People

Rochelle Swartz Senior Associate

New York

Rochelle has experience representing individuals and companies in all stages of complex litigation, from pleadings through trial, final judgment, and appeal. She practices both civil and criminal law in federal and state courts across the country.

Rochelle has particular expertise in disputes involving the government. During her tenure at Orrick, Rochelle has litigated almost a dozen Article 78 challenges in Supreme Courts around the state, including petitions raising issues of statutory and constitutional law. She has also led several of those petitions through subsequent appeals to the Appellate Division and the Court of Appeals. In addition, Rochelle has experience defending individuals in federal investigations and prosecutions involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and pursuant to the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) 

Rochelle's current engagements include representing companies in complex actions involving products liability, trademark infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, and bet-the-company contract disputes. She also manages a large docket of civil rights pro bono matters. 

Perry Teicher Impact Finance Counsel

New York

Perry represents and advises entrepreneurs, companies, fund sponsors, family offices, tax-exempt organizations, and other asset owners across a wide range of transactions, including corporate legal matters, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, private fund formation matters and portfolio transactions, and private placements. Perry advises clients on impact-oriented and ESG matters, integrating social, environmental, and financial outcomes into a comprehensive strategy. Orrick’s Impact Finance & Investment practices serves a global client base across a range of sectors, leveraging Orrick’s unique capabilities to provide innovative, effective, and thoughtful legal services to those clients aiming to create positive social and environmental change alongside targeted financial returns.

Perry serves as co-chair of the NYU Law Grunin Center/Impact Investing Legal Working Group’s annual conference on Legal Issues in Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Investing and is involved in other sector building initiatives.

Perry served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kazakhstan, where he supported the development of businesses aiming to create mobility and opportunity for people with disabilities in the region. Perry is an Ariane de Rothschild Fellow and member of the ROI Community and Nexus. A native of the Detroit area and University of Michigan graduate, Perry remains committed to the Detroit area, supporting Detroit expat initiatives.

Stephen Thau Partner

New York; Silicon Valley

Stephen’s practice focuses on the representation of life science, medical device, health IT, and other technology companies in transactional matters, including public and private financings, licensing, collaborations and strategic alliances, and mergers and acquisitions. He also represents venture capital firms in public and private financing transactions.

Stephen is recognized as a Leading Life Sciences Lawyer by LMG Life Sciences in their 2021/2022 rankings and short-listed as Venture Capital Attorney of the Year. He has served as a member of the Board of Tech Council of Maryland, the leading technology and life science association in that state, and of BayBio, Northern California’s leading life sciences association. Stephen is a frequent speaker on venture capital financings and served on the faculty at the 2005 and 2007 Emerging Entrepreneurs workshops at Stanford University.

Prior to joining Orrick, Stephen was a partner at Morrison & Foerster, Venture Law Group and Heller Ehrman. He began his legal practice as a litigator, focusing on securities and intellectual property. He also served as a law clerk to the Hon. Vaughn R. Walker in the United States District Court in the Northern District of California. Stephen graduated Order of the Coif from Stanford Law School, where he was managing editor of the Stanford Law Review, and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in Biology.

Mark Thompson Senior Associate

New York

Orrick’s Employment Law and Litigation group was recently named Labor & Employment Department of the Year in California by The Recorder, the premier source for legal news, in recognition of their significant wins on behalf of leading multinational companies on today’s most complex and challenging employment law matters.

In addition to his litigation practice, Mark advises clients regarding a broad range of employment issues, including human resource policies and procedures, severance agreements and employee terminations.

Prior to joining Orrick, Mark was a judicial law clerk and gained experience litigating a wide range of civil and criminal cases.

Serena Tibrewala Managing Associate

New York

Serena also represents investors and venture capital firms on their investments in early and high-growth technology companies.

Lisa Tonery Partner

New York

At the forefront of her field, Lisa helped a client obtain the first authorization from the DOE to export domestic natural gas as LNG to all trading partners, and represented the first bi-directional LNG terminals proposed in the United States in proceedings before FERC.

Lisa has been recognized both nationally and globally as a leading practitioner by Chambers Global, Chambers USA, and The Legal 500 for more than a decade.

“Lisa Tonery comes highly recommended for her considerable expertise in representing major clients in high-value LNG proceedings . . . Sources say: ‘She's an expert . . . she really understands the critical issues.’” (Chambers Global)

"Client-focused, business-minded and dogged in the pursuit of her clients' interests. Her depth of knowledge is best-in-class. She has extensive relationships with FERC at all levels and is very pleasant to work with." (Chambers USA)

Michael Torpey Senior Counsel

San Francisco; New York

Mike was Orrick's Securities Litigation practice leader from 2004 to 2012.

He has the unique ability to look at corporate governance problems from a business perspective, to carefully navigate or avoid collateral consequences, and strategically win legal problems. He is frequently recognized for his exemplary work by Chambers, Super Lawyers and The Daily Journal.

