People

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.

Elaine Ke Associate

Silicon Valley

Elaine joined Orrick with previous experience as a paralegal supporting the prosecution of foreign portfolios and U.S. portfolios of patents, trademarks, and design patents.

Now, Elaine works with Orrick's patent litigation teams to support investigations before the ITC, and cases before the PTAB and district courts. Her practice encompasses all phases of a matter, including expert and fact discovery strategy and management, motion drafting, written discovery, deposition preparation, and witness preparation. She holds a B.S. from the Johns Hopkins University in Biomedical Engineering and graduated cum laude from the Santa Clara University School of Law with a Tech Edge J.D. She is admitted to the State Bar of California.

Daniel Patrick Kearney Senior Associate

New York

Daniel focuses on technology transactions, including drafting and negotiating a variety of commercial and intellectual property focused agreements, and represents technology companies in a variety of areas, including stand-alone licensing, software as a service, and software development arrangements, and corporate matters, mergers & acquisitions, and financings.

Before joining Orrick, Daniel was an attorney in the IP & Tech Transactions group at Davis Polk & Wardwell, working on a variety of intellectual property, data privacy and security, and transactional matters.

Before becoming a lawyer, Daniel spent several years prosecuting patent applications as a registered patent agent.

Gerald Keeler Forensic Accountant

San Francisco

Alexandra Keenan Managing Associate

London

She is also a member of the firm's AI & Privacy Committee which focuses on researching and writing about various legal issues in the field of artificial intelligence.

Alexandra joined the firm as a trainee in 2018.

Jennifer Keighley Partner

New York

Jennifer has co-authored numerous briefs and dispositive motions in federal and state courts of appeals and trial courts, and at both the certiorari and merits stage in the U.S. Supreme Court. Her experience covers a wide range of substantive areas, including constitutional law and statutory interpretation, labor and employment, intellectual property, healthcare law, privacy law, class action defense, securities litigation, and complex commercial litigation. She has deep expertise in appeals and critical motions in financial services litigation, including representing financial institutions in major RMBS cases and in putative and certified class actions, and she is currently representing Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and other underwriters of initial and secondary offerings in multiple securities class actions. Jennifer also maintains an active pro bono practice focusing on the areas of immigrant and women’s rights.

While at Orrick, Jennifer has argued and won two appeals. She argued and won an appeal on behalf of OpenTV raising issues of contract interpretation in the California Court of Appeal. She also argued and won an appeal on behalf of an immigration client seeking relief under the Convention Against Torture in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Prior to joining Orrick, Jennifer was a Staff Attorney at a national nonprofit and an associate at a boutique firm. In her prior roles, she participated in all aspects of litigation, arguing and briefing dispositive motions, examining multiple witnesses at trial, and taking depositions of both fact and expert witnesses. Jennifer graduated from Yale Law School, where she was an Editor on the Yale Law Journal. Immediately following law school, she served as a law clerk to Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Don Keller Head of Corporate Development

Silicon Valley

In 2020 and 2021, Don founded and served as CEO of Joinder, a SaaS engagement platform that provides a system of record for legal projects and files/documents, which was acquired by Brightflag.

Prior to founding Joinder, Don spent his legal career as a corporate partner at Orrick and Venture law Group advising high growth technology companies, public companies, venture capital firms and investment banks. He advised clients on more than 60 public offerings, 75 acquisition transactions and several hundred venture financings.

Chambers USA recognized Don for his work, noting he is "valued for his knowledge of venture capital firms and his strength in advising technology companies on public offerings, acquisition transactions and venture financings. One client insists that 'I would not dream of starting a company without him as my outside counsel.'"

Don held many leadership positions at Orrick. Don most recently led Orrick’s Technology Sector, which is one of the three focus areas (along with energy and finance) for the firm. Don is a former member of Orrick’s Board of Directors, served as head of the firm’s global corporate practice, served as head of the firm’s Silicon Valley Office and served as co-head of the firm's diversity efforts.

Don also previously served for many years on the Executive Committee of Venture Law Group.

