People

Julia Fabian Managing Associate

Düsseldorf

She advises domestic as well as international clients on German and European antitrust and competition law, including mergers, compliance, internal investigations, cartels and abuse of dominance. In addition, Julia advises on foreign direct investment proceedings before the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action . Another part of her practice is to provide general corporate counselling.

At the beginning of her career at Orrick, Julia advised national and international clients on complex cross-border mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital investments, so she is experienced in corporate transactions to that extent.

Prior to joining Orrick, Julia worked as research assistant and trainee lawyer for several international law firms in Düsseldorf and Frankfurt.

Craig Falls Partner

Washington, D.C.

Craig has cleared the way for high-profile and highly scrutinized mergers and defended such transactions in litigation when challenged by enforcers. Complementing his merger work, Craig also represents companies in exclusionary conduct investigations and related litigation brought by antitrust enforcers, rival companies, and classes of consumers.

Craig has been on the front lines of cutting-edge antitrust issues, including scrutiny of asset managers under the “common ownership” theory, investigations of patent assertion entities, scrutiny of e-commerce business models, and challenges to pharmaceutical licenses and patent settlements.

He regularly provides antitrust counseling, helping companies structure their joint ventures, licensing arrangements, and other commercial agreements to achieve their business goals at minimized antitrust risk. Craig has published frequently on questions concerning the application of antitrust law to vertical restraints, pricing practices and other relationships between companies operating at different levels of the supply chain.

Craig serves clients in a wide variety of industries, including life sciences, technology, energy, transportation, consumer packaged goods, and retail.

Passionate about pro bono work, Craig focuses on representing the interests of those experiencing homelessness and protects D.C. neighbors facing eviction. He has also represented victims of human trafficking and helped to obtain a trial victory for plaintiffs challenging Wisconsin’s photo identification voter law.

Niki Fang Partner

San Francisco

Niki concentrates her corporate practice on representing issuers and underwriters in public offerings and capital markets transactions.  Niki also regularly counsels public and late-stage private companies on securities law compliance, disclosure matters, SEC reporting obligations, corporate governance and stock exchange listing obligations. In addition, Niki’s practice includes venture capital financings and advising start-up companies on general corporate matters. She represents a wide range of technology and life sciences companies, from privately held start-ups to publicly traded corporations.

Prior to joining Orrick, Niki was at Fenwick & West LLP and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.

Nicholas Farnsworth Partner

Boston

Nick provides compliance guidance on both proposed and effective laws on a federal and state level in the United States, including:

• Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM)
• Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
• Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) and other biometric privacy laws
• Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
• Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)
• Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC) Act
• Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
• U.S. state breach notification laws
• U.S. state privacy laws
• U.S. artificial intelligence laws

He also counsels clients on the impact of international laws from a U.S. perspective, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the ePrivacy Directive (ePD), and the EU Artificial Intelligence Act.

Nick helps clients develop flexible governance frameworks for the development and use of artificial intelligence in the face of ever evolving AI legislation. He also advises clients on strategies, policies and procedures for the sourcing of AI training data, the responsible use of AI by employees, the assessment of risks presented by AI tools, the design of consumer-facing AI, the negotiation of AI-related contracts and the handling of AI-related regulatory inquiries and investigations.

Nick also devotes a portion of his practice to innovative client solutions and community engagement. He was part of the Orrick team that developed Orrick’s AI Resource Center, EU AI Act reference guide, U.S. AI Law Tracker and Gen AI Policy Builder. His pro bono practice has included representing clients in immigration and innocence matters and assisting small businesses with their legal needs.

Nick has obtained the Certified Information Privacy Professional -/ United States (CIPP/US), Certified Information Privacy Technologist (CIPT) and Privacy Law Specialist (PLS) designations from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).

Diana Szego Fassbender Partner

Washington, D.C.

Diana’s experience in managing intricate, high-stakes litigation is evident in her innovative and cost-effective case strategies that consistently lead to favorable resolutions.

Diana's clients rely on her sophisticated, thoughtful approach to ensure solutions align with their overall business goals. Whether it’s through inception, trial, or appeal, Diana's involvement in all phases of litigation guarantees a seamless and effective process. When a business dispute requires aggressive action, Diana is equally adept at representing plaintiffs, showcasing her versatility and determination to achieve fair outcomes for her clients.

