People

Julia Apostle Partner

Paris

Julia counsels on compliance issues in relation to European and French tech and data regulations, including the GDPR, the Digital Services Act, the regulation of AI, the Data Act and other new and emerging legislation impacting online platforms, technology developers, and eCommerce businesses. She advises companies of all sizes on a wide range of compliance matters, ranging the drafting of internal policies, to assisting with regulatory investigations, and product counseling.

In the context of strategic transactions covering significant and complex technological issues, she is involved in the drafting and negotiation of agreements relating to data transfer, IT, software, content and brand licensing.

Qualified to practice in the UK and France, Julia is deeply familiar with the commercial considerations’ clients face, having practiced in-house at Twitter, Financial Times and CBS for more than a decade prior to joining Orrick.

Ciarra Carr Managing Associate

San Francisco

Ciarra’s practice includes white collar criminal defense, global investigations across a broad range of industries, and developing anti-corruption compliance programs. She has extensive experience conducting internal investigations and representing companies against the U.S. government in response to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and sanctions compliance inquiries.

Ciarra's practice also includes online safety, including advising companies regarding statutory reporting and legal reporting in the data privacy space.  Her experience involves best practices with regard to child sexual abuse material (CSAM), cyber harassment, sexual exploitation, and terrorist/hate speech.  Ciarra's expertise includes providing strategic advice to clients with respect to quickly evolving online safety issues such as reporting obligations for social media and internet platforms as well as content moderation and identity verification controls.

Ciarra remains committed to serving her community through varied pro bono matters, including the Criminal Justice Act where she has experience advising individuals charged in large racketeering conspiracies and other federal criminal statues. Most recently, Ciarra served as one of Orrick's inaugural Racial Justice Fellows, working for fifteen months in Howard University School of Law's Civil Rights Clinic. During this time, she assisted the Clinic in filing five amicus briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court, achieved a meaningful settlement on behalf of the family of a man killed by police officers in Greenville, Mississippi (after convincing the district court to deny qualified immunity for the officers involved), and published an academic article about the genesis of Section 1983 and the Ku Klux Klan Hearings of 1871.

Prior to joining Orrick, Ciarra graduated from Brooklyn Law School where she received a distinction in criminal law. While there, she authored timely CLE materials as a Center for Criminal Justice Fellow. She also interned with various non-profit and government agencies, including the Bronx and Kings County district attorney’s offices in the child abuse and sex crimes bureau.

David Chamberlin Managing Director of Strategic Communications Advisory Team

Houston

David collaborates with Orrick’s legal advisory teams, including the litigation, regulatory and transactional practices to provide strategic business guidance to clients facing critical situations. He helps clients address reputational challenges and maximize the opportunities affecting their organizations and stakeholders. He serves as a trusted advisor to the C-suite and Boards across numerous industries around the world. He develops strategies for Congressional hearings, corporate layoffs, federal investigations, mergers and divestitures, multi-country recalls, executive transitions, organizational change management initiatives, cybersecurity and privacy incidents and legal and financial crises.

Prior to joining Orrick, David served as the Chief Marketing Officer at SonicWall, a global cybersecurity leader, where he revamped the marketing, communications and government relations functions. He also served as PNC Financial Services Group’s Chief Communications Officer where he modernized the function and led internal and external communications, corporate social responsibility/ESG messaging, social media strategies, sponsorships and employee recognition. He also led public relations and communications for the credit card business at JPMorgan Chase and served as the Head of Global Communications for Nortel.

As a consultant, he helped launch and lead the  global Data Security & Privacy Group at Edelman. He served as the general manager of Edelman’s Dallas, Texas and Shanghai, China offices and led the firm’s global Financial Comms & Special Circumstances and Crisis & Risk practices. He also served as the North American head of MSL Group’s Issues & Crisis Management Practice. David has appeared on CNN, ABC, PBS and several other broadcast outlets. He has been published in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, Newsweek and Forbes.com. His work has earned several awards, including being named to PRWeek’s Global Power Book and 40 Under 40, as well as earning their inaugural Corporate Public Relations Team of the Year award. He is a regular speaker at conferences and universities around the country

A native of Springfield, Ohio, David has three children and lives with his wife in the Dallas, Texas area. Away from the office, he enjoys spending time with his family, listening to music and cycling.

