The Legal 500

Within Project finance, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is a third tier firm,

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP has a ‘very deep bench’ of seven partners, and a notable niche in the energy sector; it has ‘comprehensive knowledge of the electricity industry and has worked with all its segments (municipal, cooperative, investor-owned, IPPs and federal agencies)’. A key energy sector is solar power, where the team has acted on several noteworthy deals. Recent highlights include acting for Eurus Energy America on the Avenal photovoltaic solar energy project (which will be the largest such facility in California on completion), advising on the construction, power purchase, and equipment supply agreements, and negotiating and structuring the financing of the project. The team also has excellent transport infrastructure capabilities and related expertise in PPP matters. In this arena, it acted for Fluor Corporation and Macquarie Capital as sponsors in the $1.6bn Denver FasTracks project; this PPP concession provided for the construction, financing and operation of the network, and the deal included related bond financing and an equity sell down by Macquarie to Laing and Lloyds. The firm also acted for the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG Power) on the development of two additional nuclear generating units at an existing nuclear plant in Burke County, Georgia; acted for Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in the $900m PPP financing of a toll road in San Diego County, California, which involved $560m of senior secured debt; and assisted Bank of America and Barclays Bank on the proposed concession for the construction, operation and maintenance of the elevated roadway from the southern end of the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco, California. Team head Daniel Mathews in New York is highly rated by clients, along with Carl Lyon, who has ‘an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the utility industry and its financings and business transactions’; and Kyle Drefke in Washington DC, ‘an organizational genius who can lead a phalanx into a transaction’, and ‘an excellent draftsman’. In San Francisco, Les Sherman has ‘an incredible grasp of the issues facing renewable energy developers’; David Spielberg is much lauded; and Mark Weitzel is ‘spectacular’.

Within Structured finance , Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is a third tier firm,

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP’s New York-based Al Sawyers, co-head of the financial markets practice group, is ‘a hands-on partner who is always on top of whatever business he and his team may be working with me on at any point in time’. He and the highly respected Joshua Raff lead a team of ‘market leaders offering expertise, experience, and good value’. The firm’s reputation in asset-backed finance was confirmed when the firm was appointed to represent the FDIC in its first residential mortgage securitization transaction. Wider expertise extends to credit card receivables, auto and aircraft lease securitization, and more esoteric asset classes. Katharine Crost and Howard Altarescu, head of the financial institutions industry group, were key members of the team which acted as issuers’ counsel in the first significant non-governmental mortgage backed securities public offering since the onset of the financial crisis, a $230m securities tranche backed by prime residential mortgage loans issued by the Redwood Trust sponsored Sequoia Mortgage Trust 2010. The firm has a strong public finance department in which Albert Simons, a partner in the New York office, is ‘highly knowledgeable and experienced’ in the complexities of municipal bond and derivative offerings. The firm has achieved a significant presence in the Asian secured finance market and has several expert lawyers in Hong Kong who work closely with the US experts, including Washington DC-based Cameron Cowan, the 2010 executive secretary of the American Securitization Forum (ASF). Also in Washington DC, Michael Mitchell is an expert in regulatory matters. The group’s clients include Bank of America, Bayerische Vereinsbank, Royal Bank of Canada and Société Générale.

Within Patent licensing and transactional , Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is a third tier firm,

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP has a large practice group made up of over 40 lawyers in offices across the US, with strong global support from bases in Asia, London and a recently opened office in Munich. The team has experience representing both sides of sales and licensing deals, and a client list ranging from individual entrepreneurs and start-ups to multinational companies. Sector specialisms include agricultural products, computer hardware, industrial chemistry and medical devices. The group is chaired by Gary Weiss in Silicon Valley, who is particularly strong in trade secrets litigation. Also recommended in Silicon Valley is Jeffrey Miller, who has expertise in patent work, including litigation. Work highlights included advising Dow Agrosciences on licensing and collaboration agreements relating to its crop biotechnology platform and technologies. Other clients have included Fujitsu, UPEK, Brocade Communications, Logitech, eBay, ProMOS Technologies, Foundry Networks, Dow Corning and Varian Medical Systems.

