People

Christopher Higgins Partner

Washington, D.C.

Chris has developed a global reputation as an authoritative source on legal issues in 3D printing, and has been a featured speaker at 3D printing events around the world. His 3D printing practice includes advising startups and established 3D printing companies on all aspects of intellectual property law, cybersecurity, and technology transactions. Chris helps 3D printing clients grow their businesses and capitalize on market opportunities and represents them in court to defend or enforce IP rights. Chris' 3D printing work extends beyond the courtroom; he teaches a course at Penn State University as part of its Masters of Engineering in Additive Manufacturing and Design program.

Chris' patent litigation and IPR practice also covers a wide range of other technologies including graphics processing, digital image processing and printing, semiconductor devices and semiconductor manufacturing, data encryption, high-definition television, digital content recognition, and medical devices. Chris has also assisted clients with licensing and patent prosecution related to 3D printing, digital imaging, wireless technology, mobile communication devices, encryption, high-definition television and medical devices.

Prior to law school, Chris worked in the patent department of a medical device company and as an engineer designing electronic components for missiles, projectiles, and bombs.

Bailey Higgs Associate

Seattle

Bailey focuses on capital markets transactions, including public and private offerings of debt and equity securities, and on corporate governance and securities law compliance matters.

She also maintains an active pro bono practice. She represents several high-profile international nonprofits focused on international conflict zones, refugees and war crimes. A particular area of focus for her is on Ukraine.

Teresa Hill Partner

Seattle

Focused on helping public and private companies in achieving their global “net zero” carbon commitments, Teresa has a particular emphasis on negotiating renewable energy power purchase agreements (PPAs). She has partnered with some of the largest corporate buyers of renewable energy, working to expand the global footprint of their energy portfolios in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Australia and Asia.

Teresa has extensive experience with wind, solar and storage projects and, specifically, the negotiation of development-related agreements, including virtually and physically settled renewable power purchase agreements.

Prior to joining Orrick, Teresa was a partner in the energy and infrastructure group of a global law firm and in the environment, land use and natural resources and renewable energy groups of a Portland-based law firm. She also clerked for Chief Justice Linda Copple Trout, the first woman appointed to the Idaho Supreme Court.

Austin Himes Associate

Washington, D.C.

His practice focuses on project development and finance, offtake agreements, mergers and acquisitions and general corporate matters. Austin represents sponsors, developers, lenders and investors in connection with equity investments, refinancing transactions, and joint ventures, primarily in the renewable energy sector.

Austin also has experience working on agreements concerning the construction of renewable energy projects, including photovoltaic module supply agreements, turbine supply and service agreements, engineering procurement and construction (EPC) agreements, battery energy storage system (BESS) supply agreements, and subcontracts of various scopes.

Prior to joining Orrick, Austin worked as a research assistant for the Assistant Dean for Energy Law at the George Washington University Law School, a law clerk for the Department of Justice, a financial analyst for large U.S. government acquisitions, and as a project manager for a California-based fintech startup.

Ibra Hinds Associate

San Francisco

Ibrahim Hinds is an Associate in the Intellectual Property Group at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, based in the San Francisco office. His practice focuses on intellectual property disputes in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, patent disputes before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), and cases before the International Trade Commission (ITC). While completing his degree at UC Berkeley, he hosted podcasts for the Berkeley Technology Law Journal, exploring global developments at the intersection of technology and law.

Before joining Orrick, Ibrahim interned at Microsoft in the CELA Intellectual Property group, where he worked on patent portfolio strategy, IP litigation and prosecution, and privacy. He also gained extensive experience as a Transportation Engineer at Arcadis and the Florida Department of Transportation, managing major infrastructure projects, including those focused on autonomous and connected vehicle technologies. His technical expertise spans multiple industries, including consumer electronics, telecommunications, transportation systems, green building, renewable energy, privacy regulation, artificial intelligence, and cloud networks.

Prior to law school, Ibrahim served as the Florida State Representative for Engineers Without Borders, coordinating international infrastructure development projects to empower communities. At Orrick, his pro bono work extends to immigration rights, climate change research for the UN, global peacebuilding policy research and veterans rights.

Ultimately, Ibrahim is passionate about helping companies protect their intellectual property and achieve their business goals.

Lynne T. Hirata Of Counsel

San Francisco

She also has extensive experience in public finance transactions as company counsel and bond counsel.

Ned Hirschfeld Senior Associate

New York

Ned focuses on appellate litigation. He has authored successful merits briefs and petitions for certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as dozens of briefs in federal and state appellate courts. Ned's work has covered a wide range of subject areas, including patent, constitutional law, and complex commercial litigation.  He has also counseled Fintech clients on novel issues confronting the industry.

