People

Nikiforos Mathews Partner

New York

His practice focuses on representing financial institutions, governmental and regulated entities, hedge funds and corporate end-users in developing, structuring and negotiating a broad range of fixed income, foreign exchange, commodity, energy and credit derivative products. Among other things, he has successfully negotiated numerous domestic and cross-border lien-secured hedging transactions relating to leveraged loans and infrastructure transactions, as well as deal-contingent hedges. In addition, Nik has significant experience in foreign exchange and fixed income prime brokerage issues, as well as various structured products. He also regularly advises clients in connection with derivatives regulation, including the application of the Dodd-Frank legislation and related regulations. Also, Nik provides counsel on close-out netting matters and UCC issues relating account control arrangements for collateral. Nik regularly advises on the structuring and negotiation of energy and commodity hedging transactions, as well as swap regulatory matters relating to VPPAs. Moreover, on a regular basis, Nik represents market participants on the termination and close-out of derivatives and other products, including providing advice on related bankruptcy matters.

Nik is lead editor of Orrick’s publication, Derivatives in Review, which periodically highlights important legal, regulatory and other newsworthy developments in the area of derivatives. He has also published articles in several journals, including on rating agency hedge criteria in connection with structured finance transactions.

Before joining Orrick, Nik was vice president and assistant general counsel at Goldman, Sachs & Co. and director and counsel at UBS AG. He also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Nicholas Tsoucalas of the United States Court of International Trade.

From 1999 to 2007, Nik held a commission as a Captain in the United States Army Reserve, where he was qualified to practice as a Judge Advocate. A veteran of both Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, he served as an Operational and Administrative Law attorney in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Lorraine McGowen Partner

New York

Lorraine brings 30+ years of legal experience in bankruptcies, out-of-court restructurings, sovereign debt restructurings and creditors' rights controversies. She interfaces with auditors, government regulators, investment bankers and others, and develops and implements mediation and litigation strategies, and negotiates reorganization plans and complex corporate and finance documents. She also regularly provides commercial law and bankruptcy advice in connection with securitization, M&A, energy & infrastructure and general corporate transactions.

Lorraine has represented various stakeholders in bankruptcies, workouts, distressed debt transactions, sovereign debt restructurings, bankruptcy litigation, derivatives, and distressed acquisition matters such as Suriname, Belize, Puerto Rico, Takata Corporation, Windstream, GTT, Brazos Electric Power Cooperative, Lehman, MF Global, Indiana Toll Road, Chemtura Corporation, Tronox Incorporated, South Bay Expressway, American Dream School, Detroit, General Motors, and Stone & Webster.

Lorraine is a member of Orrick's Management Committee and is Partner in Charge of its global Inclusion & Belonging Initiatives. She previously served two terms on the firm’s 11-member Board of Directors and also previously chaired its Restructuring Group.

As a leading Inclusion & Belonging advocate, Lorraine creates programs for the legal profession and the community. She was selected as a 2019 Rainmaker by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) and as one of Savoy Magazine’s Most Influential Black Lawyers for 2022, 2018 and 2015 and received Legal Outreach’s Pipeline to Diversity 2017 Champion Award and the New York City Bar Association Diversity and Inclusion 2012 Champion Award. IFLR1000 Rankings named Lorraine a leading lawyer in the U.S. She was selected by Direct Women to be a 2016 Board Institute member. She is a frequent speaker and author on bankruptcy and insolvency and diversity and inclusion.

Among her community involvement, she is a former Vice President and Board Member of the New York City Bar Association and currently co-chairs the City Bar's Digital Assets Task Force. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession and the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, where she is chair of the board, and on the Advisory Committees for Legal Outreach and the Vance Center for International Justice of the City Bar, where she serves as co-chair of the Advisory Committee of the Vance Center.

