People

Walter Zalenski Partner

Washington, D.C.; New York

Walt provides counseling on financial services mergers and acquisitions, focusing on assisting private equity sponsors and strategic buyers in investments in bank and nonbank financial services firms, providing regulatory and transactional advice to identify and mitigate risk, and assisting buyers in obtaining regulatory approvals where necessary.

His work also includes a wide range of counseling and acting on behalf of clients in enforcement matters, including those involving the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the prudential bank regulators, as well as state attorneys general and other state authorities.

For 14 years in a row, Walt has been ranked nationally for his work in the area of Financial Services Regulation by Chambers USA. Clients noted that "He's extremely talented and has lots of wisdom," that he is "an outstanding lawyer" and “the guy who had all the history of why and when the regulations were put in place – his knowledge is amazing," with "expertise (that) spans a range of areas, including credit cards, auto finance, and mortgage lending." He also has been named a "Leading Lawyer" by the IFLR1000 for Financial Services Regulatory in the U.S., recognized by Best Lawyers for Financial Services Regulation Law, is a Fellow of the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers. He also serves as Professorial Lecturer in Law at George Washington University.

Prior to joining Orrick, Walt was a partner at Buckley LLP in the firm’s Washington, D.C., and New York offices.

Frank Nicholas Zalom Senior Associate

Sacramento

In doing so, Frank represents companies in all aspects of employment law including whistleblower, discrimination, harassment, disability, employee mobility, classification, and wage and hour issues. He provides aggressive, yet practical and client-focused advocacy, and brings to the table experience trying cases to verdict in state and federal court and litigating cases in AAA and JAMS arbitration. In addition to litigation, Frank collaborates with companies to review and revise their policies and procedures, and assists them in making management decisions. Frank’s clients range from household names to startups and span all industries, with an emphasis in technology, finance, and retail companies.

Prior to joining Orrick, Frank clerked for the Honorable Edward G. Smith in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The teamwork and commitment which Frank applies to representing his clients he honed in the United States Navy. Prior to practicing law, he served as a surface warfare officer, where he led sailors on multiple overseas deployments and taught leadership at the United States Naval Academy. Frank continues to support the armed forces community as a member of the Congressional Service Academy Nominating Committee for California’s 7th District and by volunteering his time as a representative of the Naval Academy to mentor and interview high school students seeking an appointment to the Academy.

Elizabeth Zane Partner

Washington, D.C.

Elizabeth's experience includes work on internal investigations, voluntary disclosures, commodity jurisdiction requests and developing and implementing compliance programs. She also advises clients on government contracting matters.

Emma Zarb Partner

London

Recommended by Legal 500 UK, Emma is described as having “masses of gravitas and great client skills.” Her dedication and hard work are consistently highlighted by clients and peers alike.

Emma has experience in drafting and negotiating employment contracts, consultancy agreements and settlement agreements, as well as staff handbooks and policies. She has extensive experiences in conducting and resolving employment litigation in both the Employment Tribunal, the Employment Appeal Tribunal and the High Court. In addition, she frequently advises a mix of high-growth startups and leading global corporations on high-value corporate transactions. She also advises on compliance issues such as the employment aspects of data protection matters and the drafting of Modern Slavery Act statements.

Emma is part of a “very responsive” team, who are “exceptionally good and very highly respected globally.”

Paul Zarnowiecki Partner

Washington, D.C.

Transactions on which Paul has advised include the development, financing, acquisition and divestiture of renewable and conventional power projects and other infrastructure assets in a broad range of commercial and corporate transactions. He has served as lead counsel on some of the most innovative and complex U.S. renewable energy transactions in recent years in both the wind and solar energy sectors.

He is recognized by Chambers USA and Chambers Global, where clients describe him as "highly committed to ensuring clients get excellent service" and "very commercially minded."

Patricia Zeigler Of Counsel

Washington, D.C.

Pat also has experience in the applicability of foreign premerger requirements and filings with regulators in the European Union, Asia and Canada.

Pat served as antitrust counsel to two large industry groups establishing Business to Business exchanges for E-commerce transactions. She currently serves as general counsel to five large trade associations in a wide range of industries. In addition, Pat works with trade groups to set up and run joint purchasing organizations.

