People

Kentaro Shoji Of Counsel

Tokyo

He mainly works on project contracts, including EPC, BOP, O&M contracts and various supply contracts such as TSA. He acquired a great understanding of clients’ needs after a secondment at a Japanese major trading house.

He also has experience advising domestic and overseas financial institutions, real estate funds, real estate developers and other companies on sophisticated real estate and asset finance transactions.

Prior to joining Orrick’s Tokyo Office, Kentaro worked in the Tokyo office of another international law firm where he engaged in cross-border M&A, finance transactions and dispute resolution.

Eric Shumsky Partner

Washington, D.C.; San Francisco

Chambers USA reports that Eric is “hailed as ‘highly intelligent, an effective communicator and a great writer’ by contacts, and his high-profile work in the tech patent sector is of particular interest to those who recognize him as one who ‘prepares meticulously, anticipates every question, and is a gifted orator.’” Legal 500 touts his “exceptional courtroom demeanor and presentation skills” as one of “the finest appellate litigators in the nation.” And Reuters, in a report reviewing some 17,000 practitioners, identified Eric as part of an “elite cadre” of 75 lawyers who are “the most influential members of one of the most powerful specialties in America: the business of practicing before the Supreme Court.”

Eric has served as appellate counsel to a who’s who of leading companies, including AT&T, DISH Network, Facebook, Genentech, Gilead, KPMG, LG Electronics, LinkedIn, Lyft, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Netflix, Norfolk Southern, Synopsys, Twitter, and Union Carbide. Across an array of industries, Eric has briefed and argued issues as diverse as patent and copyright, labor and employment, preemption, punitive damages, environmental law, national security, and foreign sovereign immunity. He has been a primary author of more than 100 briefs in the Supreme Court alone.

Eric has particular proficiency in matters of technology and intellectual property. He regularly litigates novel issues concerning the regulation of the internet, including CDA Section 230, computer fraud, takedown notices, and internet domain names. He has been counsel in dozens of patent appeals in the Federal Circuit—litigating patents ranging from semiconductor construction, computer architecture, and genetic sequencing to tobacco curing, keyboard trays, and electrical junction boxes. A former law clerk on the Ninth Circuit and the Central District of California, Eric has extensive experience in the California state and federal appellate courts where tech issues commonly arise. 

In addition to traditional appellate work, Eric has years of experience developing legal strategy in high-profile and complex cases in trial courts. Eric has performed this role in high-stakes multi-district litigation, criminal trials, and civil litigation involving critical dispositive motions.

Prior to joining Orrick, Eric was a partner in the appellate group at Sidley Austin. 

Robert Shwarts Partner

San Francisco

He represents plaintiffs and defendants in complex trade secret misappropriation cases and has conducted numerous TRO and preliminary injunction hearings in aid of these cases. His practice also includes counseling relating to trade secrets misappropriation and non-compete/non-solicitation agreements.

Rob has broad experience in commercial litigation, having litigated claims of securities fraud, lender liability, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of warranties, claims arising from securitization transactions and other business fraud.

Rob's experience in employment-related litigation includes defending claims of discrimination, wrongful discharge, retaliation, sexual harassment and breach of contract. His practice also includes counseling relating to trade secret misappropriation and non-compete/non-solicitation agreements.

U.S. and international clients with significant California presence turn to Rob to represent them in complex matters, including numerous financial services companies. He handles both jury and bench trials, as well as AAA, JAMS and FINRA (formerly NASD and NYSE) arbitration hearings.

Rob serves as the chair of the Firm’s Practice Management Committee, and is a member of the firm’s Risk Management Committee. Rob previously served as head of the San Francisco office. Rob contributes pro bono hours to the Humane Society and Point Blue Conservation Science each year.

Ramy Shweiky Partner

San Francisco

Ramy advises public and private companies and their financial sponsors in the technology and life sciences sectors on complex, strategic transactions, including cross-border M&A, joint ventures, and multi-jurisdictional carve-outs. He also counsels boards and investors on fiduciary duties and other corporate governance matters.

Ramy is a member of the board of directors of Crisis Text Line, a global not-for-profit organization providing free mental health texting service. He has been recognized as a "Rising Star" in M&A by Super Lawyers.

