People

Andrew Baw Chief Pricing Officer

Silicon Valley

Andrew previously served for seven years as the Chief Practice Officer for Orrick’s Corporate Business Unit.

Andrew was formerly a partner at Gunderson Dettmer, where he focused on emerging companies, including venture capital financings, public offerings, and mergers and acquisitions. His background also includes experience in venture capital, as a member of the investment team for Storm Ventures, in investment banking, as part of the corporate finance team at Piper Jaffray, and as the Vice President of Business Development and General Counsel for Mobio Networks, a venture-funded start-up.

Wendy Butler Curtis Chief Innovation Officer

Washington, D.C.

Named the "Most Innovative Lawyer of the Year" by Financial Times in 2018, Wendy is celebrated by clients for her “fresh thinking, legal nuance and practical understanding of the courts.” FT editors noted that “rarely have our panel of judges so quickly homed in on a top candidate for innovative individual.” As Orrick’s Chief Innovation Officer, Wendy leads Orrick’s efforts to operationalize innovation through novel products, streamlined processes, technology and client consulting on tailored solutions. These efforts have contributed to Orrick being named the Most Innovative Law Firm in North America by the Financial Times from 2016-2018 and seven consecutive years being in the top three. In 2018, The American Lawyer also honored Orrick with its first-ever Legal Services Innovation Award.

Wendy leads an innovation team of lawyers, technologists, developers, project managers and business professionals. FT notes that Wendy “understand[s] the diversity of roles that make a team great” and has “introduce[ed] many new technologies and delivery models that have transformed the way the firm operates and works with clients.” She is also recognized by Chambers as a leading individual, nationally, in the area of eDiscovery. Wendy is the chair of Orrick’s eDiscovery and Information Governance Group. She has been engaged by Fortune 100 companies and major financial institutions to create and deploy eDiscovery and records management programs. Wendy has substantial experience in pharmaceutical, product liability and class action litigation. Her litigation experience includes multiple trials, supervision of regional and local counsel, management of complex discovery and meet-and-confer negotiations.

Debra Felder Chief Practice Officer of Finance

Washington, D.C.

As Chief Practice Officer, Debbie advises on strategic planning, operations, and management of Orrick's Banking & Finance, Public Finance, Real Estate, Restructuring, and Structured Finance practice groups, which comprise more than 200 attorneys globally.  Her responsibilities include oversight of the Finance Business Unit's financial performance, advancement of the Unit's strategic initiatives, business planning and execution, and lawyer recruiting.  

As a lawyer in Orrick's Restructuring group, Debbie represents secured and unsecured creditors, investors, lenders, asset purchasers, financial institutions, preference defendants, debtors and other parties in a wide variety of bankruptcy and restructuring matters, as well as in related litigation throughout the United States. In 2020 and 2021, Chambers USA named Debbie an Associate to Watch in the District of Columbia’s Bankruptcy/Restructuring category, and clients praised her as “extremely knowledgeable” and providing “very business-minded, practical advice in the most efficient manner possible.”

Debbie is currently the lead restructuring associate representing the court-appointed representative for future asbestos personal injury claimants in a complex Chapter 11 pending.

Debbie was the lead restructuring associate representing Toyota in the $30 billion bankruptcy of Takata Corporation. Takata and several of its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States and sought bankruptcy protection in Japan and several other jurisdictions in the aftermath of a worldwide problem involving faulty airbag inflators that led to numerous deaths and the recall of millions of vehicles. Toyota was one of the largest creditors in the proceedings, with claims of over $7 billion. Orrick’s work in the Takata bankruptcy and restructuring matter – which included the sale of all of Takata’s assets except for the inflator business to the Chinese-owned, Michigan-based Key Safety Systems – was awarded the “2019 Cross Border Turnaround of the Year / Large” by Global M&A Network.

Debbie was also the lead restructuring associate in the representation of the Conflicts Committee of Seadrill Partners (SDLP) in the $14 billion Chapter 11 bankruptcy and associated restructuring proceedings of Seadrill Limited, SDLP’s parent company. This bankruptcy and related restructuring was awarded “2019 Cross Border Turnaround of the Year / Mega” by Global M&A Network.

