People

Alexis White Managing Associate

Washington, D.C.

Alexis focuses on intellectual property litigation. She develops litigation strategies in cases that implicate issues related to patent infringement and trade secrets misappropriation. She has represented clients in connection with a broad spectrum of technologies in the life sciences, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries.

Prior to joining Orrick, Alexis was an associate at Crowell & Moring. Alexis is a recipient of the Sidney B. Williams Intellectual Property Law Scholarship and the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association’s Dean’s Award. She served as the editor-in-chief of the North Carolina Central University Science and Intellectual Property Law Review and as the president of the Intellectual Property Society.

Ashlie J. Smith Senior Associate

Boston

Ashlie grew up in a family of restaurant franchisees, and she learned about the power of a strong trademark at a young age. This understanding led her to pursue a career in trademark and copyright law, and from her start as a trademark prosecution intern at Hewlett Packard Enterprise in law school, through her work in trademark and copyright litigation at Fish & Richardson P.C., her practice has always focused on assisting businesses with their intellectual property needs.  

Ashlie’s practice at Orrick focuses on domestic and international trademark and copyright prosecution and counseling. She has experience assisting businesses ranging from small start-ups to multi-billion dollar corporations with trademark clearance, protection, and strategy. Additionally, Ashlie has extensive experience in intellectual property litigation in federal district courts and at the International Trade Commission. Because of her wide-range of experience, she brings to each matter a unique understanding of the intersection of copyright and trademark clearance and prosecution and enforcement and litigation.      

Mitchell Grod Senior Counsel, Chief Legal Content Officer & Counsel to Winnow

Santa Monica

His clients include depository institutions, mortgage lenders and brokers, automobile lenders and finance companies, debt collectors and related service providers. He has significant experience advising clients on a myriad of state and federal regulatory matters.

Mitch is a member of the American Financial Services Association’s State Governmental Affairs Committee and Operations and Regulatory Compliance Committee. He has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America as "One to Watch."

Prior to joining Orrick, Mitch was senior counsel at Buckley LLP.

View Mitch's webcasts & speaking engagements, news mentions and publications.

Steven G. White Senior Associate

Portland

Steven’s practice includes representing local and state government issuers, tribal governments, eligible borrowers and underwriters in connection with general obligation bond financings, revenue bond financings and lease financings.  Steven serves as bond counsel to the Oregon Department of Transportation, Oregon Housing and Community Services, the Oregon Facilities Authority and a number of Oregon municipalities.

Prior to joining Orrick, Steven worked in publishing in various roles including as a business publication editor, business-focused journalist and news reporter covering trends in various industries as well as municipal and state government, law enforcement and state and federal court matters.

Steven volunteers as a coach for the nationally-recognized We The People program, working with Portland high school students to explore historical and contemporary Constitutional issues in a team competition format sponsored by the Center for Civic Education and Oregon’s Classroom Law Project.

Stephen Spitz Partner

San Francisco

Steve serves as bond counsel, disclosure counsel and underwriters’ counsel in a variety of municipal enterprise revenue bond issuances, including financing for water, wastewater, solid waste and airport facilities. His practice is, in addition, focused on single family and multifamily affordable housing financings. Steve also has extensive experience in higher education financings, interest rate swaps and swap based products in the municipal market. He often assumes a leading role in bond and disclosure work for new and complex clients.

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

Marlowe Mitchell Senior Associate

Santa Monica

Marlowe has worked on some of the largest and most complex P3 and infrastructure projects in Australia and the United States to date, as well as many first to market transactions.

In addition to her extensive infrastructure and projects knowledge, Marlowe also draws upon her experience working in two commercial and legal roles for major Australian public sector entities in providing her advice.

Marlowe is actively involved in the infrastructure community, including through her role as Chair of the IPFA North American Future Leader’s Committee. The IPFA is the go to association for infrastructure and energy professionals worldwide.

Taylor Mitchell Managing Associate

New York

He represents lenders, including banks and other financial institutions, and corporate borrowers in a range of secured commercial financing transactions, including syndicated transactions, asset-based financings, private equity acquisition financings, cross-border transactions and refinancings.  Taylor also supports other practice groups, including the Mergers & Acquisitions/Private Equity group, the Technology Companies Group and the Restructuring group, on financing matters for clients.

Prior to joining Orrick, Taylor was an associate at Linklaters LLP.

Quitterie De La Poype Associate

Paris

Quitterie's practice covers European and French competition law, both as counsel and litigation: merger control, cartels and state aid. She also devotes part of her practice to foreign investment control and represents clients in a wide range of sectors such as energy, infrastructure, and technology.

Prior to joining Orrick, Quitterie completed several internships in the competition departments of Peltier Juvigny Marpeau & Associés, Dechert and Latham & Watkins, as well as in the legal department of Engie.

Mitchell Naumoff Partner

Washington, D.C.

He works with asset managers, issuers, sponsors, underwriters and investors in structuring bespoke financial products and asset-backed securities.

Mitch advises issuers and underwriters of securities backed by credit card and other consumer receivables issued from master trust structures and handles both publicly registered and private placement transactions. Mitch has substantial experience structuring and evaluating collateralized loan obligation (CLO) and collateralized debt obligation (CDO) transactions. He regularly advises on the application of risk-retention requirements, the Volcker Rule and other regulatory considerations arising under the Dodd-Frank Act.

Mitch has also represented sponsors and investors in tender option bond programs as well as financial institutions as providers of repurchase agreements, forward delivery agreements, escrow reinvestment agreements and guaranteed investment contracts for municipal entities.

Prior to joining the firm, Mitch was a partner in Chapman and Cutler’s Asset Securitization Department.

Hagit Muriel Elul Partner

New York

Hagit represents clients in international arbitrations across the world under the rules of all the major arbitral institutions including the ICDR/AAA, ICC and LCIA, SIAC, HKIAC, JAMS and CPR and in cross-border disputes in courts across the United States. She has also served as an expert witness on New York law in proceedings in Canada and the United Kingdom.

Hagit is recognised as ‘a force to be reckoned with’ (Legal 500) who ‘thinks ten steps ahead’’ (Chambers) and has “astonishing legal skills”, including the ability “to analyze and sharpen arguments”. She was recognized as one of a select group of "Distinguished Leaders" by New York Law Journal (2021).

Hagit regularly teaches courses on arbitration and advocacy skills, sits as arbitrator and frequently writes and lectures on topics related to international business disputes. She is a member of the ICC Court of International Arbitration Commission, former chair of the Arbitration Committee of the International Institute of Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR), a current member of the CPR Council, ICC Commission, and a founding Board Member of the New York International Arbitration Center.

Wesley L. White Partner

New York

Wesley has guided clients through all stages of litigation, including conducting pre-suit diligence, fact and expert, claim construction, evidentiary and dispositive motions, and post-trial. He has handled complex disputes across a diverse range of technology sectors, including computer hardware and software, networking devices, virtualization and cloud computing, antennas, encryption and compression technology, VOIP telephony, flash memory, e-commerce platforms, video/media streaming, web and mobile applications, life sciences, and medical and surgical devices.

Wesley’s achievements have earned him recognition as a Super Lawyers and Managing IP “Rising Star” in intellectual property disputes, and he was named to Lawdragon’s 2023 Inaugural 500 X Next Generation Rising Stars list. Prior to beginning his legal career, Wesley worked as an analyst for five years with Goldman Sachs.