Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Legal services |
| Founded | 1 January 1863 in San Francisco, California, United States |
| Founder | John R. Jarboe, W.S. Goodfellow, Ralph C. Harrison |
| Headquarters | San Francisco , United States |
Area served | Global (more than 25 markets) |
Key people | Mitch Zuklie (Chairman & CEO) |
| Products | Legal services in technology, energy, infrastructure, finance, life sciences, health technology industries |
| Website | www |
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, commonly referred to as Orrick, is an international law firm that primarily serves clients within the technology, energy, infrastructure, finance, life sciences, and health technology industries. Established in 1863 in San Francisco, California, where its headquarters remain located, Orrick maintains a presence in more than 25 global markets.
Origins and Initial Growth
The firm’s beginnings trace back to 1863 when it acted as legal counsel for the German Savings and Loan Society, an entity that eventually became part of First Interstate Bank of California. The original founders were John R. Jarboe, W.S. Goodfellow, and Ralph C. Harrison. Following Harrison’s appointment as a justice on the California Supreme Court in 1891, the initial partnership dissolved. Subsequently, Goodfellow joined forces with Charles Eells to create Goodfellow & Eells; Eells played a key role in founding Fireman’s Fund Insurance after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. William H. Orrick entered the firm in 1910, later joined by George Herrington and Eric Sutcliffe.
Among the firm’s early notable achievements were financing the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, contributing to the development of the California Corporate Securities Act, overseeing initial public offerings under the Securities Act of 1933, and handling litigation related to hydroelectric power and water rights around Lake Tahoe.
International Growth and Strategic Expansion
During the 1980s, Orrick extended its reach beyond its Bay Area roots by establishing offices in New York City and Los Angeles. The late 1990s saw its first overseas office open in Tokyo, followed by expansions into London and Paris in 2002, alongside launching a "Global Operations Center" in Wheeling, WV.
In 1998, Orrick integrated 40 attorneys and their litigation practices from Donovan, Leisure, Newton & Irvine. The addition of a team from Venture Law Group (VLG) occurred in 2003. By 2005, Orrick had grown its London presence and inaugurated offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai, incorporating former lawyers from the defunct Coudert Brothers firm.
Merger discussions with the established Wall Street firm Dewey Ballantine took place in 2006 but did not come to fruition. That same year, Orrick expanded its Paris office through a merger with Rambaud Martel, enhancing expertise in mergers and acquisitions as well as dispute resolution.
Orrick entered the German market in 2008 by merging with Hölters & Elsing, thereby opening offices in both Düsseldorf and Munich. Additionally, it absorbed close to two dozen partners from the dissolved San Francisco-based firm Heller Ehrman, strengthening its offices in London, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.
In 2013, Mitch Zuklie—a Silicon Valley technology attorney—assumed the role of Chairman & CEO. This period marked further geographic growth with new offices launched in Geneva (2015), Houston (2016), Austin (2018), Boston (2019), and Singapore (2021), reflecting targeted expansion into strategic markets.
In response to shifts in U.S. abortion legislation following Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Orrick became a founding participant of the Legal Alliance for Reproductive Rights in 2022, offering pro bono legal assistance.
The firm's footprint in Washington D.C. nearly doubled in 2023 through a merger with AmLaw 200 firm Buckley. This move enhanced Orrick’s capabilities in financial regulation, enforcement actions, and litigation services—benefiting consumer banks, fintech companies, and payment sectors of leading global technology firms.
In 2025, Orrick continued its growth trajectory by recruiting a thirteen-attorney team specializing in technology companies and venture capital from Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian based in Los Angeles.
Recognition and rankings
For the seventh year running, The American Lawyer placed Orrick within its top five firms on the 2024 A-List.
The Financial Times designated Orrick as North America's leading digital law firm in both 2020 and 2023. Additionally, between 2016 and 2024, Orrick was repeatedly acknowledged among the continent's most innovative legal practices, earning this distinction nine times.
In 2024, Fortune included Orrick in its 100 Best Companies to Work For list for the ninth consecutive year.
Practice Awards
Orrick has been recognized multiple times by Law360, receiving Employment Law Group of the Year honors five times and Project Finance Group of the Year seven times, most recently in 2020. The firm has also been named Tech Group of the Year five times, IP Group of the Year four times (last awarded in 2016), Privacy Group of the Year in 2016, and Construction Group of the Year in 2024.
In 2015, The American Lawyer honored Orrick’s Intellectual Property Litigation Department with its Department of the Year award. Meanwhile, The Recorder acknowledged Orrick’s California employment litigation team as California Labor & Employment Department of the Year for four consecutive years through 2017.
The National Law Journal featured Orrick on its Appellate Hot List twelve times, including in 2024.
Global Arbitration Review (GAR) ranked Orrick among the top 30 international arbitration firms worldwide in 2024.
For more than twenty years, Orrick has held the #1 position as bond counsel according to The Bond Buyer’s 2024 rankings.