Though her experience spans a range of high-stakes commercial disputes, class action and product liability litigation are cornerstones of her practice. In addition to her skill in product liability, Diana has over a decade of experience litigating a variety of intellectual property matters. Her portfolio includes complex multi-defendant, multi-patent district court infringement actions, fast-paced Section 337 Investigations in the International Trade Commission, and high-stakes copyright and trademark cases.

Beyond her litigation success, Diana is dedicated to fostering talent and diversity within the legal community. She has served as a deputy to Orrick's Women's Initiative and played a key role in Orrick's recruiting efforts. Diana previously co-chaired the Associates Committee of Orrick's Washington, D.C., office, earning the Mentor of the Year award in 2011 for her outstanding contributions.

Since joining Orrick's New York office in 2007, Diana has been actively involved in community service. Before Orrick, Diana practiced law in Miami, where she was involved in the local legal community, serving on the Board of Directors of the Dade County Bar Association and participating in the Dade County eMentor program and the Women's Fund of Miami-Dade.

Fabio Fauceglia Partner

Milan

He regularly represents strategic and private equity buyers as well as families and entrepreneurs in M&A transactions in a variety of sectors including, energy, oil& gas, industrials, automotive, composite materials, food and technology.

Among its notable transactions, Fabio led the international team assisting General Electric on its $4.3 billion acquisition of the aviation business of Avio S.p.A. (European Private Equity Deal of the Year).

He received a Master’s Degree from Columbia University in New York and is qualified both as a New York and Italian lawyer. He has been included in the 50 Italian Best Lawyers List by Legal Community.

Ian Faucher Associate

San Francisco

He advises clients on a wide variety of matters, including power purchase agreements, project financings, project acquisitions and sales, and energy regulatory issues.

Before practicing law, Ian helped leading companies and governments navigate their sustainability goals as a management consultant. As a law student, he served as a law clerk at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and at the California Public Utilities Commission.

Dr. Karsten Faulhaber Partner

Düsseldorf

Karsten represents clients in international arbitrations under all the main arbitral institutions, including the ICC and DIS, frequently acts as sole and party-appointed arbitrator and also represents clients before national courts in Germany with experience in setting aside and enforcement actions.

As a former M&A transactional lawyer Karsten has solid grounding in pre-contractual and contractual negotiations and advises among others, energy producers and distributors, both traditional (oil and gas) and renewables (solar, wind) construction conglomerates, financial institutions, JVs and biotech companies.

Karsten is praised for his "proactive and skillful" approach (Chambers Global) and has been recognized by Best Lawyers in Germany 2020 and Legal 500.

Matthew Fechik Sr Distressed Trade Car Assoc

Wheeling, W.V. (GOIC)

The Restructuring Group advises banks, broker-dealers, hedge funds, and other entities on legal issues relating to the purchase and sale of syndicated loans, bankruptcy claims, and other alternative investments. Matthew's practice focuses on distressed debt trading.

During law school Matthew completed internships with Alcoa's Corporate Tax Department and Neighborhood Legal Services Association.

Debra Felder Chief Practice Officer of Finance

Washington, D.C.

As Chief Practice Officer, Debbie advises on strategic planning, operations, and management of Orrick's Banking & Finance, Public Finance, Real Estate, Restructuring, and Structured Finance practice groups, which comprise more than 200 attorneys globally.  Her responsibilities include oversight of the Finance Business Unit's financial performance, advancement of the Unit's strategic initiatives, business planning and execution, and lawyer recruiting.  

As a lawyer in Orrick's Restructuring group, Debbie represents secured and unsecured creditors, investors, lenders, asset purchasers, financial institutions, preference defendants, debtors and other parties in a wide variety of bankruptcy and restructuring matters, as well as in related litigation throughout the United States. In 2020 and 2021, Chambers USA named Debbie an Associate to Watch in the District of Columbia’s Bankruptcy/Restructuring category, and clients praised her as “extremely knowledgeable” and providing “very business-minded, practical advice in the most efficient manner possible.”