Don recently represented companies being sold in the following transactions: Wavefront to VMware; Nervana to Intel; TOA to Oracle; Altiscale to SAP; Sailthru to Campaign Monitor; Twin Prime to Salesforce; 3Scale to Red Hat; Vendavo to Francisco Partners; FoodyDirect to Goldbelly; Yieldex to AppNexus; and LS9 to Renewable Energy Group.

Don led transactions for Google (Nasdaq GS: GOOG), Oracle (Nasdaq GS: ORCL), Tibco (Nasdaq GS: TIBX), Adaptec (Nasdaq GS: ADPT), Shutterfly (Nasdaq GS: SFLY), Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE:MSO), Sum Total Systems (Nasdaq GS: SUMT) and Rambus (Nasdaq GS: RMBS).  Don also represented many investment banking clients in public offering transactions, including representing Goldman, Sachs & Co. in offerings for many issuers.

Don also is a past member of the Board of Overseers of Boston College Law School. 

Meghan Kelly Partner

New York; Los Angeles

Meghan approaches each representation with a problem-solving mentality and comprehensive legal strategy. In an industry where many cases are settled, she has established an impressive record at trial including for chemical, pharmaceutical, automotive, biotechnology, manufacturing and food companies in their most important cases. Drawing on her winning track record in front of juries, Meghan strategically prepares clients’ cases from the beginning to put them in the best position to achieve a favorable outcome.

Bart Kempf Partner

Washington, D.C.

Bart’s experience includes advising project developers, financial institutions, private equity firms, state and local governments, and public and private companies on matters involving environmental and natural resources laws, including:

• Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund);
• National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA);
• Endangered Species Act and other wildlife laws;
• National Historic Preservation Act and tribal issues;
• Clean Water Act;
• Clean Air Act;
• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA);
• Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act; and
• Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

Bart’s work includes transactions, project development and permitting, litigation, agency proceedings, and enforcement actions. He represents clients in matters involving federal and state agencies, including the U.S. EPA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and state and local environmental and resource protection agencies.

Bart has also handled numerous matters involving federal, state, and local economic incentives, grants, and loan guarantees. In particular, he has advised energy and commercial development clients on applying for and obtaining incentives for the redevelopment of brownfield sites.

Bart maintains an active pro bono practice that has included matters involving conservation, human trafficking, and family law. Prior to joining Orrick, Bart practiced at an international firm and a national firm focused on environmental law.  He also served as senior counsel on the staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, focusing on environmental, energy, and climate issues.

Brooks Kenyon Senior Associate

Austin

Brooks has represented innovative, multinational companies—both offensively and defensively—in intellectual property disputes. He has handled an array of technologies in the electrical, medical device, communications, and software spaces. Prior to joining Orrick, Brooks was an associate in the Intellectual Property practice group of a large international law firm.

Brooks graduated from Boston College Law School, where he was a finalist in the Wendell F. Grimes Moot Court Competition, served as a judicial intern for the Honorable Indira Talwani of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and served as an executive editor of the UCC Reporter-Digest.

Brooks holds a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Texas A&M University, where he was a member of the IEEE Honor Society (Eta Kappa Nu).

Anastasia Kerdock Counsel

New York

Anastasia advises and defends clients with respect to a wide range of employment matters including:

• Allegations of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation
• Pattern or practice, class, and collective actions
• Diversity and inclusion initiatives and pay equity

Anastasia also counsels clients on a variety of legal issues and best practices related to the employee life cycle, including:

• Recruitment
• Hiring
• Performance management
• Separation of employment
• Negotiation of employment and severance agreements

Nicole Kerr Associate

Washington, D.C.

Nicole graduated from Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law in May 2023. She focused her studies on trial advocacy, earning a Trial Advocacy Certificate and serving as a Teaching Assistant in the trial advocacy program.

Prior to law school, Nicole worked as a Paralegal for Buckley LLP in its Washington, DC office. Having satisfied the requirements of the firm's Paralegal Law School Bonus Program, she received an offer to return as a Summer Associate after completing her first year in law school. Following her 2L year, having accepted a second offer for a Summer Associate position, she again returned to Buckley. Today, Nicole is an Associate in Orrick's Washington, DC office.