People

Amanda Galton Partner

San Francisco

As Deputy Chair of our Corporate Business unit, Amanda uses her legal experience, business acumen, professional network and industry knowledge to resolve anticipated and unforeseen obstacles and developments. She advises at material stages of the corporate life cycle (formation, financings, and exits, including SPACs, direct listings and IPOs); and provides guidance and trusted governance advice on board, advisor, employment, separation, and other commercial matters. To further help companies thrive, Amanda keeps clients informed about recent developments in their space and helps connect entrepreneurs and investors with one another.

Amanda started her post-undergraduate professional career in West Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer – a place where she got to deploy her French and Arabic language skills. Though the focus of her service was health education and community development, she also spent time in a village with Liberian refugees who were interested in implementing windmill technology. Her time in the Peace Corps remains a foundational experience for how she approaches her work today — as she continues to be inspired by the impact of technology and those who are tenacious in solving problems.

Now, Amanda works with companies and entrepreneurs in a number of industries including financial services, food and agriculture, mobility and energy infrastructure, clean tech, and health and professional services.

A portion of her work is also in representing certain investors and venture funds in their investments.

In addition to her practice, Amanda also dedicates time to advancing women in leadership in the U.S. and abroad. She has served as a cultural and professional resource for emerging women leaders from the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa through Tech Women, a U.S. State Department initiative dedicated to empowering women technology leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and has served on the Board of CodeChix, a non-profit corporation which recruits, retains and inspires women engineers.

True to her professional roots in Peace Corps service, Amanda remains actively committed to advancing global economic development. As a member of Orrick’s Impact Finance and Investment group, she supports investors and entrepreneurs who make social and environmental impacts alongside financial returns.

Prior to joining Orrick, Amanda was a corporate associate at the Menlo Park, California office of Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, LLP.

Christopher Grew Partner

London

Drawing from his comprehensive experience, network and passion for all things geek, Chris forms an integral part of the European tech ecosystem. Chris advises companies in venture capital transactions, public offerings and cross-border mergers and acquisitions. He also advises high-growth companies, investment banks, and venture capital firms on fundraising, international business operations and transactions.

As noted in the engagements below, Chris works closely with those powering the next generation of technology, from revolutionary AI companies to influential investors. His track-record and industry-wide reputation were noted in the most recent Legal 500 edition, which describes Chris as “excellent,” accompanied with a band 1 ranking in venture capital investment by Chambers and Partners 2021.  

William S. Haft Partner

New York

Bill regularly advises clients on cross-border matters, including transactions in the maritime, energy and infrastructure and technology sectors. He has particular experience in the maritime sector, having guided various market participants on numerous complex international shipping and offshore corporate and capital markets deals and restructurings.

Reflecting feedback from his clients, Bill was named a BTI “Client Service All-Star” and is described by an IFLR1000 client commentator as “extremely responsive” with a “deep spectrum of knowledge,” in Banking and Finance.

Before joining Orrick in 2002, Bill practiced with two other international law firms in New York and Paris.

Rene Kathawala Pro Bono Counsel

New York

Rene works with other pro bono counsel and legal services nonprofits to increase the quantity and quality of pro bono representation that is being provided to indigent clients in each of the cities worldwide where Orrick has a presence. In addition, he supervises and directly works on cases in such diverse areas as immigration law, family and matrimonial law, housing law, public benefits law, employment law counseling, impact litigation and nonprofit advice and counseling. Rene has worked on many substantial matters in the federal and state systems over his career that are reported as precedent. He also works with firm attorneys to strengthen the firm's innovative Impact Finance team that he founded and that provides representation in diverse transactional areas to nonprofit, for profit and hybrid organizations dedicated to providing basic services to poor persons around the world in areas including microfinance, water, education, energy, housing and health.

Based on his long-standing commitment to access to justice issues, Rene has been appointed to serve as co-chair of the New York City Bar Association Race Equity in the New York State Courts Working Group, co-chair of the Association of Pro Bono Counsel Transactional Law Working Group, as member of the New York City Bar Association Right to Counsel Task Force, as member of the New York City Bar Association Family Court Judicial Appointment & Assignment Process Work Group, as member of Sanctuary for Families' Narkis Golin Initiative, and as member of the Kids in Need of Defense's New York Advisory Committee. In recognition of his exemplary work in family law, United States District Judge Bloom appointed Rene as a special master in a federal court family law matter in 2014 in the Eastern District of New York in case number 07-cv-02565-ARR-LB, styled Garmhausen et al v. United States Department of Justice et al.  Rene also appeared in a documentary with wide release, called "The Accidental Spy," about his pro bono immigration client, Mr. Blerim Skoro, for whom Rene spent six-years in the New York City immigration court and gained deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture for the client.

Michael E. Schrader Partner

Portland

Mike also represents banks and underwriters in connection with the purchase and sale of bonds and other financing and credit-related matters.

A significant portion of Mike’s practice is devoted to private activity bond financings. This includes representing Oregon Housing and Community Services and Oregon Facilities Authority in connection with their conduit revenue bond programs. Over the course of his more than 20 years as a bond attorney in Oregon, he has competed dozens of project financings throughout the State with a variety of public and private sponsors, developers and funders.

Mike received the Firm's Community Responsibility Award in 2011 in recognition of his community service and pro bono work. He currently serves on the Boards of Bridge Meadows, a developer, owner and operator of affordable intergenerational housing communities, and the Portland Housing Center, an organization providing educational and financial services to promote homeownership in underserved communities. He also serves as special counsel (pro bono) to Mercy Corps in connection with its Community Investment Trust (CIT) Program.

Before joining Orrick, Mike was a partner at Ater Wynne LLP in Portland. Prior to that, Mike was an associate at Ice Miller in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Perry Teicher Impact Finance Counsel

New York

Perry represents and advises entrepreneurs, companies, fund sponsors, family offices, tax-exempt organizations, and other asset owners across a wide range of transactions, including corporate legal matters, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, private fund formation matters and portfolio transactions, and private placements. Perry advises clients on impact-oriented and ESG matters, integrating social, environmental, and financial outcomes into a comprehensive strategy. Orrick’s Impact Finance & Investment practices serves a global client base across a range of sectors, leveraging Orrick’s unique capabilities to provide innovative, effective, and thoughtful legal services to those clients aiming to create positive social and environmental change alongside targeted financial returns.

Perry serves as co-chair of the NYU Law Grunin Center/Impact Investing Legal Working Group’s annual conference on Legal Issues in Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Investing and is involved in other sector building initiatives.

Perry served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kazakhstan, where he supported the development of businesses aiming to create mobility and opportunity for people with disabilities in the region. Perry is an Ariane de Rothschild Fellow and member of the ROI Community and Nexus. A native of the Detroit area and University of Michigan graduate, Perry remains committed to the Detroit area, supporting Detroit expat initiatives.