People

Mark Johnson Of Counsel

London

Mark assists office holders across a broad range of asset recovery actions, including investigations into antecedent transactions and other claims against directors and third parties, as well as advising directors defending such claims. Mark has deep experience in enforcement work on behalf of banks and lenders including Law of Property Act receiverships.

Mark's non-contentious work includes significant experience on transactional matters such as assisting on both the buy and sell side of 'pre-pack' administration sales and other insolvency sales, advising on restructuring options for companies in distress including voluntary arrangements, schemes, and consensual restructuring proposals as well as advisory work assisting companies and their directors on the duties they have when facing financial difficulties.

Martin Jouvenot Managing Associate

Paris

Martin’s practice focuses on debt financing transactions, including leveraged acquisition financings, for private credit funds, private equity sponsors, corporates and special situations funds.

Prior to joining Orrick, he was an associate at another leading US law firm

Jared Joyce-Schleimer Partner

New York

Jared’s practice focuses on debt financing of a broad range of domestic and cross-border renewable and conventional power, energy and infrastructure, satellite and telecommunications and transportation projects. He supports scaling into large projects and portfolios and commercializing new technology in clean energy, sustainable infrastructure and space.

Working with private equity sponsors, credit funds and portfolio companies, he has significant experience with a variety of finance structures, including development and construction financings and traditional project finance, subordinated and mezzanine financings, term loan B financings, direct lending, syndicated debt financings, private placements, climate and impact finance, acquisition financings, M&A and restructurings.  He has also represented debtors and creditors in restructuring matters.

Jared also maintains an active pro bono practice and assists developing countries in bringing sustainable projects to market. He has worked with representatives of Bangladesh, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Fiji, Jamaica, Kenya and Vietnam on high-level sustainable project preparation and structuring matters.

Igor Kukhta Partner

Paris

He advises on a range of lender-side and borrower-side transactions, including leveraged acquisition financings with a specific focus on private credit, and special situations and distressed financings. He also has experience with corporate finance matters, debt restructurings and venture debt financings for high-growth companies.

Igor is fluent in French, English, Ukrainian and Russian.

Thomas Wyatt Laryea Counsel

Washington, D.C.

Thomas formerly served as Assistant General Counsel at the International Monetary Fund, where he was responsible for the IMF’s legal relations in finance and economic surveillance with each of its member countries. As the only senior IMF lawyer in private practice, he offers distinctive insights to asset managers, real money investors and hedge funds on sovereign debt and restructurings as well as large scale corporate restructurings and project financings. His practice bridges legal and strategic advice on the transactional, public policy and dispute resolution aspects of international finance and investment.

Thomas has advised on several recent high-profile sovereign debt restructurings, including representing the Argentina Creditor Committee on the restructuring of $65 billion of Argentina’s foreign currency bonds. He also recently represented the Steering Members of the Committee on Bondholders in the reprofiling of Belize’s bonds.

He is recognized as a key lawyer in the Restructuring (Including Bankruptcy): Municipal category of The Legal 500 US 2022 directory. A client remarked that he “provided invaluable advice on the IMF policies, individual personalities and missions which helped us to understand the sovereign’s priorities with the IMF” that “will then frame our negotiations with the sovereign.” “Thomas is highly respected in the sovereign restructuring space.”

Thomas is an active thought leader and has published numerous articles on sovereign debt and international finance.

David Y. Lin Partner

San Francisco; Los Angeles

David assists major financial institutions and alternative lenders in effectively assessing legal risks in complex secured and unsecured commercial finance transactions. He advises on bilateral, club and syndicated financings for acquisitions, dividend recapitalizations, construction and refinancings. He has extensive experience in financings in the casino gaming (commercial and tribal) and technology sectors.

Jenna MacDonald Busche Managing Associate

New York

Jenna represents lenders, unsecured creditors, debtors, creditors' committees, estate fiduciaries, and other stakeholders across a broad range of industries. She brings a mix of transactional and litigation experience to her practice, which focuses on both in- and out-of-court restructurings and related matters. Jenna was recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in Bankruptcy for 2024.

Prior to joining Orrick, Jenna was a restructuring associate at another nationally-recognized law firm and served as a law clerk to the Honorable Michael E. Wiles in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Before becoming a lawyer, Jenna was an analyst at an international financial services firm.

