People

Neil Golden Senior Counsel

Washington, D.C.

In recent years, Neil has worked extensively on transactions involving the acquisition and divestiture of both companies and assets, as well as the development and financing of renewable energy projects involving wind, solar, biomass and fuel cells, and on alternative fuels projects in the ethanol industry. He served as lead counsel for the sale of a large distributed solar, fuel cell and residential solar portfolio, named “2019 M&A Deal of the Year” by Power Finance & Risk Magazine. He has also worked extensively on the development and financing of conventional power generation facilities.

His corporate and financing experience has included representation of clients in syndicated bank financings, financings by multilateral and bilateral agencies, Rule 144A debt offerings, sale-leaseback financings, construction loans, formation of joint ventures and partnerships, equity investments, and the purchase and sale of equity interests in projects.

Internationally, Neil has represented sponsors of power projects and electric distribution companies in a number of countries including Brazil, Argentina, Jamaica, Honduras, Bangladesh, Nepal, Colombia, Turkey, the Dominican Republic and the People’s Republic of China.

Jeremy Peterman Senior Associate, Currently on a Racial Justice Fellowship

Seattle

Jeremy represents clients from a wide range of industries in high stakes appeals across numerous subject areas. He has helped major tech companies, biomedical manufacturers, universities, and state governments successfully resolve appeals with novel issues involving intellectual property, employment law, administrative law, class actions, criminal law, sovereign immunity, and securities law.

Jeremy is especially experienced in intellectual property appeals where he employs his generalist background to simplify complex technology for generalist judges. He helped develop the successful appellate strategy in what legal observers have dubbed “The World Series of Copyright Suits.” He also draws from his administrative law background to develop novel strategies for clients to challenge the PTO’s administration of the inter partes review process.

Jeremy has authored merits briefs, cert. petitions, and briefs in opposition in the U.S. Supreme Court, dozens of briefs in both federal and state courts of appeals, and dispositive motions in trial courts. He also maintains an active pro bono practice.

Prior to joining Orrick, Jeremy served as a law clerk to Judge David Tatel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and to Judge David Hamilton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Davin M. Stockwell Of Counsel

Orange County

Davin has experience in litigating and prosecuting patents in a wide variety of technology fields, including in-flight entertainment systems, semiconductors, semiconductor fabrication, design verification, computer software and hardware, power systems, financial services, e-business, business methods, medical and dental devices, and biotechnology.

Davin's experience includes preparing petitions for inter partes review and requests for inter partes and ex parte reexamination, and he is lead counsel in several inter partes review proceedings. Davin also counsels clients with regard to intellectual property strategies and has experience with prosecution of trademark applications, registration of copyrights, and protection of trade secrets. He further provides counseling and opinion services with regard to a diverse range of intellectual property matters.

Prior to joining Orrick, Davin was an associate at Lyon & Lyon LLP. Before and during law school, he was employed as an electrical engineer, developing peripheral devices for portable computer applications. Davin further has over a decade of electrical and mechanical design experience with commercial and military systems.

Nathan Dullum Claims Counsel

San Francisco

Nathan represents and advises the firm on all issues regarding claims and is responsible for managing the firm’s complex litigation strategies. He retains and supervises outside defense counsel, coordinates coverage and related issues with the firm’s insurance carriers, and ensures the effective and efficient defense of claims against the firm. Nathan is also a member of Orrick’s Risk Management Committee, responsible for promoting risk awareness and prevention through risk management training, internal firm publications, and risk management audits.

Prior to taking on his current role, Nathan was a member of Orrick's Complex Litigation and Dispute Resolution group. With over two decades of litigation and trial experience, Nathan has practiced before state and federal courts and has arbitrated matters before The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the International Center for Dispute Resolution.

Nathan joined Orrick as a summer associate in 2001. In 2007, he took a brief leave of absence to work as a prosecutor in the San Francisco County District Attorney’s Office.

Alyssa Ohanian Of Counsel

Santa Monica

Alyssa advises public company clients across a broad range of industries regarding equity offerings, compliance with federal securities laws, and requirements of the major U.S. stock exchanges. She assists in-house counsel, management, and boards of directors on SEC and stock exchange disclosure and reporting requirements, director and executive compensation, and corporate governance matters. 