Within Patent litigation: full coverage, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is a third tier firm,

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP has international strength and broad industry coverage, with particular strength in the hi-tech, internet, and electronics sectors, where it advises household names such as Facebook, LinkedIn, AOL, Microsoft and Apple. Led by IP head Gary Weiss, the practice has also been representing leading names from the gaming and electronics world in Section 337 investigations. Hopkins Guy acted for Apple in an ITC investigation filed by S3 Graphics regarding image compression formats and, in another ITC investigation, successfully represented five respondents, including Acer and Nanya, in a patent infringement case brought by Tessera, which was the first time Tessera has been defeated in a case regarding seminconductor chip patents. The practice also acted for Intel Corporation, Numonyx, Sony Ericsson and Apple in a patent infringement case brought by Fast Memory (an Acacia subsidiary) regarding flash memory technology. Trial lawyer Steven Routh has experience in patent litigation before the federal court and the ITC, and is ‘not only one of the top litigators, but also a very trustworthy team manager’.

Within Patent litigation: International Trade Commission, tier 4

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is developing a good reputation for work on ITC cases, with a focus on the hi-tech arena. With extensive trial experience for both domestic and international entities, Steven Adkins co-chairs the firm’s Section 337 practice alongside Bas de Blank, who has represented the likes of SiRF Technology and Acer. It recently achieved a standout win for multiple respondents, including Acer, in a case brought by Tessera. Hopkins Guy was involved in Apple’s litigation against complainant S3 Graphics regarding four patents related to Apple products such as the iPhone and Macbook computers.

Within Labor and employment litigation, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is a second tier firm,

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP’s ‘level of expertise is top-notch and I feel we get very good value for our money’. ‘We receive tremendous client service from the firm’. From a global platform, the firm advises on high-profile and high-value engagements. It is worldwide employment counsel for Facebook, providing all employment law, data privacy and global equity advice and dispute representation, as the social networking site dramatically increases its footprint globally. In further high-profile matters, the firm represented Morgan Stanley in Drake v Morgan Stanley, a wage-and-hour class action in which a federal judge denied a motion to certify the class, and assisted Wyndham Worldwide in two cases that went to jury trials. In Tamer Mamou v Trendwest Resorts, Inc, a case alleging retaliation, national origin discrimination and defamation, the case settled favorably following a three week jury trial. In Jennifer Maamo v Trendwest Resorts, Inc, a case alleging sexual harassment and intentional infliction of emotional distress, the case settled favorably following opening statements. In addition, the firm represented Oracle and its new president, Mark Hurd, against claims brought by his former employer Hewlett-Packard, and the firm is currently representing PwC in a California-wide and proposed nationwide wage-and-hour class action. Mike Delikat is chair of the employment law group and has extensive experience with issues arising from trade secret misappropriation and the enforcement of post-employment restrictions, wage-and-hour collective actions and other class actions based on gender and race, with particular expertise representing companies in the financial services industry. Also recommended are Lynne Hermle and Robert Shwarts. Andrew Livingston ‘is very responsive, does an excellent job of keeping us updated on all the matters he handles for us and possesses tremendous employment law knowledge’. In 2011, Ira Rosenstein left the firm and joined Morgan Lewis.

Within Securities: shareholder litigation, tier 5

Michael Torpey heads a quality practice at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, which draws from over 20 partners, most of whom are based on the West Coast, albeit with sizeable teams in New York and Washington DC. The firm has achieved a number of significant victories, including on its representation of NovaStar Financial, where it obtained a Court of Appeals ruling affirming the dismissal of all securities claims. This is the first such dismissal for a subprime lender. The firm has a significant client base within the life sciences and high-tech industries, including Citrix Systems, eBay and Molina Healthcare. The firm also has good experience representing underwriters such as Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers. Daniel Tyukody and Michael Tu are well regarded by clients.

Within Supreme Court and appellate, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is a third tier firm,

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is ‘excellent’, with its ‘outstanding’ lawyers being ‘imaginative, pro-active, knowledgeable and timely’. In particular, group head Joshua Rosenkranz is ‘an excellent orator, strong strategist, and overall an outstanding advocate’, while Richard Mark and Daniel Thomasch are also recommended. The firm successfully appealed for MGA Entertainment in its titanic “Barbie Wars” dispute with Mattel over the Bratz brand of dolls. After the lower courts transferred the rights to the entire $1bn-a-year Bratz brand to Mattel and prohibited MGA from further production, Rosenkranz argued the case before the Ninth Circuit, which overturned the ruling and erased Mattel’s $100m jury verdict on damages. The case has now been remanded to the district court to address errors in the original ruling.