Sarah Shyy Managing Associate

Orange County

Sarah has broad experience representing investment banks, corporations, and other private and public companies in the financial services and technology industry.  She has advised clients in all stages of litigation from receipt of pre-litigation demands through discovery, expert work, summary judgment, trial preparation, and trial.  She is also active in pro bono matters.

Sarah graduated cum laude from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles.  While in law school, Sarah participated in the Ninth Circuit Appellate Clinic, where she drafted various briefs to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  She also externed for the Honorable Stephen V. Wilson in the Central District of California. 

Oliver Sikora Senior Associate

London

Oliver works primarily on domestic and cross-border transactions in the renewable energy space, and also has experience advising on deals in the transport sector.

Javier A. Silva Managing Associate

San Francisco

Javier's practice spans securities litigation, complex commercial disputes, government and internal investigations, cybersecurity and privacy matters, and regulatory enforcement actions.  In his commercial practice, Javier has represented companies and individuals in a wide range of civil disputes including claims of breach of contract, breaches of fiduciary duty, fraud, and consumer protection issues.  Javier also has experience advising executives and boards on corporate governance best practices and fiduciary and disclosure duties.

Javier joined Orrick after completing a one-year fellowship as an Orrick Fellow at the San Francisco Department of Police Accountability where he focused on criminal justice reform and analyzing Fourth Amendment issues.  

As a law student, Javier worked as a summer judicial extern in the Central District of California, and as a law clerk at the California State Assembly drafting policy and legal memoranda.

Andrew D. Silverman Partner

New York

Andrew is a skilled brief writer who works on significant motions in the trial court to prevent any need for appeal by winning the case first. Drawing on his years as a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, Andrew collaborates with the trial court team to serve as the point person for law-intensive brief-writing and strategy. Andrew is frequently retained to work on dispositive motions and preliminary-injunction briefing. If the case proceeds toward trial, Andrew leads strategizing and all manner of briefing from jury instructions to motions in limine to mid-trial objections to post-trial motions.

In addition, Andrew focuses on readying cases for appeal by perfecting critical appellate issues and teeing them up in the most favorable posture. Andrew has brought these special skills to bear for some of the world’s largest companies in their most important cases, including for Dow, Gilead Sciences, Oracle, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Basin Electric Power.

Andrew also has a strong record on appeals, including major wins for Oracle, Dow AgroSciences, Basin, KBC Bank, and the City and County of Los Angeles. In appellate cases, Andrew takes pride in collaborating with his client and the trial team to rethink the case from the bottom up, searching for ways to present even the most complicated arguments as plain common sense, and drafting a storytelling version of the case that hooks the reader from the first page. Andrew emphasizes oral argument, working tirelessly to develop themes specifically for oral argument that magnify -- not merely parrot -- the briefing.

Ariel Simmonds Associate

New York

Ariel represents clients at all stages of their life cycles as they innovate and scale. Ariel counsels clients in a variety of technology-driven industries, including artificial intelligence, SaaS and media. Ariel has experience drafting commercial, licensing and other intellectual property and technology agreements. She also assists clients with intellectual property issues in connection with mergers and acquisitions.

Ariel is active in pro bono matters, focusing on licensing and corporate matters for historically underrepresented clients. Through her law school clinic, Ariel filed trademark registrations for early-stage startup clients on a pro bono basis. 

Prior to joining Orrick, Ariel spent over two years interning with a property-tech startup and then a cruise line, supporting their respective marketing teams on CAN-SPAM and TCPA compliance. Ariel also draws on her experience in the business valuation and SBA 7(a) financing industry when advising on mergers and acquisitions.

Damien Simonot Partner

Munich

He has many years of experience advising private equity investors, established companies and family offices as well as startups and scale-ups. He counsels clients on complex and often cross-border transactions, restructurings, joint ventures and buy-outs and other partnerships and investments in the tech sector and beyond.

Before joining Orrick, Damien worked for an international law firm in Munich and Frankfurt for more than eight years.