Alyssa also counsels both public and private companies on the design, implementation and taxation of executive compensation and equity compensation arrangements, including executive employment agreements, change in control and severance plans, and cash and equity incentive programs, along with other compensation and benefits matters in the context of ongoing business operations, M&A transactions, spin-offs, and venture capital financings.

Ana Mendez-Villamil Managing Associate

San Francisco

Ana represents companies in the technology, energy, and financial sectors in a wide range of civil disputes including claims of trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract.  Her practice also includes defending companies under investigation by states Attorneys General. 

Prior to law school, Ana was a member of the legal team at Lyft supporting the Litigation, IP, Employment, Product/Commercial, and Corporate practice groups.

Gerald Keeler Forensic Accountant

San Francisco

Alex Straughn Patent Agent

Houston

Alex has authored scientific papers in peer-reviewed publications examining the molecular basis of regenerative myogenesis and cancer-induced cachexia. His doctoral work in Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology from the University of Louisville focused on transgenic animal studies and in vitro paradigms to discern critical signaling pathways necessary for the repair of skeletal muscle. He has extensive experience in molecular biology, including the generation of viral vectors and CRISPR/Cas9 constructs, and in performing electrophysiological recording of skeletal muscle in situ. In his postdoctoral studies, he focused his research efforts on interrogating the molecular basis for the induction the skeletal muscle wasting disorder “cachexia” in a novel model of ovarian cancer-induced cachexia.

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”.

Eric Hochstadt Partner

New York

Major players across technology, life sciences, financial services, retail, sports and transportation hire Eric again and again. Chambers USA describes him as "one of the foremost experts in antitrust law," praised for his creativity and practical approach. Clients commend him as a "really good trial lawyer," who is "skilled, savvy, and practical.” Lawdragon names him among the 500 "Leading Litigators in America."

Eric has played a pivotal role in shaping modern antitrust law through his involvement in significant cases challenging important business or industry-wide practices and transformational acquisitions. This has ranged from securing a complete defense verdict in the rare antitrust jury trial attacking an asset swap transaction – a case American Lawyer dubbed “An Antitrust Unicorn — With $800M on the Line”; to defeating a government merger challenge based on the novel “potential competition” theory that a “Big Tech” firm should enter a new market by “building versus buying”; to upholding a private equity firm’s ability to do “joint bids” for investment opportunities; to securing the dismissal of an alleged “no poach” class action by avoiding automatic or per se scrutiny of a distribution arrangement at the outset of the lawsuit – a win highlighted in American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week” column; to achieving a landmark class action settlement against a copyright collective with 20 years of licensing and royalty rate-setting conduct relief after regulators declined to bring an enforcement action. This work often involves the testimony of C-suite witnesses, opinions of leading economic experts, and the intersection of antitrust law with employment and intellectual property laws.

A member of the Executive Committee of the Antitrust Section of the New York State Bar Association, Eric speaks regularly before antitrust bar associations and at PLI and GCR programs.

Ramin Tohidi Partner

Silicon Valley

Ramin helps clients maximize their intellectual property and technology portfolios in a variety of ways, including drafting, negotiating, and advising on development, production, supply, procurement, and other technology licensing arrangements. He represents both mature and emerging companies in a variety of industries, including in SaaS, software, AI, hardware, information technology, business process outsourcing, enterprise resource planning, and data intelligence.

Ramin also counsels companies in developing artificial intelligence (AI) policies and deploying AI tools, and he also advises clients on open-source licensing and intellectual property issues in connection with mergers, acquisitions, and financing transactions.

According to Chambers USA, Ramin is “an excellent, practical, client- and business-oriented tech transactions attorney”, and “someone clients can work with as a tech expert, a business confidant and, of course, a legal expert." Chambers USA ranked him as an Up and Coming Partner, and Legal 500 ranks him as a Rising Star in 2021 and 2022 for Technology: Transactions.

Robert Allsbrook Of Counsel

New York

Colby has deep experience in financial services, asset-backed security and mortgage-related litigation, and has been at the forefront of litigation arising out of the financial crisis.

Prior to joining Orrick, he was a Director and senior litigation counsel at Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, where he chaired the firm's Mortgage Securities Litigation Task Force and helped direct the bank's litigation response to the mortgage crisis. He previously practiced law in the New York offices of King & Spalding and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.