
New York
Prior to joining Orrick, Darrell served as the Global Head of Litigation and Regulatory Proceedings at Goldman Sachs, where he served as a key advisor to the firm and oversaw litigation, arbitration, and other disputes, as well as regulatory, criminal, and investigative proceedings, affecting Goldman Sachs, its world-wide affiliates, or their employees. In this role, Darrell managed a large international team of lawyers that determined legal strategy for threatened or actual litigations, regulatory and criminal matters and other contentious proceedings, oversaw internal investigations, and advised legal and business constituencies on legal, reputational and regulatory risks and issues involving all businesses of Goldman Sachs including investment banking, global markets, merchant banking, research, trading, lending, M&A, asset and wealth management, and consumer lending. Darrell was responsible for the firm’s most critical litigation and regulatory matters and successfully resolved a number of important matters on behalf of the firm.
Before joining Goldman Sachs in 2018, Darrell was a litigation partner at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. Over the years, Darrell has litigated a broad range of commercial cases, including in the areas of securities, banking, financial services, antitrust, consumer financial products, products liability, business torts, bankruptcy litigation, ERISA and other complex corporate litigation. For example, Darrell has represented several financial institutions and public companies, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Moody’s, Banco Popular, and Fiat Chrysler, in numerous securities class actions, shareholder litigations and other disputes. Darrell also has guided corporate and individual clients across the globe through multi-billion-dollar investigations, enforcement proceedings, and significant compliance matters including a wide range of matters before the DOJ, the SEC, the CFTC, FINRA, the Federal Reserve Bank, the New York Department of Financial Services and various state attorneys general, and foreign bank regulators. For example, Darrell advised Goldman Sachs in reaching coordinated resolutions in multiple criminal and regulatory investigations in jurisdictions around the world relating to an alleged multi-billion-dollar money laundering and corruption scheme involving the Malaysian sovereign development company, 1MDB, and senior public officials in Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates. Darrell also served as lead counsel to one of the preeminent automobile manufacturers in multiyear criminal and regulatory investigations relating to diesel emissions, sales reporting and bribery issues.
San Francisco
San Francisco
Sam advises public and private companies on a wide range of strategic transactions, including complex merger and acquisition transactions, debt and equity investments and joint ventures. She also counsels boards and investors on fiduciary duties and other corporate governance matters.
London
Emma's primary focus is venture capital work, and she has considerable experience working with early stage companies as well as with investors and VCs. She can advise on all aspects of venture and growth capital transactions including early stage financing, institutional funding rounds and exits.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
His practice focuses on the representation of sponsors, issuers, project developers, lenders, investors and governmental entities in project financings, infrastructure projects in the public-private partnership sector and securities offerings.
New York
Max has extensive experience in a broad range of domestic and cross-border corporate and transactional matters, including venture capital and growth equity financings, mergers & acquisitions, fund formation and SPAC transactions. He has represented both early and growth stage companies in hundreds of venture capital financings, growth equity investments and M&A transactions, and he regularly advises leading venture capital and private equity funds on their investments across the innovation ecosystem.
Max is also known for working closely with clients to provide strategic business insights and outside general counsel services, advising clients on corporate governance and boardroom matters, product development and design, fundraising strategy and general commercial matters.
In addition to representing US companies on domestic transactions, Max has substantial experience representing clients outside the US, including emerging companies and venture funds operating in Canada, Europe, Latin America, India, Japan, Singapore, China, Australia, Israel, the Cayman Islands and various other jurisdictions.
San Francisco
Rachel has defended financial services, technology, and retail industry clients on a broad range of employment law issues in federal and state courts and administrative agencies in California and throughout the country. She has significant experience with single plaintiff and class action litigation involving wage and hour claims, collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and representative actions under the California Private Attorneys General Act.
In addition to her extensive litigation practice, Rachel also provides employers with advice and counsel on employment law issues, including best employment practices, at-will employment, compensation and equity, reductions in force, and employee classifications.
Rachel maintains an active pro bono practice by providing advice and counsel on employment matters to non-profit organizations, as well as volunteering with a number of non-profit organizations committed to advancing the right to vote and voting accessibility.
