People

Amy Walsh Partner

New York

Amy represents individuals and institutions in government investigations, enforcement actions and prosecutions conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Internal Revenue Service. She negotiates resolutions with government officials, but also tries cases against the government. She is a fierce advocate for her clients, and her work often results in the government declining to bring charges.

Amy was an Assistant United States Attorney for 12 years in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, where she led dozens of investigations and cases on behalf of the U.S. government and supervised several sections within the Office.

Amy has also served as a court-appointed monitor for a global financial institution.

Xiang Wang Partner

Beijing; New York

Xiang is a Guiding Expert of the China Overseas IP Dispute Response & Guidance Center.

He also serves several consultancy roles for local regulatory authorities, including as IP Guiding Expert of Shenzhen IP Protection Center; IP Guiding Expert of Zhejiang Province IP Protection Center; IP Consultant of Technology Innovation Bureau of Nanjing Jiangbei New Area Management Committee (Jiangsu Province); Expert of IP Dispute Investigation and Appraisal of Foshan Market Supervision and Administration Bureau (Guangdong Province); and Expert for Overseas IP Protection and Assistance of Foshan Intellectual Property Bureau (Guangdong Province).

Dr. Wang is an arbitrator of Beijing Arbitration Commission and Beijing International Arbitration Center.

Xiang has extensive experience in assisting local and foreign-based multinational companies with all aspects of their IP rights in the U.S. and China, including IP litigation and arbitration, patent infringement, industrial espionage, trade secret misappropriation, copyright and trademark infringement, ITC Sec. 337 investigations, patent office proceedings including inter partes reviews (IPR), IP due diligence and portfolio counseling, technology export control, mass torts and product liability, securities litigation, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and other investigations and compliance. These matters have implicated a vast array of technologies, from software and electronics to renewable energy and medical devices as well as agricultural and building materials, to name just a few.

Xiang also works extensively on cybersecurity investigations and data privacy compliance matters for both Chinese and international clients.

Xiang has been particularly active in Chinese state-owned enterprises related U.S. litigation. Clients turn to his strategic and innovative advice thanks to his in-depth understanding of their business needs and political risks. Clients appreciate that he “understood the environment in the China legal system and can give nuanced advice”.

Xiang has developed the region’s premier IP practice based on his reputation as one of the few IP lawyers who has a doctorate in electrical and computer engineering, a Juris Doctor, a Chinese Certificate of Laws, and admission to practice law in New York, Indiana and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Due to its success in patent disputes in the United States and China, involving both foreign and Chinese companies, Orrick IP team was exclusively featured in a documentary film “Patent Wars” by the China Central Television (CCTV).

Xiang is highly regarded for his practical legal advice that results from more than ten years of experience at medical and electronic device businesses before becoming a lawyer. He also has received four U.S. medical-technology patents in his name.

Devin Weber Associate

New York

Devin’s practice focuses on representing corporations and individuals in a variety of industries in complex business litigation and disputes. Devin represents financial institutions, technology corporations, and other entities in a range of civil disputes.

L. Mark Weeks Senior Counsel

New York

He concentrates his practice on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, clean technology, life sciences, IT and telecommunications asset transfers, strategic investments, and general corporate representation for U.S., Japanese and other Asian companies.

Mark speaks, reads and writes fluent Japanese.

Brian Wegrzyn Counsel

New York

Prior to joining Orrick, Brian was counsel at Buckley LLP, where he served as a member of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee. He also previously worked as a litigation associate at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, clerked for the Honorable Richard J. Sullivan in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and was an associate with Winston & Strawn LLP. Brian also has served as an adjunct professor of law at Fordham University Law School.

Wesley L. White Partner

New York

Wesley has guided clients through all stages of litigation, including conducting pre-suit diligence, fact and expert, claim construction, evidentiary and dispositive motions, and post-trial. He has handled complex disputes across a diverse range of technology sectors, including computer hardware and software, networking devices, virtualization and cloud computing, antennas, encryption and compression technology, VOIP telephony, flash memory, e-commerce platforms, video/media streaming, web and mobile applications, life sciences, and medical and surgical devices.