Ned maintains an active pro bono practice focused on immigration and criminal justice matters, including a successful appeal in the Second Circuit that vacated an arbitrary change to the meaning of "moral turpitude" under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Prior to joining Orrick, Ned served as a law clerk to Judge Robert Sack of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Judge Kimba Wood of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.  During law school, he served as an Articles Editor for the Yale Law Journal.

Kar Ho Of Counsel

New York

Necia Hobbes Senior Employment Career Assoc

Wheeling, W.V. (GOIC)

Necia’s employment law practice focuses on federal court discrimination litigation, as well as complex litigation and class actions, including pay equity claims, wage and hour disputes, and OFCCP administrative claims. She handles cases from inception through to appellate briefing and strategy, and assists companies with a variety of compliance-related challenges including internal investigations, pay equity analyses, and government investigations and audits.

Prior to joining Orrick, Necia handled all aspects of general litigation cases at another global law firm including acting as lead counsel in approximately 50 cases in federal, state and administrative courts.

Additionally, Ms. Hobbes served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable D. Michael Fisher of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and obtained a graduate degree from Carnegie Mellon University’s H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy & Management. She previously consulted with the Office of High School Reform for the Pittsburgh Public Schools, served as a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs with the Coro Center for Civil Leadership in Pittsburgh, PA, and worked as a project manager and writer at a market research firm.

Ms. Hobbes is dedicated to pro bono and community service, and has volunteered advising non-profit organizations through employment law challenges related to COVID-19, developing resources on international anti-trafficking laws, and litigating immigration cases assisting refugee children fleeing violence in Central America, civil cases helping prisoners pursue their constitutional rights, and state court petitions for transgender legal name changes.  She has volunteered in the past with women’s rights and immigration advocacy organizations, and teaching English in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Eric Hochstadt Partner

New York

Major players across technology, life sciences, financial services, retail, sports and transportation hire Eric again and again. Chambers USA describes him as "one of the foremost experts in antitrust law," praised for his creativity and practical approach. Clients commend him as a "really good trial lawyer," who is "skilled, savvy, and practical.” Lawdragon names him among the 500 "Leading Litigators in America."

Eric has played a pivotal role in shaping modern antitrust law through his involvement in significant cases challenging important business or industry-wide practices and transformational acquisitions. This has ranged from securing a complete defense verdict in the rare antitrust jury trial attacking an asset swap transaction – a case American Lawyer dubbed “An Antitrust Unicorn — With $800M on the Line”; to defeating a government merger challenge based on the novel “potential competition” theory that a “Big Tech” firm should enter a new market by “building versus buying”; to upholding a private equity firm’s ability to do “joint bids” for investment opportunities; to securing the dismissal of an alleged “no poach” class action by avoiding automatic or per se scrutiny of a distribution arrangement at the outset of the lawsuit – a win highlighted in American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week” column; to achieving a landmark class action settlement against a copyright collective with 20 years of licensing and royalty rate-setting conduct relief after regulators declined to bring an enforcement action. This work often involves the testimony of C-suite witnesses, opinions of leading economic experts, and the intersection of antitrust law with employment and intellectual property laws.

A member of the Executive Committee of the Antitrust Section of the New York State Bar Association, Eric speaks regularly before antitrust bar associations and at PLI and GCR programs.

Alice Hoesterey Senior Associate

Silicon Valley; Seattle

Alice has experience representing public and private companies in litigation across multiple industries including entertainment, technology, automotive, and retail. Alice regularly counsels clients on complex litigation strategy in multiple venues, including federal and state court, arbitration, and before government tribunals. She has successfully drafted numerous dispositive motions, managed all aspects of fact and expert discovery, and has substantial experience taking and defending depositions and arguing critical motions. Alice has litigated all types of disputes, including complicated trade secret actions,  whistleblower and discrimination claims, enforcement of non-compete agreements, and class actions, reaching favorable resolutions for her clients. 

Alice maintains an active pro bono practice, focusing primarily on issues relating to criminal justice reform.  

Prior to joining Orrick, Alice worked as an associate in Latham & Watkins’ Century City office. She earned her Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School where she graduated cum laude.

Russell Hoffman Senior Associate

Chicago

Russell represents private credit funds, asset managers, banks, sponsors, borrowers and other investors in financings for a wide range of energy and infrastructure asset classes, including solar, wind, battery storage, conventional power and other infrastructure projects. With extensive private credit experience, Russell is skilled at structuring and documenting complex financing structures such as senior secured project-level financings, back-leveraged financings, term loan A, term loan B and asset-backed loans.