriters on financings for higher education, solid waste disposal (including waste-to-energy facilities), and utilities (including water, wastewater and energy facilities). He actively advises clients in such financings on a national basis, including in California, Hawaii, Guam, Nevada and Texas.
John has been recognized as a leading lawyer by multiple organizations, including as a Chambers USA, Band 2 attorney for California Public Finance, and as one of California's top 50 development lawyers by The Daily Journal.
旧金山; Santa Monica
旧金山; Santa Monica
Anik has represented leading tech companies across industries ranging from enterprise software and AI to fintech, energy tech, mental health and others, including Betterment, Confluent, Convoy, Fireworks, HashiCorp, Inspire Energy, Mux, Pinterest, Sourcegraph and Two Chairs. Selected clients that Anik has advised from the earliest stages through acquisition include Connectifier (sold to LinkedIn), Cove (sold to Dropbox), Expanse (sold to Palo Alto Networks), Nest (sold to Google) and Yammer (sold to Microsoft).
More recently, Anik has followed his clients’ example and is focused on applying technological innovation to legal work and client service. Beyond his home office in San Francisco, Anik helped open Orrick’s Santa Monica office as well as a workspace in Oakland to better serve clients located in the East Bay.
A native Ohioan and former New Yorker, Anik lives with his family in Berkeley.