Other recent notable engagements include representing counsel to a borrower in the restructuring of a toll road, representing financial institutions and others in the global Lehman insolvency proceedings, representing a lender in the restructuring of a performing arts center, representing a purchaser in a section 363 bankruptcy sale and representing a defendant in a preference and fraudulent transfer litigation.

Debbie is active in pro bono matters including advising distressed clients in corporate dissolution proceedings pursuant to state statutes. She recently drafted a white paper on “Pay for Success” (PFS) programs – a social services funding mechanism in which non-governmental investors fund social programs and receive returns on their investments from the government only if the programs are successful – which explores the feasibility of using PFS programs to provide civil legal aid to vulnerable populations. She also represents proposed guardians and adoptive parents in connection with guardianship and adoption proceedings involving abused or neglected children in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia.

In addition, Debbie serves as Orrick's Risk Management Counsel where she advises the Firm's management and more than 1,100 Orrick lawyers across the world on issues related to professional responsibility, risk management, and legal issues involving the Firm.

Debbie regularly presents CLE training programs to clients on bankruptcy-related topics, including best practices for creditors.

Prior to joining Orrick, Debbie was an associate at Swidler Berlin LLP. As an undergraduate, she spent four summers as an intern in the Clerk’s Office of the United States Supreme Court. During her time at the United States Supreme Court, Debbie researched and wrote a paper on the U.S. Attorneys General, which she presented to the U.S. Solicitor General.

David Fries Chief Financial Officer

New York

David presently serves as Orrick’s Chief Financial Officer, having previously served as Orrick’s Chief Profitability officer, Chief Pricing & Practice Management Officer and Chief Client Relationship Officer. Among other responsibilities, David is responsible for overseeing the firm’s accounting, financial planning, billing and collections, tax and other financial functions.

From 1998 through 2005, David served as a senior executive at NYSE-listed Prologis (formerly AMB Property Corporation) in San Francisco, Boston and Shanghai, ultimately as Executive Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Corporate Affairs, and Chairman and CEO of AMB China, Ltd. During his tenure at AMB, David was a member of AMB’s Management and Investment Committees and was responsible for overseeing AMB’s human resource, information technology, legal, environmental, engineering and risk management departments, as well as its airport facilities group, venture capital investments and other strategic business initiatives and transactions. In 2004, in addition to his other responsibilities, he led AMB’s entry into the China market, including opening AMB’s first office in China in Shanghai.

Richard Gallagher Chief Practice Officer Lit&IP

San Francisco

Rick has first-chair jury trial, bench trial and arbitration experience and has prevailed as lead partner in lawsuits in state and federal courts. He also leads internal investigations, SEC and DOJ matters, M&A and corporate disputes arising under Delaware corporate law, and other matters creating corporate governance risk. Prior to becoming our Chief Practice Officer for Litigation and IP, Rick was an Orrick partner and was also the co-Managing Partner of the California offices of another top AmLaw firm.

Rick’s clients include public companies, private equity funds, portfolio companies, mutual funds, investment advisers, hedge funds, VC funds, private investment funds, board members, officers and other individuals across several industries. He has particular expertise in the technology, life sciences, private equity, and investment management areas.

Rick has been named for multiple years in the The Best Lawyers in America and in the Legal 500 for Litigation.

Jolie Goldstein Chief Communications Officer

New York

Jolie also plays a leadership role in the firm’s client relationship program. She works with the firm’s relationship partners and client teams globally to ensure optimal communication, offer value added relationship benefits, and meet clients’ service and relationship expectations in the fast-changing legal market.

Jolie has more than 20 years of experience in law firm communications and business development. She began her career at the New York-based international law firm of Rogers & Wells, where she built the firm’s marketing and communications department and served on the senior team that orchestrated Rogers & Wells’ three-way combination with U.K.-based Clifford Chance and Germany-based Punder. As head of Business Development for the Americas Region at Clifford Chance, she led the rebranding of the Americas practice and collaborated with colleagues internationally to integrate the combined firm through the introduction of a global client relationship program and consistent, client-focused approaches to business development.