Mike focuses on litigation involving the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, The Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Act of 1934, the Uniform Standards Act and proceedings initiated by the Securities Exchange Commission, the National Association of Securities Dealers and other self-regulatory organizations.

Mike has extensive experience in litigation involving breaches of fiduciary duty and conducting various types of corporate investigations.

Warren Traiger Senior Counsel

New York

He argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Lee v. Board of Governors, a benchmark case regarding the rights of community organizations to challenge Federal Reserve Board (FRB) determinations on merger applications. He has testified before Congress and the federal banking agencies on fair lending and CRA reform, served as Special Counsel to the New York banking regulator on CRA, and advised the regulator on predatory lending regulation.

Warren regularly helps banks and bank holding companies prepare the community convenience and needs portion of their regulatory applications to merge or acquire, and he helps clients respond to public comment regarding CRA and fair lending compliance. He represented a bank in its acquisition and integration of the finance arm of major automaker, directing pre-acquisition fair lending due diligence and updating the combined entity’s policies, procedures and regulatory relations strategy. Warren also served as an independent consultant for the New York Attorney General, overseeing compliance with that office’s settlement with a company that provides criminal background checks on prospective employees.

A prolific writer and researcher, Warren’s research and statistical analysis of mortgage lending data has been cited in publications of the Federal Reserve Banks of San Francisco, Boston and Dallas; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC); and in testimony before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee.

Prior to joining Orrick, Warren was senior counsel at Buckley LLP. He also served as Co-Chairman of Traiger & Hinckley LLP. Prior to entering private practice in 1990, Warren was vice president, counsel and director of government relations for the New York Bankers Association, the trade group for New York commercial banks. He also served as director of legislation and research and special counsel for the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs and as a New York State Consumer Protection Board official.

Warren is entrenched in the New York legal and financial services community. He has served on the Banking Law Committee of the New York State Bar Association, as a member of the Banking Law and Consumer Law Committees of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, and has taught as adjunct professor of economics at Hunter College of the City University of New York.

Michael Trentin Senior Associate

New York

Michael has been recognized as a Rising Star in Bankruptcy by Super Lawyers since 2021. His practice spans a broad range of roles, serving stakeholders across a company's capital structure, including lenders, creditors committees, debtors and asset purchasers.  Beyond his core restructuring practice, Michael is an avid litigator. He regularly represents clients in contentious matters within bankruptcy courts, as well as in chancery and federal district courts.

Before entering private practice, Michael served as law clerk in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey.  

Robert Trust Partner

New York

The principal focus of his practice has been the representation of private credit lenders, private funds, and other alternative lenders in providing credit to borrowers in special situations in a wide range of businesses and industries, including pharmaceuticals, maritime, aviation, healthcare, automatic, energy, steel, retain, financial, media, entertainment and telecom. In addition, Robert regularly represents ad hoc groups of creditors in chapter 11 restructurings and out-of-court workouts.

Work Highlights:

• A private credit lender in connection with a factoring facility to a pharmaceutical company.
• A private credit lender in connection with a potential DIP receivables financing facility to a chapter 11 debtor.
• An ad hoc group of secured lenders to Nordic Aviation Capital, an aircraft leasing company, in connection with a pre-packaged chapter 11 case.
• A private credit lender in connection with a new receivables facility platform.
• Sound Point Capital Management acting as the exit lender under a $425 million trade receivables facility to Centric Brands in connection with its emergence from chapter 11.
• A private credit lender in connection with the chapter 11 restructuring of Vewd Software AS (and subsequent M&A transaction of Vewd Software to Xperi, Inc.).
• An ad hoc group of noteholders in connection with the chapter 11 cases of Toys R Us.

Please note: Robert’s experience includes that prior to joining Orrick.

Will Turani Regional Director of Admin

New York

Will also has firmwide responsibility for managing several of the firm’s operational relationships, including Williams Lea and AMEX, and serves as Director of the Firm’s Community Responsibility Programs.

Prior to joining Orrick, Will was the City Manager of Wheeling, West Virginia, for four years and the Assistant City Manager for four years prior to promotion to City Manager. He also served as the County Administrator for Hancock County, West Virginia, from 1989 to 1993.

Will is a graduate of West Liberty State College with a BS in Political Science and holds a MPA degree in Public Administration from West Virginia University.

He is married to Tracey (Nichols) and has two children, Nicholas, age 26 and Anna, age 20.

Sarah Jane Ungeheuer Managing Associate

New York

Prior to joining Orrick, Sarah worked as a pro bono fellow at New York Legal Assistance Group. At Orrick, Sarah has broad experience representing financial institutions in claims brought by investors and trustees and extensive trial experience advising clients in all stages of litigation.  Sarah has supported trial teams in various matters through the discovery process, expert witness preparation, summary judgment motions, extensive trial preparation and trial.  Sarah also continues to contribute to the pro bono practice at Orrick and is a member of New York Legal Assistance Group's Pro Bono Associate Advisory Board.