Chris tackles the most challenging legal issues in IP and tech at every stage of litigation. From trial court to the Supreme Court, he combines keen strategic vision, incisive analysis, and powerful writing to win cases for his clients.
Chris has represented major ISPs in high-stakes copyright litigation, tech titans pushing the cutting edge, national retailers with key trademarks on the line, and global manufacturers facing class action risk. He has authored dozens of appellate briefs, winning results in federal and state courts of appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. And he is a consummate team player when partnering with trial teams to craft winning legal strategies and themes, brief dispositive motions, win key legal and evidentiary rulings at trial, and construct a record with an eye towards appeal.
Chris is most passionate about the novel issues that arise at the intersection of tech and commerce, implicating the balance between creation, innovation, and competition. Whether it's the DMCA and copyright's intermediary liability doctrines, generative AI, data scraping, or trade secrets, he relishes litigating in the gray areas, presenting what the law ought to be as plain common sense. Chris also has a wealth of experience in class action defense in both trial and appellate courts, including several appellate victories defending the denial of class certification. And his broader experience includes bankruptcy, telecommunications, constitutional law, and various issues confronting Fintech companies.
Chris maintains an active pro bono practice. He led a team that prevailed in both federal district court and in the Second Circuit in one of the nation's most closely watched police transparency cases. The year before, he argued and won a precedent-setting parole appeal in New York’s Appellate Division on behalf of a former juvenile offender. And he has won victories for clients in immigration cases and cases presenting novel legal issues under freedom of information laws.
Prior to joining Orrick, Chris was a law clerk to Judge Robert D. Sack of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Chief Judge Carol B. Amon of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
On July 30, 2018, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury“) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC“) provided important guidance on a broad range of issues confronting the fintech industry. Treasury released a long-awaited report titled A Financial System That Creates Economic Opportunities: Nonbank Financials, Fintech, and Innovation (the “Treasury Report“).
Following a specific recommendation in the Treasury Report, the OCC formally announced that it would begin to accept applications for special purpose national bank charters, and it provided guidance on the procedures and standards that would govern such applications through the issuance of a Licensing Manual Supplement for Special Purpose National Banks (the “Manual Supplement“). Taken together, the Treasury Report and the OCC announcement reinforce the commitment of the federal government to promote the growth of the fintech industry. Click here to read the full Orrick-authored alert.
Chief Deputy Whip Patrick McHenry (R, NC-10), the Vice Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, introduced H.R. 5724, the Protecting Consumers’ Access to Credit Act of 2016, which would reaffirm the longstanding legal precedent under the National Bank Act and the Federal Deposit Insurance Act that federal law preempts a loan’s interest if valid when made. The legislation was introduced to address one of the issues raised by the Second Circuit in Madden vs. Midland Funding. Legislation.