She is a competitive cyclist, a less competitive road runner and a novice mountaineer.

Justin P. Graham Chief Technology Officer

Wheeling, W.V. (GOIC)

Siobhan Handley Chief Talent Officer

New York

In collaboration with the firm’s leadership team, she focuses on designing and implementing programs to recruit, inspire and advance the best legal and staff talent.

Siobhan previously served as Orrick’s Managing Director for Resources. In that role, she spearheaded the development of the firm’s innovative talent model—the first of its kind in a major law firm—which replaces the traditional associate lockstep advancement system with merit-based advancement. As chair of the firm’s Talent Committee, she oversees Orrick’s lawyer training and performance feedback program – which is one of the most rigorous in the market. She also has led the creation of a range of new lawyer and professional staff roles.

Siobhan brings to this role extensive experience on the front line of client service, having been a partner in the firm’s product liability litigation and mass tort defense group. For more than a decade, she was a member of the Orrick team that acted as National Counsel to Union Carbide Corporation in connection with asbestos-related personal injury lawsuits and served as lead trial counsel in cases across the country. Siobhan was one of the key trial counsel in the highly-publicized landmark trial in Texas State Court, Brazoria County, where Kelly-Moore Paint Company sued Union Carbide for $1.4 billion in compensatory damages and $4.2 billion in punitive damages that resulted in a complete defense verdict. In addition, she served as trial counsel for significant product liability cases for other clients including Wyeth and Flexible Products.

Dao Huynh Chief Practice Officer of Energy & Infrastructure

San Francisco

She is formerly an Energy & Infrastructure attorney and her practice focused on project finance, mergers and acquisitions and project development for both traditional and renewable energy projects. Prior to joining Orrick, Dao was a legal fellow at TechSoup Global, a nonprofit technology organization. She also has previous experience working as an editor and contributing writer for Yahoo!, Inc.

Pamela Johnson Chief Inventory Management Officer

San Francisco

Previously, Pamela was the Chief Practice Officer for Orrick’s global Litigation and IP Business Units, comprised of over 400 lawyers.

She advised on the strategic planning, operation and management of the Business Units. Her responsibilities included oversight of the financial performance, business planning and execution, and lawyer recruiting. Pamela also oversaw the managing attorney's office, which includes the firm-wide court and calendaring functions.

Pamela brings to her position many years of experience in various law firm roles. She was formerly a commercial real estate lawyer at Steefel, Levitt and Weiss (now Manatt, Phelps & Phillips) and at Orrick. Her practice focused on the representation of institutional investors in the acquisition, disposition and financing of commercial and multifamily properties. Pamela has also served as Director of Business Development for various transactional and litigation practice groups at Orrick.

Robin McCroskey Chief Practice Officer of Corp

Wheeling, W.V. (GOIC)

Robin works closely with the Corporate business unit and practice group leaders with regard to business management, financial and strategic planning, operation of the business unit and lawyer recruiting. She joined Orrick in 2011 as part of the Orrick Analytics Team. Robin joined the CPO team in 2013 and has held many roles in this capacity, most recently as the Deputy Chief Practice Officer for the Energy & Infrastructure Business Unit. Prior to joining Orrick, Robin had a career in social work.

While Robin thoroughly enjoys her work life with Orrick, her passion since 2014 is sharing in daily adventures with her daughter.

Meredith Post Chief Growth & Integration Officer

Silicon Valley

Merrie supports candidates through each stage in the recruiting conversation. She also ensures that every lateral partner who joins Orrick has a committed sponsor and an actionable plan for business and social integration.

Merrie brings to this work a deep understanding of the legal market, and in particular, the lateral partner recruiting market, compensation and integration. Over the course of her career, she has helped hundreds of partners make successful moves. She previously led Hudson Gate Legal, a search firm, where she focused on partner-level searches. Prior to that, she served as Director of Attorney Development at Cadwalader. She began her career as a corporate associate at Debevoise.

When she’s not talking to top legal talent, Merrie can be found on a spin bike, visiting a great spa, taking a hip hop class, traveling and spending quality time with her husband Jason and sons Charlie and Alex.