People

Deepa Vekaria Associate

London

Her experience includes advising arrangers, investment managers, issuers, lenders and originators on a range of capital market transactions, including warehouse arrangements, issuances and retention financings. Deepa has recently advised clients such as Barclays, Citibank, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Och-Ziff and PGIM.

Prior to joining Orrick, Deepa worked in the capital markets practice of a leading international law firm in London.

Amanda Voss Partner

London

Amanda frequently acts for clients in the professional services, financial services, technology and energy sectors in connection with disputes in the English courts and abroad, arbitration and regulatory investigations. Amanda regularly acts for "Big 4" clients in connection with both litigation and regulatory investigations.   

She was named as a Rising Star for both Commercial Litigation and International Arbitration in Legal 500 UK for 2021. She was described as "clever and tenacious", and "a fabulous senior associate! She’ll stop at nothing to produce an excellent document, and her contributions on every aspect of a case are invaluable. She someone you can depend upon with total confidence. Terrific.”

Amanda originally qualified in New Zealand, and relocated to the United Kingdom in 2010.

Alfred Weightman Partner

London

Alfred represents major corporate purchasers and developers in negotiating renewable energy PPAs. His advice helps buy-side clients to reduce their energy costs and meet their clean energy targets. He also advises developers in securing long-term project revenues by structuring and negotiating bankable PPAs. His experience covers all major European jurisdictions, including Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, France, Germany, Sweden, Italy and the UK.

Alfred’s experience also extends to grid connection arrangements, energy storage, energy regulation and other energy transition matters.

Prior to joining Orrick, Alfred was a Senior Legal Director at a leading solar developer and, before that, was the EMEA Region Lead for Energy at Amazon Web Services, the world’s largest buyer of renewable energy. He also spent nearly a decade at an international law firm, assisting clients in meeting their net-zero climate targets.

Nicola Whiteley Partner

London

Leading a “straightforward and solutions-focused” team in London who are “exceptionally good and very highly respected globally”, Nicola is listed and noted for her “business-oriented approach” in Lexology Index and recognised by Chambers and Partners as “an excellent lawyer” who is “extremely responsive, commercially astute and pragmatic” and “an absolute pleasure to work with”, with clients praising her “solution orientated” nature, “very good sense of customer service” and her ability to “get to the heart of a legal problem very quickly” and “simplify complex legal matters into understandable chunks”.

Nicola is also recognised as a Leading Partner by Legal 500 UK. Clients describe her as "responsive, quick, pragmatic, and a joy to work with," making in-house counsel's life "a lot easier." Her calm and sensible advice has been invaluable in stressful employment disputes, earning her the reputation of an "outstanding employment law practitioner." Nicola's strong technical expertise, deep understanding of her clients' businesses, and commercial pragmatism make her a "pleasure to work with."

Furthermore, Nicola is lauded as "superb – clever, technical, accessible, commercial, and a thoroughly decent lawyer and human being," with tremendous respect from peers and clients alike. Her broad range of experience and cost-effective solutions are highly valued, as is her ability to provide expert legal advice and counsel tailored to the practical needs of businesses. Nicola is also trusted for independent investigation work and legal ethics-related advice.

She is a member of the International Committee of the Employment Lawyer's Association.

Simon Willis Partner

London

Simon has wide experience of acting for major financial institutions, companies and professional firms in complex litigation, investigations and proceedings by domestic and overseas regulators, professional disciplinary proceedings, ad hoc governmental inquiries and internal investigations. In particular he has acted for those subject to investigations by a wide range of regulatory bodies including the Financial Reporting Council, the Financial Conduct Authority, the Prudential Regulation Authority, the Serious Fraud Office, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and others. He has considerable experience of advising clients on risk management and reputational risk arising from contentious matters.

Simon has been recognised in the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners as: “an outstanding litigation solicitor”, who is “highly experienced in conducting heavy litigation”, and “one of the best lawyers operating in the Accountant’s liability space”. His clients describe him as “tactically astute and painstaking" and “tough, hardworking, well informed and highly tactical in his thinking.” with a “winning combination of legal knowledge and practicality”.

Julia Wilson Associate

London

Julia often works on cases with a multijurisdictional focus and has represented clients from the UK, Italy, Canada and Mexico in disputes seated around the world. She has worked on arbitrations overseen by most of the major arbitral forums including ICC, LCIA and UNCITRAL and governed by the laws of numerous countries, including England and Wales, US (New York) and Mozambique. She also acts for sovereign states in actions brought against them by private investors. Her practice represents clients in all stages of disputes – from pleadings to trial including advising in relation to alternative dispute resolution methods.

Julia has published articles on arbitration matters, including the upcoming reform to the English Arbitration Act 1996.

Alexander Witt Senior Associate

London

Alexander has particular experience in investment claims arising out of regulatory changes to renewable energy incentive regimes and the enactment of environmental protection laws. He has represented investors, Latin American and Eastern European States in a variety of claims under domestic and international law, including high-profile and politically sensitive investment treaty cases (often involving issues of corruption).

In addition to his international arbitration experience, Alexander frequently advises clients on financial sanctions and export control issues across a range of sectors including oil & gas, infrastructure, and defence.

He is fluent in Spanish and has a good command of German. Alexander also speaks and writes on international arbitration related subjects.

Jason Wu Of Counsel

London

Jason advises emerging UK and European tech companies and leading investors on US venture financings and other corporate matters. As a US-qualified lawyer based in Orrick’s London office, Jason combines a unique understanding of US, UK and European market practices to guide clients through critical financial and commercial transactions.

Jason regularly advises early-stage companies on Delaware flips and works closely with founders and management teams to navigate multi-jurisdictional operational and governance issues. Through his expertise in cross-border transactions, Jason is able to translate parties’ needs to achieve successful outcomes.

Jason is also able to advise clients with a practical, 360-degree view through his previous experience as a commercial litigator. Jason’s prior practice included representing companies in class action, insurance, and trade secrets litigation, in regulatory proceedings, and in a variety of commercial disputes in US and international forums.

Shannon Yavorsky Partner

San Francisco; London

She advises public and private companies across several sectors, including life sciences and health technology, financial services, private equity, insurance, social media and technology on a range of EU and U.S. federal and state privacy laws. Shannon’s strategic counseling advice includes, but is not limited to:

• Advertising and payment card processing self-regulatory frameworks
• Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM)
• Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA)
• EU AI Act
• EU e-Privacy Directive (EPD)
• EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
• Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act (GLBA)
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
• National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) AI Risk Management Framework (AIRMF)
• Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
• U.S. state breach notification laws
• U.S. state privacy laws in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Virginia and other states
  

Shannon also helps clients undertake comprehensive privacy, cybersecurity and AI risk assessments, evaluates privacy, security and AI risks in corporate transactions and drafts and negotiates data-related contracts. She advises clients on cross-border data transfers, data breaches and developing global privacy and AI compliance programs.

Albert Yu Partner

London

Albert represents a wide range of clients, working with project sponsors, lenders, export credit agencies and funds on market-leading energy and infrastructure projects in Europe and Asia.

Prior to joining Orrick, Albert was a Managing Associate at a Magic Circle firm. Albert has also worked in-house for a large global mining company.

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.”