Within Trade secrets, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is a first tier firm,

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP’s brand has reached a wider public than many other trade-secret practices after it replaced Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in the battle for rights to Bratz dolls against Barbie manufacturers Mattel. Shortly after appointment in July 2010 as MGA Entertainment’s lawyers, the team, lead by New York litigation partner Joshua Rosencrantz and IP specialist Annette Hurst in San Francisco, succeeded in overturning the original verdict in favor of Mattel and clearing the way for a retrial of all issues relating to liability and damages. A strong Silicon Valley team, headed by Gary Weiss, recently set two trade secrets law precedents relating to proof of misappropriation and preemption under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act when defending cases brought by Silvaco Data Systems against Intel and Agilent Technologies. Clients nominate Chris Ottenweller, Michael Spillner and Rob Shwarts as ‘particularly good’ and consider that ‘this firm is the best in this area’. 130 globally-based IP, employment and litigation lawyers act for clients such as Hewlett Packard and Oracle.

Within White-collar criminal defense , tier 7

‘Extremely responsive, pragmatic and proactive’, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP’s West-Coast-based 18-partner team is a ‘go-to-destination’ for high-stakes investigations or litigation across the gamut of matters including FCPA violations, antitrust offences and public corruption. Benefiting from 12-former assistant US attorneys amongst its ranks, as well as several former prosecutors and SEC enforcement attorneys, the team ‘has excellent credibility and is well-regarded by the regulators’. ‘Extremely knowledgeable and with deep experience in securities litigation’, it is representing David Sambol, former president of Countrywide Financial, in investigations and litigation alleging various charges relating to the collapse of the mortgage lender. Lead lawyer in the aforementioned matter, Walter Brown has a reputation as a ‘superb trial lawyer’ and is ‘equally adept at persuading prosecutors to decline cases as he is at winning cases at trial’. ‘A brilliant attorney who works hard to achieve his clients’ objectives’, Washington DC-based Preston Burton is ‘well-respected by the federal bench in Washington’ and is currently representing an executive in a DOJ criminal investigation of a lethal coal mine explosion in West Virginia. Other notable practitioners include Pamela Davis ‘she has impeccable judgment’, and Mark Beck and Anthony DeCorso, who are both ‘highly respected and credible within the Los Angeles legal community’.

Within Antitrust, tier 6

Described by one client as ‘the best I have ever used in 20 years of hiring antitrust outside counsel’, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP’s practice is traditionally weighted more towards non-merger work, but its recent representations include acting for CoorsTek on the acquisition of assets from Saint-Gobain. The group’s presence in Silicon Valley also sees it representing clients such as Microsoft, for which Robert Rosenfeld is a ‘a great counsel and courtroom lawyer’ providing US and international antitrust and competition law advice. As well as offices in California, New York and Washington DC, the firm is particularly well connected in the EU through Ted Henneberry, who previously held a position as a senior competition enforcement official in the European Union and who divides his time between London and Washington DC. The practice recruited two new partners: Robert Reznick in Washington DC joined from Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP and is ‘a superior antitrust lawyer in every way’, while Lisa Tenorio-Kutzkey in San Francisco focuses on white-collar crime and cartel matters. Reznick is representing Merck & Co in various matters including a federal antitrust case filed by a secondary pharmaceutical wholesaler, alleging a conspiracy among major manufacturers over the sale of prescription drugs. Other recent work for the team includes representing defendants in the first antitrust case challenging an alleged price-fixing conspiracy in China. David Goldstein in San Francisco, who specializes in IP-related antitrust litigation, is ‘very smart, very practical and extremely responsive’. David Smutny demonstrates ‘unrelenting dedication to the client’ and is ‘dogged, persistent, loyal and smart’.

Within M&A: middle-market (sub-$500m), Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is a first tier firm,

While Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP advises on a wide range of transactions, it has established a strong position in mid-market M&A deals, valued at up to $500m. This arises in large part from its significant presence in technology M&A, but the practice is also advising on a growing number of mid-market cross-border M&A transactions from the New York office. The firm has a leading practice in emerging companies, representing more than 800 companies and many of the top venture capital firms in the world, and a Silicon Valley office of more than 100 lawyers. The clean technology and renewable energy M&A practice is encompassed within the emerging companies practice and project finance group. Key matters included the representation of Apple in its acquisition of Siri, a mobile search company with a voice-activated application for the iPhone that functions as a virtual personal assistant, and acting for Italian pharmaceutical company Sigma-Tau and its US affiliate, Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals, which specializes in marketing pharmaceutical products treating rare diseases, in its $327m acquisition of the specialty products division of Enzon Pharmaceuticals, a publicly traded company located in New Jersey and Indiana. The firm also advised Recurrent Energy, a developer and operator of distributed solar power projects in North America and Europe, in its negotiation of a merger agreement that related to its up-to $305m acquisition by Sharp Corporation, a company engaged in the manufacture and sale of solar panels and other electronic products worldwide. The New York office led the representation of CoorsTek, a technical ceramics manufacturing company, in its $245m acquisition of Saint-Gobain, a France-based advanced ceramics business. In Menlo Park, team leader Don Keller is a widely respected practitioner.