Debbie is currently the lead restructuring associate representing the court-appointed representative for future asbestos personal injury claimants in a complex Chapter 11 pending.

Debbie was the lead restructuring associate representing Toyota in the $30 billion bankruptcy of Takata Corporation. Takata and several of its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States and sought bankruptcy protection in Japan and several other jurisdictions in the aftermath of a worldwide problem involving faulty airbag inflators that led to numerous deaths and the recall of millions of vehicles. Toyota was one of the largest creditors in the proceedings, with claims of over $7 billion. Orrick’s work in the Takata bankruptcy and restructuring matter – which included the sale of all of Takata’s assets except for the inflator business to the Chinese-owned, Michigan-based Key Safety Systems – was awarded the “2019 Cross Border Turnaround of the Year / Large” by Global M&A Network.

Debbie was also the lead restructuring associate in the representation of the Conflicts Committee of Seadrill Partners (SDLP) in the $14 billion Chapter 11 bankruptcy and associated restructuring proceedings of Seadrill Limited, SDLP’s parent company. This bankruptcy and related restructuring was awarded “2019 Cross Border Turnaround of the Year / Mega” by Global M&A Network.

Other recent notable engagements include representing counsel to a borrower in the restructuring of a toll road, representing financial institutions and others in the global Lehman insolvency proceedings, representing a lender in the restructuring of a performing arts center, representing a purchaser in a section 363 bankruptcy sale and representing a defendant in a preference and fraudulent transfer litigation.

Debbie is active in pro bono matters including advising distressed clients in corporate dissolution proceedings pursuant to state statutes. She recently drafted a white paper on “Pay for Success” (PFS) programs – a social services funding mechanism in which non-governmental investors fund social programs and receive returns on their investments from the government only if the programs are successful – which explores the feasibility of using PFS programs to provide civil legal aid to vulnerable populations. She also represents proposed guardians and adoptive parents in connection with guardianship and adoption proceedings involving abused or neglected children in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia.

In addition, Debbie serves as Orrick's Risk Management Counsel where she advises the Firm's management and more than 1,100 Orrick lawyers across the world on issues related to professional responsibility, risk management, and legal issues involving the Firm.

Debbie regularly presents CLE training programs to clients on bankruptcy-related topics, including best practices for creditors.

Prior to joining Orrick, Debbie was an associate at Swidler Berlin LLP. As an undergraduate, she spent four summers as an intern in the Clerk’s Office of the United States Supreme Court. During her time at the United States Supreme Court, Debbie researched and wrote a paper on the U.S. Attorneys General, which she presented to the U.S. Solicitor General.

Nick Feldman Partner

Los Angeles; Santa Monica

For more than a decade, Nick has guided high-growth companies from inception to exit, advising on formation, financings, mergers and acquisitions, and IPOs while serving as outside general counsel on day-to-day legal matters as they scale.

Leveraging Orrick’s sector-focused approach and legal innovation tools, Nick works with companies across a range of industries, with a focus on disruptive technologies—including fintech, Web3 and blockchain, artificial intelligence, healthcare and biotech, digital media, and consumer products. He also represents top venture capital firms investing in these sectors across equity, debt, and token financings.

Prior to joining Orrick, Nick was a senior counsel at Gunderson Dettmer.

Nick earned his J.D. from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review and received the Otto Kaus Award for Excellence in Legal Scholarship.

Before law school, he built a career as a journalist, photographer, and publicist covering music, food, and the arts. A proud Husky, he earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington.

Patrick Ferguson Partner

San Francisco

Patrick is described by Chambers USA as “an excellent writer”, an “expert on the California power market", and “experienced across a range of assets including solar and geothermal power plants and transmission lines.” He works on commercial and regulatory challenges involving the transition of the electric power grid to renewable resources, and represents some of the country’s largest power producers in wholesale and retail energy and capacity market transactions.

Patrick advises solar, wind, geothermal, and energy storage project sponsors on site acquisition, transmission, and power purchase agreement negotiations. He also assists producers of new technologies that combat climate change, including renewable fuels, carbon capture, and carbon offset credits, in structuring novel commercial transactions.