Wesley’s achievements have earned him recognition as a Super Lawyers and Managing IP “Rising Star” in intellectual property disputes, and he was named to Lawdragon’s 2023 Inaugural 500 X Next Generation Rising Stars list. Prior to beginning his legal career, Wesley worked as an analyst for five years with Goldman Sachs.

Christine Willgoos Counsel

New York

Christine has litigated a wide range of subject matters relating to drug development, including humanized antibody technology, recombinant DNA vectors, nextgen DNA sequencing, complex chemistry and drugs for the treatment of cancer, HIV, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, depression and anxiety, immune disorders, and dermatologic conditions. Christine is experienced in other industries as well, including medical devices, semiconductors, telecommunications and electronics.

Christine’s recent successes include obtaining a trial win and injunction for a major pharmaceutical company’s blockbuster cancer drug, securing a consent judgment and recommendation for fees for two innovator companies’ treatment relating to rare cancers, and representing a biotech company in Patent Office proceedings against a major pharmaceutical company, securing a settlement of $1.25 billion.

Kasey Winshall Managing Associate

New York

Kasey represents tech startups throughout all stages of their lifecycle. She advises on formation, general corporate and governance matters, and a broad range of transactions, such as venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions. Kasey also advises venture capital investors on investment in their portfolio companies. 

Prior to joining Orrick, Kasey was an associate in the Emerging Companies and Venture Capital Group at Fox Rothschild LLP in New York.

Alyssa Wolfington Managing Associate

New York

Alyssa navigates clients through privacy programs and policy creation, and provides guidance on compliance with federal, state and international laws and regulations, including the U.S. state privacy laws in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Virginia and other states, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and state data breach notification laws. She advises clients on security incident response and federal and state investigations related to privacy and data security. She also provides assessments of privacy and security practices for companies carrying out due diligence in the context of corporate transactions.

Neil Wolk Senior Counsel

New York

Neil has spent the bulk of his career working on both tax-exempt and taxable financings for public power clients including joint action agencies, municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives. He has had many roles in these financings including bond counsel, counsel to the underwriters and counsel to credit enhancers.

Over his career, Neil has worked on financings for joint action agencies and municipal utilities such as Gainesville (Florida) Regional Utilities, Intermountain Power Agency, JEA, Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company, Missouri Joint Municipal Electric Utility Commission, Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG Power), Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems and WPPI Energy. The transactions in which Neil has participated have included public offerings, private placements, system and project financings, tax-exempt and taxable financings, secured and unsecured debt, senior and subordinated debt, fixed rate and variable rate debt and derivatives and he has had extensive experience in drafting documents for all of these types of financings. In addition, he has considerable experience with all types of disclosure issues encountered by electric utilities.

Neil also has been involved in a number of transactions involving the acquisition of utility companies and/or utility properties.

Recently, Neil represented MEAG Power in the financing of its undivided ownership interest in the first new nuclear generating facilities constructed on U.S. soil in over 30 years, which involved both taxable and tax-exempt capital markets debt, along with U.S. Department of Energy-guaranteed debt, and which was selected by The Financial Times as one of the most Innovative Deals of 2011.

Before joining Orrick, Neil was a partner at Mudge Rose Guthrie Alexander & Ferdon in New York.

Andrés Yarto Managing Associate

New York

With a deep understanding of the technology landscape, Andres provides strategic counsel to technology companies and venture capital funds. His expertise spans two main areas: those focusing on blockchain, cryptocurrency, NFTs, and web3 technologies and companies operating in Latin America. While these areas don’t have to overlap, Andrés finds it particularly exciting when they do, as it presents unique opportunities for innovation and growth.

Andrés leverages his extensive knowledge, proficiency in both English and Spanish and experience to help clients navigate the complex regulatory environments and market dynamics of these rapidly evolving sectors. His insights are instrumental in guiding companies through funding rounds, structuring their products in a compliant way, strategic partnerships, and compliance challenges, ensuring they are well-positioned for success.

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.