Culture Recognition
Orrick was named one of the "50 Best Law Firms for Women" by Working Mother magazine for the eleventh time in 2017. The Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) presented Orrick with the 2020 Thomas L. Sager Award in recognition of its dedication to diversity efforts across hiring, retention, and promotion practices.
In Yale Law Women’s 2024 Top Firms Report, Orrick was rated as the leading firm for Diversity. Furthermore, Diversity Lab certified Orrick as a Mansfield Certified firm for seven consecutive years. The firm also achieved a perfect score for eighteen straight years on the 2025 Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index (CEI) and Best Places to Work survey.
Innovation in Legal Services
In 2024, Orrick unveiled the Orrick AI Law Center, which provides complimentary access to a state-by-state AI law tracker and expert guidance on compliance with the EU AI Act. Alongside this initiative, Orrick launched its Online Safety Law Center to assist clients in navigating emerging regulations related to online safety, privacy protections, and harmful content management.
The previous year, Orrick introduced Orrick Tech Studio—a free digital platform offering technology startups and investors more than 50 customizable legal documents such as nondisclosure agreements, board governance forms, and employment offer letters. The platform also features educational articles, videos, and podcasts covering business strategies, legal issues, and regulatory developments.
Since initiating a legal technology investment program in 2018, Orrick has actively supported innovation within legal service delivery.
Community Initiatives
On Veterans Day in 2014, Orrick launched the Veterans' Legal Career Fair to connect military veterans, active-duty personnel, and their spouses with legal employers. Since its inception in 2015, this annual event has served over 8,500 active duty members and expanded its offerings to include resume assistance, practical workshops, and professional photography sessions.
According to The American Lawyer pro bono rankings in 2024, Orrick ranked eighth nationally for pro bono impact and fifth globally. The firm also pioneered the creation of an Impact Finance & Social Enterprise practice as the first global law firm to do so.
Orrick played a role in advancing California legislation criminalizing sexual extortion in 2017 through support of its pro bono client Legal Momentum. Its attorneys have also provided legal expertise and technical assistance to the Public International Law & Policy Group on matters concerning public international law for Middle Eastern nations pursuing democratic reforms—including Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Tunisia.
The firm successfully handled asylum cases for the Demiraj family that were ultimately affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court. To commemorate its 150th anniversary in 2014, Orrick established the Orrick Cares program focused on community engagement initiatives.
Distinguished attorneys and alumni
- Charles C. Adams Jr., served as United States Ambassador to Finland from 2015 to 2017
- Keily Blair, CEO of OnlyFans; previously headed Orrick's London practice in cyber, privacy, and data (2020–2023), representing clients including OnlyFans
- Wei Christianson, CEO of China and Co-CEO for the Asia Pacific region at Morgan Stanley
- Charity Clark, Attorney General of Vermont
- Eric Johnson, incumbent Mayor of Dallas since 2019
- Sergey Lagodinsky, German Member of the European Parliament since 2019
- Sean Patrick Maloney, U.S. Representative for New York's 18th congressional district from 2013 to 2023
- Rob McKenna, Washington State Attorney General from 2005 to 2013
- Brian T. Moran, United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington between 2019 and 2021
- Kimberly J. Mueller, Judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California since 2010
- Raul Anthony Ramirez, served as a Judge for the United States District Court in the Eastern District of California from 1980 to 1989
- McGregor W. Scott, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of California during two terms: 2003–2009 and 2017–2021
Prominent client engagements
Orrick has provided counsel to leading companies such as Stripe and Anthropic on venture capital funding rounds, alongside advising Microsoft and Intersect Power on major energy sector transactions.
The firm has been instrumental in supporting the City of New York with extensive infrastructure initiatives, including a $13 billion project aimed at replacing Rikers Island with decentralized community jails, as well as involvement in the Hudson Tunnel project, a component of the $30 billion Gateway Development rail program.
In intellectual property litigation, Orrick successfully assisted Gilead in overturning a $2.5 billion patent judgment against Merck’s Idenix Pharmaceuticals in 2018 by securing a Federal Circuit ruling invalidating the patent. Additionally, the firm aided Gilead’s Kite Pharma in reversing a $1.2 billion CAR T-cell therapy patent verdict against Juno Therapeutics, with the U.S. Supreme Court declining to hear the case in 2022.
Orrick represented Sonos in a series of patent disputes against Google, culminating in a 2022 ruling by the International Trade Commission that found Google infringed five Sonos patents, resulting in an import ban on certain Google smart speaker models.
In 2022, Orrick obtained a reversal from the New York Court of Appeals on behalf of Credit Suisse concerning a mortgage-backed securities lawsuit.
The firm also represented UBS Asset Management and affiliated funds during a bankruptcy proceeding in 2024, where the court determined UBS was entitled to over $100 million under multiple loan agreements.
In the same year, Orrick secured a reversal of a $2 billion trade secrets verdict for Pegasystems when the Virginia Court of Appeals ordered a new trial due to identified jury errors, nullifying what had been the largest damages award recorded in that state’s history.