Within Venture capital and emerging companies, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is a second tier firm,

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP represents six of the top ten tech companies in the US, including Oracle, Cisco, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft. Worldwide it represents some 800 growth enterprises. Clients commend the ‘outstanding service’, ‘great responsiveness’, ‘technical expertise’ and ‘good business judgment’ of the team. The firm has a burgeoning IPO practice on behalf of emerging growth companies, closing the offerings of SemiLEDs and SodaStream in 2010. It is also at the forefront of the clean technology sector with Silicon Valley-based Mitchell Zuklie ‘well regarded in the clean technology space’ and ‘often seen as the go-to guy for these kind of companies’. The clean technology practice includes clients such as AltaRock, BrightSource Energy, LS9, Nanosolar and OPOWER. The firm has also represented investors in clean technology transactions including Applied Ventures, Battery Ventures, Bessemer Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Standout deals included First Solar’s $285m acquisition of NextLight Renewable Power and Recurrent Energy’s $305m acquisition by Sharp. Much of the practice is centred in Silicon Valley where Don Keller heads the national corporate group. Fellow Silicon Valley partners John Bautista and Alan Talkington, who is ‘really spectacular’, are also recommended.

Within Real estate, tier 4

William Murray heads Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP’s real estate group, which has a lender-heavy and capital-markets focused practice advising on fund formation, restructuring, recapitalization, Section 363 bankruptcy sales and distressed disposition services. Gerard Walsh successfully represented Global Opportunity Fund on its joint venture, recapitalization, restructuring and loan assumption of the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco. Murray is also acting for Prime Finance Partners on numerous transactions including the formation of a $400m fund and the repurchase of a line facility with Wells Fargo on behalf of the fund; he also recently represented MacFarlane Partners on restructuring its $650m debt obligation to Eurohypo AG. The firm lost a five-attorney team to Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

Within Domestic tax: East Coast, tier 4

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP’s New York seven-member tax practice handles both US domestic and international instructions. John Narducci includes private equity expertise within his broad practice; Narducci provided tax advice to StreamServe Inc in its April 2010 merger with a wholly owned subsidiary of Open Text Corporation. Peter Connors, recommended for insurance and banking sectors instructions, represented Credit Suisse as tax counsel in connection with issuance of approximately 100 structured notes which had returns based on the value of equities, commodities and foreign currencies.

Within Domestic tax: West Coast, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is a third tier firm,

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP’s West Coast core of ten tax partners is housed in San Francisco, although expertise is also on offer in Los Angeles, Sacramento, Seattle and Portland. The group offers broad tax expertise and clients comment that the firm provides excellent, timely service. Nationwide practice chair George Wolf has been working with Citigroup and the US Treasury Department to develop solutions to tax issues affecting Build America Bonds. Grady Bolding provided tax advice to SodaStream International in its IPO on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Charles Cardall is expert in municipal finance, non-profit corporation tax matters, and tax-exempt financing; Los Angeles-based Larry Sobel has a similar practice. Practice group clients include Quaker Chemical, Tennessee Energy Acquisition and Highland Capital Management.

Within Employee benefits and executive compensation, tier 4

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP’s San Francisco-centered benefits and compensation practice group provides ‘a high quality level of service and a very strong bench even if the key partner isn’t there’. The group attracts assignments from major corporations including Cisco Systems and Barclays Capital. Jonathan Ocker, the head of the benefits and compensation group, is ‘excellent technically and as a counsellor’, and Nancy Chen in Silicon Valley is ‘both knowledgeable and extremely responsive’. The team is advising the compensation committee of Orbitz Worldwide in connection with various executive compensation matters, global equity matters and SEC disclosure of executive compensation. Other recommended lawyers include William Berry and Juliano Banuelos. Clients of the practice include Agilent Technologies and Fujitsu.

Within Financial products, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is a second tier firm,

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP’s tax practice supports the firm’s strong structured finance and derivatives department. Within the wider structured finance practice, the team’s particular expertise lies in municipal finance and derivatives. The tax team advised when the firm was appointed issuers’ counsel to Redwood Trust in the first significant non-governmental mortgage-backed securities public offering since the onset of the financial crisis, a $230m prime residential mortgage-backed issue by Sequoia. San Francisco-based practice leader George Wolf provided tax advice to Morgan Stanley in closing the first repackaging program for converting Build America Bonds into floating rate securities available for purchase by money market funds. New York-based John Narducci and Peter Connors are recommended. The firm’s clients include Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of America.