People

Naomi Pen Managing Associate

New York

Naomi provides clients guidance on implementing global privacy programs and advises on the U.S. state privacy laws in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Virginia and other states. She assists clients in breach investigations and cybersecurity incident response, including advising on breach notification, regulatory investigations and managing cybersecurity policies and procedures.

Naomi draws on her experience in fixed income trading technology when advising on cybersecurity and compliance risks within business operations. During law school she externed at the Center for Reproductive Rights focusing on privacy in the context of international human rights.

Aerielle Pendleton Managing Associate

New York

Aerielle represents clients in complex litigation matters in both federal and state courts.  With significant experience in high-stakes litigation matters, Aerielle litigates cases on behalf of technology companies, investment firms, banks, and individuals.  Aerielle has extensive experience defending clients in mass torts, product liability matters as well as working with teams guiding clients through government and investigations and enforcement actions.  Aerielle also has experience working with a team in a high-profile intellectual property matter.

Aerielle is also active in pro bono matters, primarily focusing her practice on a wrongful death action against an ICE subsidiary.

Andrew Pennacchia Senior Counsel

New York

He frequently advises mortgage companies, fintechs, lead generators, consumer and commercial lenders, banks and other financial services companies on key federal and state consumer financial laws, safety and soundness regulations, multistate licensing requirements, and government agency lending and servicing guidelines. Andrew also assists clients with enforcement actions brought by federal and state regulators and conducts comprehensive regulatory assessments in connection with potential acquisitions designed to identify regulatory gaps and systemic compliance control deficiencies.

Andrew has assisted clients in facilitating compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices (UDAAP), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act (GLBA), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 (CAN-SPAM), Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and other key federal laws.

His work also includes assisting clients in developing compliance management systems and vendor management programs that meet regulatory expectations, and in preparing for and managing examinations by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), federal prudential regulators, and state regulators. In addition, he represents clients in investigations initiated by the CFPB.

Prior to joining Orrick, Andrew was senior counsel at Buckley LLP. He also worked in Morgan Stanley’s Legal and Compliance Division, where he provided advice on various regulatory compliance requirements affecting securities-based, commercial and institutional lending, and assisted in the development and implementation of a risk-assessment process for retail lending products. Andrew was also a member of Morgan Stanley Credit Corporation's Mortgage Compliance Committee. Prior to his tenure at Morgan Stanley, he served as vice president of legal affairs for Premium Capital Funding LLC.

Renee Phillips Partner

New York

Renee has successfully defended employers in federal and state court litigations as well as administrative proceedings and arbitrations involving claims of discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, whistleblowing, trade secret misappropriation and other employment-related claims. She regularly counsels employers on a variety of employment-related issues and assists clients in creating and implementing human resources policies, whistleblower policies, negotiating and drafting executive contracts, restrictive covenants and other employment agreements, and conducting internal investigations.

Renee is the co-author of the PLI treatise, Corporate Whistleblowing in the Sarbanes-Oxley/Dodd-Frank Era. She regularly writes and speaks on whistleblower and other employment topics.

Jeffrey Philp Partner

New York

Nicholas Poli Partner

New York

Nick is an experienced bankruptcy litigator, representing financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and trustees in all stages of the bankruptcy process. Most recently, Nick served as co-lead trial counsel to the private credit arm of a global financial company and secured a $100 million trial victory in connection with multiple defaulted loans.

Nicholas also has extensive experience in issues arising out of the financial crisis, including a range of issues relating to residential mortgage backed securities (“RMBS”) and lending practices. He has represented issuers and sponsors of RMBS in fraud and breach of contract cases, as well as federal and state securities actions. Nicholas has defended a global financial institution in connection with two separate trials in the New York Supreme Court.

Nicholas is a key member of the Orrick team that represents Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, multinational investment banks and financial services companies, in connection with more than a dozen cases. This includes defending the clients against claims brought by investors, trustees, and monoline insurance companies in connection with the purchase and sale of RMBS. Nicholas also completed a secondment at Credit Suisse, where he was in the litigation and investigations group. During this time, he worked on regulatory matters involving FINRA, the SEC, the DOJ, the CFTC, and the NY Department of Financial Services. Additionally, he handled internal investigations addressing issues such as insider trading.