S. Chris Min Partner

New York

Chris has broad experience with several asset classes, including credit card and charge card receivables, auto loans and leases, dealer floorplan loans, consumer loans, small business loans, and municipal bonds. Chris also regularly advises financial institutions on the application of securities laws and other regulations affecting the financial industry.

Michael Mitchell Partner

Washington, D.C.

Described by Chambers USA as having “an in-depth understanding of securities regulations” and with clients commenting that “his knowledge base is superior,” Mike has extensive experience representing issuers and underwriters in consumer asset-backed securitization transactions. Mike has one of the top credit card securitization practices in the market and he also advises on a broad range of ABS, including transactions supported by consumer loans, motor vehicle loans and leases, dealer floorplan receivables, student loans, and residential and commercial mortgages.

Mike serves as counsel to financial institutions in capital markets and debt financing transactions and regularly advises clients on application of the federal securities laws and Dodd-Frank implementing regulations in the structured finance market.

Mike has served as outside counsel to the Structured Finance Association, and previously to the American Securitization Forum (ASF). He has drafted industry comment letters on Regulation AB (2004), Regulation AB2 (2010/2011), the Prohibition on Material Conflicts of Interest (2012), and Cybersecurity Risk and Incident Disclosure Rules (2022). Mike has also served as Chair of the Structured Finance Association's Revolving Master Trust Working Group in connection with its industry advocacy on Risk Retention.

Mike joined Orrick in 1997 and was a partner in Orrick’s Structured Finance Group until 2012. Prior to rejoining the firm in 2021, Mike was a partner in Chapman and Cutler’s Asset Securitization Department. He has also served as a Special Counsel with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the Office of the Chief Counsel for the Division of Corporation Finance. At the SEC, Mike had extensive involvement in oversight of the structured finance market and worked on a proposal—a precursor to Regulation AB—to develop disclosure and reporting guidelines for asset-backed issuers.

Thomas C. Mitchell Senior Counsel

San Francisco

He has represented secured and unsecured creditors, indenture trustees and others in bankruptcies and workouts in a variety of industries, including technology, rail transportation, air transportation, securities trading, commodities trading, supermarket, automobile sales, construction (including solar energy), retailing, convenience store, health care, telecommunications, film and television production, restaurant, home construction, real estate development, and equipment manufacturing.

He also has extensive experience in the structuring of asset securitization transactions to resolve bankruptcy and commercial law issues, representing issuers, underwriters, and credit enhancers with respect to many asset types, including mortgage loans (residential and commercial, U.S. and foreign), credit cards (secured and unsecured), trade receivables (U.S. and foreign), consumer and marketplace loans, property assessed clean energy (PACE), delinquent property tax receivables, tobacco settlement payments, attorneys’ fee payments in connection with the tobacco settlement, whole business securitization, home equity loans, auto loans, time share loans, excess servicing fees, manufactured home loans, aircraft leases, home relocation receivables, defaulted receivables, electric utility stranded costs, franchise loans, dealer floorplan loans, equipment leases, mutual fund fees, limited partnership interests, bank funds flows, annuity fees, health care receivables, insured student loans, repackaged securities, viatical loans, and insurance premium receivables. In addition, he has been responsible for commercial law and bankruptcy structuring of collateralized debt obligations, municipal derivatives, lease to service contracts, Indian tribe financings, and a wide variety of public finance transactions and project finance transactions. He also represents borrowers and lenders in secured transactions.

IFLR1000, US and California Restructuring and Insolvency, Notable Practitioner, 2021

Mentioned in the Structured Finance: Securitization category of The Legal 500 US 2021

Romina Montellano Yoerg Managing Associate

Austin

Romina represents investors, issuers and other market participants in connection with asset-backed securities transactions.  Romina has experience with a variety of esoteric assets, including proved developed producing (PDP) oil and gas wellbores, musical composition and sound recording copyrights, legal fees receivables and cell site assets, as well as consumer receivables, including credit card and charge card receivables and auto loans and leases.