Alison Epperson Senior Associate

New York

Alison represents individuals and corporations in a broad range of white collar criminal defense, anti-corruption, regulatory, and trade matters across the globe with a focus on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and other anti-corruption laws and regulations. Alison's practice involves conducting internal investigations, representing clients in matters before the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, and U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Controls, and enhancing corporate compliance programs. Alison has extensive experience responding to subpoenas and information requests from government entities and has trial and litigation experience in multiple federal district courts. She has also helped clients navigate shareholder books and records inspection demands and shareholder derivative lawsuits. Alison has represented companies around the world in the oil and gas, medical technology, digital entertainment, pharmaceutical, education, blockchain, technology, and financial industries.

Alison's practice also includes online safety issues, including advising companies on compliance with online safety-related obligations and best practices in the US and conducting online safety compliance risk assessments, especially as it relates to user safety on internet dating platforms. Alison's experience includes representing clients in connection with criminal and civil investigations conducted by state attorneys general related to state online safety legislation. 

Alison remains committed to serving her community through pro bono representation and has experience in reproductive rights cases and policies, immigration and asylum matters, death penalty cases, policing and racial justice cases and policies, and a range of other constitutional issues. Alison has represented clients on civil and criminal matters in federal court, including a domestic violence survivor in a Hague Convention proceeding. Most recently, Alison helped achieve a meaningful settlement on behalf of the family of a man killed by police officers in Greenville, Mississippi after convincing the district court to deny qualified immunity for the officers involved.

Prior to joining Orrick, Alison graduated from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. In addition, while pursuing her undergraduate degree from Centre College, Alison worked on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., specifically in the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee. In 2016, Alison co-founded the non-profit, CTE Hope, an organization dedicated to addressing the issues and research of traumatic brain injures and chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Sulina Gabale Partner

Washington, D.C.

As innovation pushes the limits of technology, those ideas challenge the boundaries of what is considered “personally identifiable information.” Sulina answers the question - how can we create tomorrow’s technology with yesterday’s privacy and consumer protection laws? Sulina works closely with innovators at all levels of a business – executives, engineers, marketing and product, HR and customer service teams – to gain a true understanding of their goals and the data they’re collecting, using and sharing. She places herself in her client’s shoes as well as in consumers’ mindset to devise creative privacy-by-design solutions, ensuring her client’s business and data innovation strategies withstand multi-national rules, government regulations, industry standards and consumer scrutiny.

With experience in both data privacy and consumer protection, Sulina utilizes a comprehensive approach to counsel clients on a myriad of issues affecting consumers and businesses. She routinely guides companies of all sizes through the existing patchwork of laws, self-regulatory standards and industry practice impacting data privacy and security. She advises clients subject to regulatory investigations and litigation involving a spectrum of federal and state laws, including:

• California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA)
• Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
• Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and related state student data privacy laws
• Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
• Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)
• Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) and other biometric privacy laws
• Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act)
• U.S. state privacy laws in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Virginia and other states

Sulina advises companies of all sizes on the development and deployment of cutting-edge technologies and services, including ad-tech, AI and machine learning, biometric tools, social media, robotics and IoT devices, marketing and promotions and more. Sulina began her legal career focusing on consumer protection. She continues to counsel clients on marketing and promotional issues, including interest-based ads; sweepstakes and promotions; automatic renewal and subscriptions; advertising substantiation; influencer programs and social media; SMS text messaging and telemarketing (including matters involving the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)); and other state and federal consumer protection laws.

Sulina’s practice is industry-agnostic. She has represented clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500s, non-profits, academic institutions and city governments across a range of industries from fashion and ecommerce, financial services, retail, food and beverage and technology services. Prior to law school, Sulina worked in the highly interactive fields of journalism, entertainment and digital media. This well-rounded background helps her connect with clients on a personal level, and ensure her advice integrates legal solutions with business practicality.

Before joining Orrick, Sulina was a member of the Privacy & Data Security Group; Entertainment & Media Group; and IP, Information & Innovation Group at Reed Smith, LLP in New York and Washington, D.C.

Adele Harrison Senior Associate

London

Adele has advised clients on a wide range of cybersecurity and data privacy matters.  Adele has a particular interest in online safety requirements for companies and has advised clients in relation to the Age Appropriate Design Code, Video Sharing Platforms requirements and the Online Safety Bill. 

Before joining Orrick, Adele worked for two years on a global investigation into allegations of fraud, bribery and corruption, resulting in settlements with the UK Serious Fraud Office, French Parquet National Financier, U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of State.

