People

Mark Johnson Of Counsel

London

Mark assists office holders across a broad range of asset recovery actions, including investigations into antecedent transactions and other claims against directors and third parties, as well as advising directors defending such claims. Mark has deep experience in enforcement work on behalf of banks and lenders including Law of Property Act receiverships.

Mark's non-contentious work includes significant experience on transactional matters such as assisting on both the buy and sell side of 'pre-pack' administration sales and other insolvency sales, advising on restructuring options for companies in distress including voluntary arrangements, schemes, and consensual restructuring proposals as well as advisory work assisting companies and their directors on the duties they have when facing financial difficulties.

Thora Johnson Partner

Washington, D.C.

Thora works with medical device, pharmaceutical, biotech and digital health companies, helping them navigate the increasingly complex patchwork of state and federal health privacy laws. One client described her to the Legal 500 as a “very practical” advisor providing “exceptional guidance” on health information privacy and HIPAA compliance matters.

Her breadth and depth of experience enable Thora to assist clients in harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and executing data-sharing arrangements, all while protecting health data. As a result, Thora spends much of her time counseling pioneering startups and high-growth companies on responsible innovation in healthcare and life sciences.

Thora brings extensive experience counseling clients, including Fortune 500 companies and brick and mortar providers, on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and other state and federal health privacy and regulatory compliance regimes including:

• Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s interoperability and information blocking regulations
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service’s (CMS’s) interoperability and patient access regulations
• Part 2 confidentiality requirements applicable to substance abuse records
• State health information privacy laws
• State consumer privacy laws with special controls for health data
• Medicare/Medicaid compliance
• Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA)
• Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)
• Affordable Care Act (ACA) compliance
• Regulatory requirements of the Employer Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the Internal Revenue Code, HIPAA, and the ACA as they apply to employer health and wellness plans

Thora routinely helps companies and large employers prepare for and respond to privacy and security incidents involving health information. She also defends clients in government investigations initiated by the OCR, OIG, DOJ, FTC and State AGs, among others.

Karen G. Johnson-McKewan Senior Counsel

San Francisco

Karen focuses on litigation that crosses the boundaries between traditional legal practices, and therefore requires inventive and strategic approaches. These solutions, tucked in the creases between law and industry, are why leading technology and Fortune 500 companies hire Karen to resolve their most complex litigation matters.

Over the past 36 years, Karen has first-chaired state and federal trials, and arbitrated more than a dozen disputes. She has managed intellectual property and commercial disputes for companies such as Oracle, NVIDIA, Netflix and VMWare.

In addition to her legal background, Karen’s relationship management skills give her clients a significant advantage. She knows how to pull together and lead the best team, from multiple disciplines within Orrick, and often involving multiple law firms. Able to unite what were, and will be, competing firms into a single powerful unit takes a special type of leadership, one which Karen has demonstrated time and again.

Mariah T. Johnston Of Counsel

New York

She focuses her practice on the development of energy infrastructure, including liquefied natural gas terminals, natural gas pipelines and natural gas storage facilities, as well as related transactional and financing matters. She routinely advises companies on securing permits and authorizations for major energy projects and has significant experience with proceedings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, and the U.S. Maritime Administration.

David Jonas Senior Associate

Los Angeles

David's practice centers on disputes over IP and other business interests.

He litigates patent cases against Fortune 500 companies from both sides of the “v.” and advises clients regarding best practices for protecting their IP. He has also helped corporate entities navigate investigations in criminal and bankruptcy contexts. Prior to joining Orrick, David worked as a litigation associate at Milbank LLP.

David also clerked for two years in the federal trial court for the Eastern District of Virginia. During his tenure in the fast-paced “rocket docket,” he was fortunate to assist Judge Allen in presiding over six jury trials and one bench trial. Also, while in law school, David worked as a full-time extern for Judge Kozinski at the Ninth Circuit and was a member of the Entertainment Law Review.

Charnay Jones Managing Associate

Los Angeles

She drafts and negotiates documents for a range of commercial real estate matters, including acquisitions and dispositions, joint venture structuring, financing and development projects.

Charnay is also active in pro bono matters and spent a year as a Pro Bono Fellow with the global nonprofit Accion International, where she provided in-house counsel support and advised teams across the organization in a variety of legal matters.

Jennifer Jones Sr Practice Mgr of Lit & IP

Wheeling, W.V. (GOIC)

Jen is the Senior Practice Manager for the Litigation and Intellectual Property (IP) Business Units at Orrick. With 20 years of complex litigation practice experience, Jen plays a pivotal role in supporting the business and operational needs of Litigation and IP attorneys. Jen works closely with Leadership and various teams, including Talent, Marketing, Recruiting, and Finance, to drive and achieve key goals at the Business Unit, Practice Group, Partner, and Associate levels. She successfully implements strategies aimed at improving utilization, performance, professional development, efficiency, and profitability. Jen is highly committed to the professional development and retention of firm talent. She consistently mentors junior attorneys, fostering their professional growth and encouraging the development of strong practice management skills.