Robert Moyle Partner

New York

Rob has experience with a wide variety of asset classes, including credit and charge card receivables, auto loans and leases, dealer floorplan receivables, consumer and small business loans, student loans, tender option bonds and residential mortgages. He represents a variety of market participants, including issuers, sponsors, underwriters, placement and remarketing agents, lenders, borrowers and liquidity providers. Rob also advises clients on the application of securities laws and other financial industry regulations, including Regulation AB II and the rules and regulations promulgated under the Dodd-Frank Act.

Rob joined Orrick in 2005. He serves as Hiring Partner in the New York Office and is a member of the firm’s Professional Development Committee.

Nicolas Nader Managing Associate

Paris

Nicolas advises French and international banks and financial institutions as well as sponsors and borrowers on French and cross-border structured finance transactions.

Prior to joining Orrick, Nicolas was an associate in the Assets & Structured Finance department of Watson, Farley & Williams.

Mitchell Naumoff Partner

Washington, D.C.

His experience includes securitizing a diverse range of assets, including credit cards, personal loans, corporate loans, oil and gas wellbores, and cell tower ground leases. Mitch leverages his deep finance background and creative structuring skills in advising investors in 4(a)(2) transactions, particularly in the securitization of emerging esoteric asset classes.

In addition to his investor-side practice, Mitch represents issuers and underwriters in securities backed by credit card and other consumer receivables. These transactions often involve master trust structures and span publicly registered, 144A, and private placements.

Mitch also advises on regulatory considerations, such as application of risk-retention requirements, the Volcker Rule, and other aspects of the Dodd-Frank Act.

Before joining Orrick, Mitch was a partner in Chapman and Cutler’s Asset Securitization Department.

Sushila Nayak Partner

London; New York

She has a broad range of experience in debt financing transactions, including structured credit and corporate finance. She represents issuers, arrangers and collateral managers in connection with the issuance and restructuring of various structured finance products, derivatives transactions and debt issuances in Europe and the United States.

Sushila also provides counsel to technology and other companies on trade finance matters, including receivables financing arrangements, vendor financing, and supply chain financing.

Active in pro bono work, she leads the London office’s pro bono efforts.

Engagements:

Sushila's experience includes advising:

• Arrangers on European CLOs
• Issuers, arrangers and investors in connection with the warehousing and securitisation of various assets, including receivables, tax credits and loans
• Issuers, arrangers and investors on compliance with European risk retention requirements
• Borrowers and lenders on corporate bonds and private debt and bank lending transactions
• Corporates and lenders on supply chain, customer finance and receivables financing arrangements

Sushila's recent engagements include:

• Representing Morgan Stanley as arranger of the North Westerly V European CLO transaction
• Representing Enel Finance International N.V. and Enel S.p.A. in connection with the issuance of a $4 billion U.S. dollar sustainability linked bond
• Representing the purchaser in a cross-border private securitisation of diamond receivables
• Representing Millicom International Cellular S.A. on a $1.65 billion bridge loan
• Representing Millicom International Cellular S.A. in connection with its issuance of a $500 million bond issued under Rule 144A/Regulation S, and its $600 million tender and redemption of existing bonds

Filippo Nola Managing Associate

Milan

Filippo has developed significant experience in real estate transactions and all types of acquisition financings and leveraged buyouts transactions both in the syndicated and in the take-and-hold space, including senior debt, unitranche financings, high yield debt and mezzanine capital, structured as loan facilities as well as bonds issuances.

Prior to joining Orrick, Filippo was an associate in a primary standing international law firm.

Bola Oloko Partner

New York

Bola has extensive experience representing leading financial services firms and other institutions, acting as counsel to issuers, underwriters, and other capital markets participants in a wide range of transactions.

Bola’s experience also includes advising clients in a variety of real estate capital markets transactions, secondary loan trading transactions (LSTA and non-LSTA), ISDA derivatives transactions, and securitization litigation and disputes.