Nikiforos Mathews Partner

New York

His practice focuses on representing financial institutions, governmental and regulated entities, hedge funds and corporate end-users in developing, structuring and negotiating a broad range of fixed income, foreign exchange, commodity, energy and credit derivative products. Among other things, he has successfully negotiated numerous domestic and cross-border lien-secured hedging transactions relating to leveraged loans and infrastructure transactions, as well as deal-contingent hedges. In addition, Nik has significant experience in foreign exchange and fixed income prime brokerage issues, as well as various structured products. He also regularly advises clients in connection with derivatives regulation, including the application of the Dodd-Frank legislation and related regulations. Also, Nik provides counsel on close-out netting matters and UCC issues relating account control arrangements for collateral. Nik regularly advises on the structuring and negotiation of energy and commodity hedging transactions, as well as swap regulatory matters relating to VPPAs. Moreover, on a regular basis, Nik represents market participants on the termination and close-out of derivatives and other products, including providing advice on related bankruptcy matters.

Nik is lead editor of Orrick’s publication, Derivatives in Review, which periodically highlights important legal, regulatory and other newsworthy developments in the area of derivatives. He has also published articles in several journals, including on rating agency hedge criteria in connection with structured finance transactions.

Before joining Orrick, Nik was vice president and assistant general counsel at Goldman, Sachs & Co. and director and counsel at UBS AG. He also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Nicholas Tsoucalas of the United States Court of International Trade.

From 1999 to 2007, Nik held a commission as a Captain in the United States Army Reserve, where he was qualified to practice as a Judge Advocate. A veteran of both Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, he served as an Operational and Administrative Law attorney in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Andrew Mattei Senior Counsel

New York

Andrew has extensive experience in cross-border multi-currency, multi-borrower financings and has been the lead attorney in acquisition leveraged buy-outs, tender offer financings, tax free spin-off financings and M&A related work.

Before joining Orrick, Andrew was a partner in the Finance Group at Allen & Overy LLP. Prior to that, he was a partner at Mayer Brown, LLP.

Katie McFarlane Managing Associate

New York

Taylor Mitchell Managing Associate

New York

He represents lenders, including banks and other financial institutions, and corporate borrowers in a range of secured commercial financing transactions, including syndicated transactions, asset-based financings, private equity acquisition financings, cross-border transactions and refinancings.  Taylor also supports other practice groups, including the Mergers & Acquisitions/Private Equity group, the Technology Companies Group and the Restructuring group, on financing matters for clients.

Prior to joining Orrick, Taylor was an associate at Linklaters LLP.

Thomas C. Mitchell Senior Counsel

San Francisco

He has represented secured and unsecured creditors, indenture trustees and others in bankruptcies and workouts in a variety of industries, including technology, rail transportation, air transportation, securities trading, commodities trading, supermarket, automobile sales, construction (including solar energy), retailing, convenience store, health care, telecommunications, film and television production, restaurant, home construction, real estate development, and equipment manufacturing.

He also has extensive experience in the structuring of asset securitization transactions to resolve bankruptcy and commercial law issues, representing issuers, underwriters, and credit enhancers with respect to many asset types, including mortgage loans (residential and commercial, U.S. and foreign), credit cards (secured and unsecured), trade receivables (U.S. and foreign), consumer and marketplace loans, property assessed clean energy (PACE), delinquent property tax receivables, tobacco settlement payments, attorneys’ fee payments in connection with the tobacco settlement, whole business securitization, home equity loans, auto loans, time share loans, excess servicing fees, manufactured home loans, aircraft leases, home relocation receivables, defaulted receivables, electric utility stranded costs, franchise loans, dealer floorplan loans, equipment leases, mutual fund fees, limited partnership interests, bank funds flows, annuity fees, health care receivables, insured student loans, repackaged securities, viatical loans, and insurance premium receivables. In addition, he has been responsible for commercial law and bankruptcy structuring of collateralized debt obligations, municipal derivatives, lease to service contracts, Indian tribe financings, and a wide variety of public finance transactions and project finance transactions. He also represents borrowers and lenders in secured transactions.

IFLR1000, US and California Restructuring and Insolvency, Notable Practitioner, 2021

Mentioned in the Structured Finance: Securitization category of The Legal 500 US 2021