Nicholas has also represented one of the nation’s largest mortgage loan servicers, including in a class action lawsuit involving allegations of improper loan servicing practices.

Brianna Pomatico Senior Associate

New York

Brianna's practice focuses on cross-border comparative employment law, including global business immigration. She works with clients to address critical questions related to the evolution and growth of their global workforce, including international employment contracts, employee handbooks and policies, contingent worker considerations, performance management, benefits, HR data privacy compliance, and equity compensation. Brianna also advises on the global employment aspects of corporate transactions.

Prior to joining Orrick, Brianna practiced corporate immigration law, gaining years of experience facilitating global mobility for large corporations, startups, and individuals alike. 

Bianca Ponziani Managing Associate

New York

She has partnered with start-ups and Fortune 500 companies to develop comprehensive privacy and cybersecurity policies and procedures that comply with U.S., EU and UK law and self-regulatory frameworks, including U.S. state privacy laws; the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); the CAN-SPAM Act; the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA); the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act); and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Bianca helps clients prepare for and respond to crisis security incidents, including by advising on personal data breach notification obligations, working closely with cyber forensics experts, engaging with law enforcement, and responding to regulatory inquiries.

She also provides clients with practical guidance in complex and multijurisdictional corporate transactions to help navigate attendant privacy and cybersecurity risks.

Ekaterina Popoff Senior Associate

New York

Ekaterina (Katya) Popoff is experienced in closing complex deals, acting for issuers and underwriters both in the U.S. and abroad in structured securities offerings across a broad range of asset classes including residential mortgages, credit cards, oil and gas assets and commercial loans, and structures, including public and private offerings, repos, CLOs and cost recovery bonds. Drawing on her background as an entrepreneur, she approaches her work with a pragmatic and solution-focused mindset, ensuring that clients receive efficient and practical solutions.

Katya is a passionate and dedicated mentor to junior associates, ensuring that her colleagues receive support and guidance to help them advance their skills and gain confidence. Her other areas of interest include designing, creating and refining deal management systems on complex deals, including learning new strategies, implementing workflows for the associate team to follow and refining approaches from prior deals.

Before joining Orrick, Katya practiced in structured finance at a leading national firm in Canada. Prior to that she founded a specialty tea producer and wholesaler that sold packaged tea blends into the U.S., Canadian and international markets. Under her leadership, the business won numerous awards for taste, packaging design and marketing. She is an avid reader and has recently rekindled her interest in cycling as a means to explore the outdoors and discover new places.

Harris U. Quraishi Managing Associate

New York

Harris advises public and private companies and private equity funds through a range of domestic and cross-border transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, dispositions, carveouts, equity investments and other general corporate matters.

Prior to joining Orrick, Harris was an associate in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

Brian Raphel Partner

New York

Brian is a trial lawyer who specializes in preparing complex cases for trial in an efficient and effective manner. He has prepared dozens of cases for trial in venues across the country in matters involving products liability, shareholder litigation, white collar criminal litigation, and bankruptcy proceedings, many of which have resulted in significant victories before or during the trial. He also is an experienced manager, having led large teams of attorneys and other legal professionals to conduct trials, internal investigations, and e-discovery efforts. Clients have praised Brian for his dedication to the work, substantive excellence, and responsiveness.

Nathaniel Reisenburg Managing Associate

New York

Nathaniel counsels banks, blockchain exchanges, cryptocurrency issuers, financial institutions, technology companies, money transmitters, online gaming platforms, payment processors, and private equity firms. His practice includes services related to anti-money laundering, data collection and processing, internal investigations and risks assessments, money transmitter licensing, blockchain token offerings, mergers and acquisitions, money transmitter licensing, venture capital financing activities, and general corporate matters.

Following law school, Nathaniel co-founded a legaltech company in Japan, and developed the initial machine learning models and a front end used for an initial product offering. Nathaniel has since leveraged his development experience to communicate with and advise blockchain and machine learning ventures. In addition, Nathaniel has also lectured at Peking University in China, teaching constitutional law and an introductory class on U.S. legal principles, giving Nathaniel a unique perspective into the Chinese market.

Prior to joining Orrick’s New York office, he was an associate at the firm's Tokyo office. In addition, prior to law school, Nathaniel served for four years in the Canadian Army as an enlisted soldier tasked to conduct armored reconnaissance.