People

Michael Ruiz Partner

Silicon Valley; Seattle

Michael advises his clients on a broad range of legal needs, including corporate formation and structure, venture capital financings, board and stockholder relationships and exit transactions. His current and former clients are concentrated in interactive media industries including game development, Esports, AR/VR tech, 3D animation, and artificial intelligence. Michael also advises companies in the cleantech and life sciences sectors.

His favorite video game is Final Fantasy (VII), favorite board game is Twilight Imperium (IV) and favorite science fiction book is Ender’s Game.

Zoe Russell Managing Associate

Los Angeles

Zoe works on diverse employment litigation matters. She is also active in pro bono matters.

Zoe received her J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, where she simultaneously earned her M.A. in African American Studies. While in law school, she served as the Co-Chair for the Black Law Students Association and the Director of Affordable Housing for the UCLA Graduate Students Association.

Diana M. Rutowski Partner

Silicon Valley

As a seasoned IP litigator and counselor, Diana’s practice has run the gamut from high stakes trials, to take-down and anti-counterfeiting campaigns, to employee departure and trade secret investigations. She represents clients in District and state courts and before administrative bodies including the ITC and the USPTO. For example, Diana tried and won a complex case in which the other side sought to extend the monopoly of an expired utility patent by claiming trade dress rights in a technical product feature. Drawing upon experience handling both complex patent and trademark matters, her team successfully argued that the intersection of patent and trademark policy prevented the other side from continuing its monopoly, clearing the way for her client to enter the market. With Diana at their side, companies can rest assured that their essential assets are protected, from their core technologies, to assets including their company name, logo, and website.

While at Orrick, Diana was seconded to the City and County of San Francisco, where she had the privilege to serve as an Assistant District Attorney, and first-chair several trials. She was also seconded to Salesforce, where she learned first-hand that the law comprises just one component of a company’s overall business strategy.

Diana is also passionate about her pro bono work. For example, she represented two detainees in Guantanamo in connection with their petitions for a writ of habeas corpus, and she is currently working with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area. Before joining the firm, Diana worked for the Legal Aid of Cambodia where she assisted with the prosecution of former Khmer Rouge officials and represented individuals who sought to reclaim land rights.

Diana is a member of the International Trademark Association, of ChIPs: Advancing Women in IP and of the Harvard Club of San Francisco.

Kathryn Ryan Partner

Washington, D.C.

She represents banks, first and second mortgage originators and servicers, reverse mortgage originators and servicers, fulfillment service providers, commercial lenders and servicers, bank holding companies, private equity firms, finance companies, debt collection companies, financial institutions and technology companies, payment processors, money transmitters and various related service providers.

Katy assists clients with matters before state regulatory agencies, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), federal banking agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. She also provides strategic and tactical advice to help clients identify and secure the nationwide federal and state approvals necessary to achieve operational goals.

Prior to joining Orrick, Katy was a partner at Buckley LLP, where she was a member of the firm’s partner board.

Ramon J. Ryan Managing Associate

Washington, D.C.

Before joining Orrick, Ramon was a law clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and a litigation associate at Williams & Connolly LLP, where he focused on patent litigation and government investigations.

Ramon is a graduate of Vanderbilt Law School, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law. During law school, Ramon won the ABA Infrastructure and Regulated Industries Section 2020 K. William Kolbe Law Student Writing Competition for his published article, The Fault in Our Stars: Challenging the FCC’s Treatment of Commercial Satellites as Categorically Excluded from Review Under the National Environmental Policy Act. He also received the Lightfoot Franklin & White Best Oralist Award for his oral argument in the 1L Moot Court Competition.