People

Marina Balzano Partner

Milan; Rome

She has acquired extensive experience in assisting major Italian and international banking groups (e.g. Intesa Sanpaolo, Banco BPM, Crédit Agricole and Deutsche Bank) in all types of financings with a solid experience in leveraged finance and acquisition finance, corporate and real estate finance.

She assists either issuers and investors as private debt funds in bonds and unitranche financings.

Ameerah Banks Cooper Associate

Santa Monica

Prior to joining Orrick, Ameerah was an associate at Buckley LLP. Prior to Buckley, she was an Assistant Vice President for a national consumer financial services company, where she maintained compliance with all applicable Consumer Finance Protection Board (CFPB) and other federal and state regulatory guidelines.

Jonas Banse Associate

Düsseldorf

Prior to joining Orrick, Jonas had already been involved in employment law matters for several years in the course of his study-related work. During his legal clerkship, he worked, inter alia, in the policy department for collective employment law of a German multinational law firm.

Juliano Banuelos Partner

San Francisco

Mr. Banuelos’ representative clients include Ancestry.com, Gap, Juniper Networks, Keysight Technologies, Oracle Corporation, Synopsys, Varex Imaging Corporation and Williams-Sonoma. Juliano is also a leader in providing compensation advice in mergers and acquisitions and regularly serves as special M&A tax counsel to in-house tax and HR departments.

In addition to being a recognized practitioner on IRC Section 409A, Juliano provides advice on the full range of compensation and benefits issues that arise ranging from designing and implementing equity-based, employment, separation, deferred compensation, change in control and similar arrangements to providing advice with respect to the design and legal compliance of qualified retirement plans, nonqualified deferred compensation plans and welfare plans.

Mr. Banuelos also advises companies on all aspects of the securities laws relating to such arrangements.

Clients interviewed for Chambers and Partners describe Mr. Banuelos as "incredibly bright and very creative," and "extremely knowledgeable, and extremely helpful, as he provides practical solutions."

Julien Barbey Senior Associate

New York

Julien advises startup clients as general outside corporate counsel assisting companies with all their legal needs including convertible note, debt and SAFE financings, preferred stock financings, employee equity and corporate governance. He has a broad range of corporate experience including company counsel to public companies, private equity acquisitions, preferred stock financings, mergers, joint ventures and commercial contract drafting.

Prior to focusing his practice on startups, Julien practiced mergers and acquisitions law which gives him added insight into positioning companies for a successful exit. Julien also worked as an in-house attorney at a late stage start-up which gives him added insight into the business needs of his clients.

Janet Barbiere Partner

New York

She represents banks, investment banks and other financial institutions in their roles as issuers, underwriters, placement agents, originators, loan sellers and investors in commercial mortgage loan and mezzanine loan securitizations, real estate syndications, origination and servicing programs, the acquisition and sale of interests in mortgage loans, mortgage securities, subordinated debt and mezzanine debt, as well as transactions in the secondary mortgage market.

She has advised banks and other financial institutions in analyzing and structuring a broad array of traditional and unique CMBS transactions, in the restructuring and sale of performing and non-performing commercial mortgage loans, and in connection with CMBS re-securitizations and CRE CLO securitizations. She serves on various SFIG and CREFC Committees.

Prior to joining Orrick, Janet was a partner in the New York offices of Kaye Scholer LLP, Thacher Proffitt & Wood LLP and Sidley Austin LLP.

Alyssa Barnard-Yanni Senior Associate

New York

Her litigation work spans a wide range of subject areas, from complex commercial litigation to white collar criminal defense.  

At the trial level, Alyssa has drafted innumerable dispositive and evidentiary motions, served on criminal defense teams representing individual defendants from indictment through sentencing, and argued in both state and federal trial court.  At the appellate level, Alyssa has drafted filings of every stripe--writs of mandamus, petitions for discretionary review, amicus briefs, and of course merits appeals--and presented argument in state and federal courts of appeals.  Alyssa also advises clients on thorny issues outside of litigation, ranging from drafting white papers advocating against criminal charges to brainstorming ways to terminate a licensing agreement, and more.

Alyssa maintains an active pro bono practice focusing primarily on criminal law matters.  She recently secured reversal of an attempted robbery conviction based on insufficient evidence in the New York Appellate Division.  She has represented defendants in state-court appeals and petitioners for habeas relief in federal court; drafted cert- and merits-stage amicus briefs in the Supreme Court case Quarles v. United States; and co-drafted an amicus brief to the Second Circuit urging that failure to advise naturalized citizens of the denaturalization risks of a plea violates the Sixth Amendment.

Alyssa served as a law clerk to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the October 2019 Term. Before that, she clerked for Judge Alison J. Nathan on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and Judge Robert A. Katzmann on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Taylor Marie Moustris Barokh Senior Associate

Los Angeles

She advises opportunity, investment and private equity funds, institutional investors and developers on commercial real estate transactions including joint venture structuring, financing, development, acquisitions, sales, lease agreements, and other corporate real estate activities. Taylor is familiar with structuring and drafting corporate organizational agreements, financing, acquisition and disposition documents. She has experience with a variety of asset types, including commercial, mixed-use and residential properties. Further, she regularly advises startups, growth stage companies and not-for-profit organizations on their leasing transactions.

Lauren Baron Associate

New York

Lauren is experienced with motion practice in federal district courts and state courts throughout New York, California, Texas, Delaware, and other jurisdictions. She has a broad base of scientific knowledge and focuses in patent practice dealing with networked technologies and biomedical engineering. Lauren also practices trade secrets law and drafts motions for cases brought under the Defend Trade Secrets Act, New York common law, and the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act.

Prior to joining Orrick, Lauren attended Columbia Law School, where she participated extensively in the Columbia Science, Health, and Information Clinic and the Columbia Science and Technology Law Review.

Laura Rose Barr Partner

Seattle

Laura is a founding member of Orrick’s technology companies practice in the Pacific Northwest. She is passionate about working with women founders, other underrepresented entrepreneurs, and double bottom line companies. People who think differently, and set out to create impact, inspire her.

She represents companies and their investors in a variety of verticals, including AI & Machine Learning (Anthropic), consumer applications (AppSheet, Life360, Mylio), education technology (Go1), financial technology (SoFi), information security (Stairwell) and life sciences (Cortexyme, Inmedix), among others. 

Prior to joining Orrick, Laura worked in New York as a leveraged finance attorney at Milbank, and in-house at Goldman Sachs and the New York Stock Exchange. In addition to start-up representation, she regularly provides pro bono legal advice to charitable organizations regarding non-profit incorporation and tax exemption applications.

Brian Bartholomay Counsel

Washington, D.C.

Brian’s experience includes matters initiated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as well as state attorneys general and other state regulators. In addition to his enforcement practice, Brian also represents financial services clients in individual and class actions arising under federal and state consumer protection statutes.

Prior to joining Orrick, Brian was counsel at Buckley LLP.

Alexandra Bartos-O'Neill Managing Associate

Portland

Alexandra's practice includes private activity bond financings, namely in connection with building affordable housing.