Alexander Fields Managing Associate

New York

Alex's practice focuses on drafting and negotiating offtake agreements, including power purchase agreements (PPAs), capacity sales agreements and tolling agreements for solar, wind, battery storage, and first-of-a-kind projects. Alex also advises on other project development and energy regulatory matters.

Prior to joining Orrick, Alex was an associate at another law firm where he focuses on advising domestic and international corporate buyers, developers, investors, lenders, and sponsors in the acquisition and sale, development, financing, and offtake of energy projects.

Maureen Harmon Senior Associate

Washington, D.C.

Maureen represents a wide variety of companies in domestic and international mergers and acquisitions.  Prior to joining Orrick, Maureen was an attorney at Alston & Bird in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Her background includes advising private equity clients with respect to buy and sell-side transactions and general corporate matters, working at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, California, and competing as a collegiate golfer.  

Margaux Romano Managing Associate

Paris

Margaux’s practice focuses on restructuring and insolvency advising all the stakeholders (alternative investors, lenders, creditors, debtors, buyers etc.) whether in an amicable or judicial context. whether in an amicable or judicial context.

Margaux has worked as an intern in the restructuring departments of leading international and French law firms.

Prior to joining Orrick, she was an associate in a UK law firm.

Harrison Geron Managing Associate

Silicon Valley

Harrison graduated from UC Berkeley School of Law with the BCLT Technology Law Certificate and Pro Bono Honors with highest distinction. At Berkeley Law he served as Senior Executive Editor of the Berkeley Technology Law Journal and Co-President of the Space Law Society.

Harrison is dedicated to studying and advocating at the intersection of law and technology. During law school, for fun, he co-authored a comment to the FCC that was well cited in the reply-period and by the FCC in its subsequent order. This comment led to the paper "Title Zero": Ending the Infinite Loop of Classifications for Broadband Via a Technology Agnostic Definition, which won an award after peer review at TPRC49 and is published in the California Law Review in 2022. Harrison is also dedicated to positive social change enabled by law and technology. He was the co-lead organizer for the inaugural 2020 BTLJ/BCLT symposium "Technology Law As a Vehicle for Anti-Racism."

Harrison previously worked at a boutique patent firm in the San Francisco Bay Area where he aided in the drafting of patents. Harrison also brings experience in complex litigation, having worked at a plaintiff-side class action firm during law school. He holds a BS/BA from Loyola Marymount University in Economics/Political Science and a Minor in Natural Science/Physics. He further studied post-baccalaureate at Santa Clara University in Physics.

Peter Elias Partner

Santa Monica

He regularly assists in the tax planning and structuring of emerging companies and other transactions relevant to their formation and sale, including founder loan share purchases and secondary sales, “Up-C” IPO transactions, obtaining and optimizing “qualified small business stock” tax benefits, conversions of limited liability companies, structuring and documenting “profits interests” and other favorable equity to founders, as well as M&A, joint ventures, equity and debt financings, buyouts, divestitures, and restructurings. He has significant experience in real estate and related transactions, including structuring and tax planning for private equity investment funds, joint ventures, and like kind exchanges and other tax-advantaged exit strategies, including:

• Tax planning and structuring for private equity and venture capital investment vehicles, including the use of parallel or alternative investment vehicles, co-investment vehicles, or other similar structures to accommodate participation by tax-exempt entities and/or non-U.S. parties.
• Implementing tax efficient structures and exit strategies for U.S. real estate projects, joint ventures or similar vehicles, including recapitalizations, in-kind distributions, leveraged recaps, as well as like-kind exchange structures pursuant to tax code section 1031.
• Providing advice and tax structuring for investment funds and related entities in connection with secondary market purchases of debt securities and debt instruments, including distressed debt, as well as related debt modifications, workouts, foreclosures and/or related resolutions.

Pete has spoken and written extensively in areas involving private equity, venture capital, hedge and real estate funds, real estate joint ventures and distressed debt, and private equity transactions.

Pete also is an adjunct professor at the U.C. Irvine School of Law, having created and taught classes focused on Tax Planning for Real Estate Transactions, for both JD and LLM (taxation) students.

Sasha Leonhardt Partner

Washington, D.C.

Sasha also has substantial experience advising clients on the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), Military Lending Act (MLA), Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), Fair Housing Act (FHA), and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). He advises companies, non-profits and industry associations with consumer privacy issues arising from the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) and Regulation P, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and its Affiliate Marketing Rule and state and federal laws that address data privacy and information security.

In addition to representing clients, Sasha has published numerous articles on various aspects of consumer financial services law and practice, including data privacy, class action litigation, white collar litigation, whistleblower lawsuits and recent trends in regulation and enforcement. He also maintains an active pro bono practice and serves as a member of the Legal Counsel for the Elderly’s Young Lawyers Alliance. A frequent speaker on a variety of legal topics, Sasha has taught at Duke University School of Law and American University Washington College of Law, and was previously a Professorial Lecturer in Law at the George Washington University Law School.

Prior to joining Orrick, Sasha was a partner at Buckley LLP. He also previously served as Deputy Press Secretary to Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley. He is accredited as a Privacy Law Specialist, a Fellow of Information Privacy, a Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM/US), and a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US) by the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

James N. Kramer Partner

San Francisco; Silicon Valley

Recognized as a leader in Securities Litigation by Chambers USA, clients praise Jim as, “a spectacular relationship manager” and tell the publication, “Jim is one of the first people I will call to think through an issue. I would use him for any securities matters.” Jim is also regularly featured among Benchmark Litigation’s list of the nation’s Leading Litigators.

Jim is a frequent lecturer on securities and class action litigation and an editor for the Securities Reform Act Litigation Reporter. Jim is past chair of the Embarcadero YMCA Board of Managers and remains active in YMCA philanthropy. In his spare time, he enjoys time with his family and is a recreational long course triathlete.

Alexandra Keenan Managing Associate

London

She is also a member of the firm's AI & Privacy Committee which focuses on researching and writing about various legal issues in the field of artificial intelligence.

Alexandra joined the firm as a trainee in 2018.

Lauren Allen-Yang Managing Associate

New York

Lauren has experience representing individuals and large companies at all stages of complex civil litigation, from fact-finding to motion practice and everything in between. Lauren practices in federal and state courts nationwide.

Cathleen Chang Senior Associate

Houston; Austin

In public finance matters, Cathleen has served as bond counsel and special tax counsel for a variety of transactions, including health care facilities, multifamily housing, airport, ports, transit authorities, non-profit organizations, public utilities, hospitality projects, as well as tobacco revenue securitizations. In addition to tax-exempt financings, Cathleen also represents clients in IRS audits and non-profit corporation tax matters.

Jeffrey Hydrick Partner

Washington, D.C.

He has significant experience building strategic alliances between emerging and traditional payments companies, particularly in the mobile payments area, and he frequently advises clients on payment network issues and regulatory issues related to payments.

Prior to joining Orrick, Jeff was a partner at Buckley LLP. He also was counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, where he handled corporate and transactional matters.

Damon Stewart Of Counsel

New York

Damon focuses his practice on state and locally based legislative and regulatory issues. He has experience inside of government, having served as Assistant Counsel to the New York Senate Majority. Subsequent to his time in the Senate, he served as a Vice President for the Parkside Group, a New York lobbying firm. He eventually transitioned to an in-house corporate position as Vice President for State Government Affairs for DIRECTV, with a national purview overseeing all aspects of state and local legislative matters for the company. Immediately prior to joining Orrick, he served as Vice President of Government Affairs and State Advocacy Coordinator at AT&T, maintaining national responsibility for satellite-related issues.