Prior to her work in private practice, Adele practiced at the independent Bar for five years. She has experience in prosecuting and defending in a wide range of criminal law cases and has developed a practice focusing on fraud, white collar crime and regulatory law.  Adele has conducted secondments with the Serious Fraud Office and Crown Prosecution Service on high profile banking fraud cases, as well as internships with the International Criminal Court and the New York State Division of Human Rights.

Adele has obtained the Certified Information Privacy Professional - Europe (CIPP/E) designation from the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

Jacob M. Heath Partner

Silicon Valley

With a focus on the intersection of cybersecurity, privacy, online safety and intellectual property, Jake is a trusted advisor to one of the largest technology companies in the world and a major cloud-based communication product and service provider. His recent experience includes representing a major social media platform in litigation related to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

Jake is adept at helping clients develop cutting-edge legal strategies and connect with judges and juries to support their online services, platforms or products while threading the rapidly evolving regulatory landscape. As he sees it, every battle—whether it involves cybercrime, fraud, brand violations, IP infringement, trade secrets or a cybersecurity breach—is an opportunity to help clients problem-solve and future-proof their business. Jake brings a breadth of experience defending clients in a wide range of matters, including commercial and tech transaction litigation, in state and federal court and regulatory investigations.

Meg Hennessey Of Counsel

San Francisco; Orange County

Meg helps online service providers comply with online safety and consumer protection laws by marrying her knowledge of the data-driven environment with a decade of experience in white-collar and regulatory investigations. She also advises her clients on developing Trust & Safety compliance programs to manage the risks of misleading or harmful content online such as child exploitation or hate speech that could lead to investigations or litigation.

As a crisis responder, Meg assists clients at every stage, from starting a dialogue with regulators to responding to formal inquiries to managing investigations. She has led diverse teams of lawyers and consultants in conducting investigations, including those initiated by the DOJ, SEC, FTC, OIG, State AGs, and Congress. She has also acted on both sides of corporate Monitorships, serving on two Monitorship teams, and representing two international companies undergoing years-long scrutiny of an external Monitor. This experience provides her with unique insight into best practices in the assessment and development of ethics, integrity, and online safety trust and compliance programs.

Meg co-leads Orrick’s Orange County women’s inclusion network. Early in her career, she worked with LGBTQ+ youth at the National Center for Lesbian Rights and in the Juvenile Unit at the Santa Clara County Office of the Public Defender. She works pro bono for immigration and women's health organizations. She lives in California with her spouse and kids.

Rami Kawkabani Senior Associate

Paris

Rami advises clients in drafting and negotiating their contractual terms and in the context of strategic transactions covering significant and complex technological issues including in terms of liability and intellectual property.

He also regularly advises clients on compliance with tech and data European and French regulations (Digital Services Act, AI Act, GDPR, Data Act, LCEN) and in the context of their commercial practices towards consumers.

Rami has spent time in-house with major tech companies, and is able to quickly understand his client’s requirements and priorities.

Melissa Levin Managing Associate

San Francisco

In her commercial practice, Melissa represents companies in a wide range of civil disputes including claims of breach of contract, fraud, and consumer protection. Melissa also has experience defending individuals and companies against investigations and subsequent enforcement actions brought by the government, including the OCC.

Melissa’s cybersecurity and privacy experience includes defending companies against class action litigation and disputes following cybersecurity and privacy incidents, as well as counseling clients on data breach incident response and remediation.

Melissa also has a robust pro bono practice. Among other matters, Melissa is currently representing multiple members of a Honduran family seeking various forms of immigration relief.

Ryann Rae McMurry Managing Associate

Los Angeles

Ryann's practice focuses on representing foreign and domestic individuals and companies in a broad range of industries in anti-corruption compliance, government investigations, and white collar criminal defense matters. Her experiences include conducting internal investigations and representing companies in investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission and working with companies to develop and enhance their corporate compliance programs. She also represents clients in matters involving complex civil and criminal litigation matters. Ryann joined Orrick after completing a one-year fellowship as an Orrick Fellow at ACLU of Northern California.

Serena Nichols Managing Associate

San Francisco

Serena's practice focuses on representing individuals and companies in a broad range of industries in government and internal investigations, securities litigation, regulatory enforcement actions, and other complex business litigation. Her experiences include conducting internal investigations and representing companies and individuals in investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Drug Enforcement Agency. Serena represents companies in the technology and financial sectors in a wide range of civil disputes including claims of breach of contract and patent infringement.