Prior to joining the firm, Pat practiced antitrust law for over a decade with Pillsbury Madison & Sutro.

In addition to being admitted in the District of Columbia, Pat is also admitted in California (inactive).

Sheila Zerang Associate

Santa Monica

Jeff Zhang Partner

Beijing; New York

Being recognized by Legal 500 Asia Pacific, Jeff has received clients’ praises as “an experienced lawyer, who understands the client’s business, both internally and externally", and his "understanding of the client’s business model, industry, customers and strategic objectives enables him to advise and guide clients on highly complex and sensitive matters”. Other clients comment that Jeff “develops the best strategies and solutions for clients” and “works very hard and is recognised by clients for his ability.” In addition, he is “dedicated to serving his clients and is able to leverage off the firm’s global network to provide services in specialized areas.” (Legal 500 Asia-Pacific, 2019 - 2023)

Jeff’s practice focuses on China-related inbound and outbound mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions. He has extensive experience with share and asset acquisitions, growth capital and buyout transactions as well as tender offers, privatizations, restructurings, spin-offs, strategic alliances and joint ventures.

In addition, Jeff advises multinationals, financial institutions and private equity funds on their general corporate, capital markets and regulatory compliance matters.

Prior to joining Orrick, Jeff was a partner at the New York office of an international law firm. Earlier in his career, Jeff practiced in New York, Hong Kong, and mainland China with two major international law firms, and also served as the Head of Legal and Compliance of the U.S. operations of a leading Chinese investment bank, where he gained tremendous experience in helping Chinese clients navigate regulatory and compliance issues in the U.S.

Jeff serves on the International Advisory Board of Duke Law School, where he was also appointed as a Senior Lecturing Fellow. In his leisure time, Jeff serves on a volunteer basis as the Chief Legal Officer of The Chinese Finance Association (TCFA), a non-profit professional organization headquartered in New York with more than 7,000 members globally.

Yuanjia (Gina) Zhang Patent Agent

Silicon Valley

Dr. Yuanjia (Gina) Zhang, a patent agent in the Silicon Valley office, is a member of the Intellectual Property Group.  As a patent agent, Dr. Zhang performs tasks related to patent prosecution including preparing and prosecuting patent applications. 

Dr. Zhang has broad technical background and experience in materials science and engineering, electronic devices, nanotechnology, and printing technology.  In particular, her technical areas include nanofabrication, semiconductors, organic electronics, molecular electronics, optoelectronics, electrophotography, inkjet printing, surface engineering, color science, and image processing.

Prior to joining Orrick, Dr. Zhang worked at Anova Law Group, where she prepared and prosecuted patent applications for large Chinese companies and prestigious universities, in industrial areas including Internet technology and semiconductor devices.  Before joining Anova Law Group, Dr. Zhang was a member of research staff in Xerox Innovation Group at Xerox Corporation.  Dr. Zhang also has prior industrial experiences at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center and Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation, in Shanghai, China.  Dr. Zhang’s doctoral research focused on the electronic charge injection and transport in nanoscale organic thin film transistors.

Dr. Zhang has technical publications in journals including Advanced Materials and Journal of Applied Physics.  Dr. Zhang is also an inventor with six U.S. patents granted and other U.S. and foreign patent applications pending.

Shelley Zhang Partner

Beijing

Shelley's related IP experience includes the following:

• Patent invalidation proceedings, anti-counterfeiting, anti-piracy efforts and patent and trademark enforcement litigation in China.
• Prosecution of patent and trademark, including application preparation, office actions/oppositions procedures and reexamination procedures.
• Enforcement and technology transfer/licensing arrangements for substantial patent and trademark portfolios for companies doing business in China.
• Advising on IP protection strategies, R&D related IP issues and matters in relation to export and import control of technology.
• Assisting Chinese companies in Section 337 U.S. International Trade Commission investigations, patent infringement litigations and product liability litigations in the U.S. 
• IP due diligence and portfolio counseling.

Sherry Zhou Managing Associate

Seattle

Prior to joining Orrick, Sherry advised sponsors of private investment funds on their formation and fundraising activities, as well as institutional investors and family offices on their investment programs.

Sharon Zhou Associate

San Francisco