Caroline Simons Partner

Boston; New York

Tech and consumer-facing clients – from early-stage startups to some of the most recognizable online companies – turn to Caroline to protect their IP, brand, and reputation in litigation. Her expertise includes the fast-evolving areas of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and online safety, cybersecurity & data privacy litigation. In the past year, she has litigated more than 60 cases related to platform immunity and she is currently lead counsel in dozens of cases for one of the world's largest tech companies on claims challenging myriad aspects of its online services, including content moderation and product design.

A partner to her clients in crisis management, Caroline also advises them in cyber incident response, government and internal investigations and enforcement actions. Her experience at the intersection of online safety, IP and white-collar litigation gives her breadth of perspective and allows her to work with her clients to problem-solve and effectively manage enterprise risk. Clients appreciate Caroline's ability to collaborate with witnesses, company stakeholders and factfinders – both inside and outside the courtroom – to achieve meaningful results.

Caroline maintains an active pro bono practice, representing clients in Hague proceedings as well as children and refugees in asylum proceedings in conjunction with the Political Asylum / Immigration Representation (PAIR) Project. She has drafted amicus briefs in cases pending before the U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals in the areas of technology, criminal justice, and reproductive rights.

Lisa T. Simpson Partner

New York

Lisa has been recognized as one of the "Top 250 Women in IP" by Managing Intellectual Property and has received accolades from American Lawyer, Benchmark Litigation, The Legal 500 USA and New York Times Magazine with World Trademark Review 1000 noting that Lisa “marries a rich comprehension of IP law with a gift for connecting with people, making full use of each advantage in the courtroom.” Lisa was recently named to Lawdragon's 500 Leading Litigators in America list.

Trial Experience

Lisa has served as trial counsel across a wide range of matters. She recently served as co-lead trial counsel in a case in Delaware Chancery Court in a dispute over corporate control and ownership. She is currently serving as lead trial counsel in an energy distribution contract and rate dispute in North Dakota. Lisa also served as trial counsel for Oracle in its dispute with Google over the Java APIs in Android phones in the Northern District of California and served as trial counsel in a matter involving the trade dress of a hip implant medical device in the District of Colorado. Lisa has also served as trial counsel in a number of product liability matters involving allegations concerning talc, analgesics and herbicides.

Intellectual Property

Lisa handles a variety of high-profile trademark, trade secret, and copyright matters. Lisa’s copyright experience includes some of the leading copyright cases of the past decade: she represented Oracle in its litigation with Google over the Java APIs, represented DISH Networks, LCC in its copyright litigation with the broadcast networks over various features offered by DISH’s Hopper DVR, including AutoHop and Sling and served as counsel to Supap Kirtsaeng before the U.S. Supreme Court on the issue of the copyright first sale doctrine’s applicability to goods manufactured abroad.

Lisa’s trademark and trade secret litigation has spanned a variety of courts and industries: she successfully defended trademark infringement claims in the Northern District of California on behalf of Sony over its popular “Gran Turismo” racing video game and scored two separate wins in the Southern District of New York and then in the Second Circuit on behalf of client Sanei in trademark litigation brought by fashion designer Jill Stuart. Lisa also successful established secondary meaning and secured a preliminary injunction for the New York City Triathlon in S.D.N.Y. Lisa also represented a major pharmaceutical and healthcare company in trade secrets litigation concerning multi-payor coordination of prescription drug benefits loyalty cards.

Products Liability and Consumer Class Action

Lisa serves as counsel to Johnson & Johnson, Chanel, and Avon in cases asserting claims arising from the use of its talcum powder products, including claims of mesothelioma and ovarian cancer. She also represented Wyeth and Dow Agrosciences in a variety of complex products liability and consumer class action litigations. Lisa served as counsel in hundreds of product liability matters concerning injuries allegedly associated with childhood vaccines, handled litigations involving the labeling and advertising of Advil, and obtained the dismissal, prior to class certification, of a consumer class action in a matter concerning the calcium supplement Caltrate.

Current Pro Bono Representation

Lisa served as trial counsel for Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, securing an important trial win invalidating as unconstitutional a statewide law that jeopardized access to safe and legal abortion services in Kentucky.
Lisa also has served in a variety of firm management roles, including on the Firm’s Management Committee, as Hiring Partner for the New York office as well as Partner-in-Charge of Firmwide Campus Recruiting and as a member of the Professional Development Committee.