San Francisco
San Francisco
He also has legal experience relating to both charter schools and the federal income tax classification of governmental and quasi-governmental entities. He has consulted on thousands of tax-exempt, build America and tax credit bond issues and has developed deep knowledge in almost every tax aspect of municipal finance. Private activity bonds for multifamily housing, solid waste, charter schools and independent schools are areas of particular focus in his practice, as are higher education, short-term and long-term working capital and the various forms of pooled financings. Chas also has advised numerous clients experiencing financial distress or bankruptcy in tax matters relating to their municipal bonds. Representative active clients include the State of California, the University of California, the Bay Area Toll Authority, and Charter School Capital.
As a legal and policy advocate, Chas represents both government and non-government clients in federal tax rulemaking matters and in IRS proceedings, including the various types of tax-exempt bond audits, voluntary compliance (VCAP) requests and requests for private letter rulings. He has successfully closed IRS examinations relating to solid waste, water and wastewater, working capital, healthcare, pooled, multifamily housing, and industrial development bond financings. He has obtained multiple private letter rulings and technical advice memoranda and has been integrally involved in numerous regulation and legislative projects. He has found that a close working relationship with IRS and Treasury Department personnel often is critical to obtaining good results for clients.
Los Angeles; Santa Monica
Los Angeles; Santa Monica
Alyssa represents companies in all stages of litigation — from pre-suit investigation, through trial, and on to appeals court. In 2023 alone, she was a key member of Orrick teams that won two jury verdicts, three ITC proceedings, and numerous IPRs and dispositive motions.
She draws upon her engineering degree from Harvey Mudd College to engage with technical professionals and quickly grasp new technologies. She brings experience with technologies ranging from medical devices, streaming media systems, software and peripheral computer components to projects in the aerospace and automotive industries.
She acts for companies of all sizes. Current clients include Sonos, Zynga, Micro Focus, Oracle, DISH, Checkpoint, RingCentral, and Cellink.
The Daily Journal recognized Alyssa as one of the Top Women Lawyers in California in 2023 and both Bloomberg Law and Daily Journal named her to their 40 Under 40 lists.
For Alyssa, IP protection is more than business; it’s personal. For more than a half-century, her family patented mechanical technologies that they developed into a thriving business, inspiring her love of science and technology as well as her desire to protect innovative ideas. Alyssa calls Southern California home, but remains loyal to the sports teams of her Bay Area childhood.
New York
Chris has represented major ISPs in high-stakes copyright litigation, tech titans pushing the cutting edge, national retailers with key trademarks on the line, and global manufacturers facing class action risk. He has authored dozens of appellate briefs, winning results in federal and state courts of appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. And he is a consummate team player when partnering with trial teams to craft winning legal strategies and themes, brief dispositive motions, win key legal and evidentiary rulings at trial, and construct a record with an eye towards appeal.
Chris is most passionate about the novel issues that arise at the intersection of tech and commerce, implicating the balance between creation, innovation, and competition. Whether it's the DMCA and copyright's intermediary liability doctrines, generative AI, data scraping, or trade secrets, he relishes litigating in the gray areas, presenting what the law ought to be as plain common sense. Chris also has a wealth of experience in class action defense in both trial and appellate courts, including several appellate victories defending the denial of class certification. And his broader experience includes bankruptcy, telecommunications, constitutional law, and various issues confronting Fintech companies.
Chris maintains an active pro bono practice. He led a team that prevailed in both federal district court and in the Second Circuit in one of the nation's most closely watched police transparency cases. The year before, he argued and won a precedent-setting parole appeal in New York’s Appellate Division on behalf of a former juvenile offender. And he has won victories for clients in immigration cases and cases presenting novel legal issues under freedom of information laws.
Prior to joining Orrick, Chris was a law clerk to Judge Robert D. Sack of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Chief Judge Carol B. Amon of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
San Francisco
Dan represents secured and unsecured lenders, court-appointed claimant representatives, and creditors' committees. He has experience with adversary proceedings, contested matters and appeals. He also helps lenders with out-of-court workouts and has advised creditors in state-court rehabilitations.
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.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
His practice focuses on intellectual property litigation in district courts and the International Trade Commission, leveraging nearly two decades of leadership and technical experience to provide creative solutions for technical challenges.