Orrick hired Mike Mitchell, Preetha Gist and Mitch Naumoff, a team in the structured finance market, as partners in Washington, D.C. They joined Orrick from Chapman and Cutler.
This marks a return to Orrick for Mitchell, who practiced with the firm from 1997 to 2012, and Gist, who practiced with the firm from 2001 to 2006.
Prior to Orrick, Mitchell served for nearly a decade with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and has acted as outside counsel to the Structured Finance Association in its advocacy to the SEC. He has more than 24 years of experience practicing in the consumer asset-backed securitization industry.
A securities law authority in the structured finance market, Mitchell advises financial institutions in capital markets and debt financing transactions and on federal securities laws, Dodd-Frank Act and other regulations in the structured finance market. He also counsels issuers and underwriters in consumer ABS transactions, including transactions supported by credit card receivables, consumer loans, motor vehicle loans and leases, dealer floorplan receivables and student loans. For more than two decades, Mitchell has led industry advocacy initiatives responding to regulatory reforms impacting the structured finance market.
Gist is a bankruptcy and bank regulatory advisor who has in-house experience with financial institutions and advises on industry initiatives. She has specific expertise in distressed situations.
Gist also has structured finance, bankruptcy and bank regulatory expertise, including Reg W, true lender and Avant litigation settlement experience. She is also a true sale/non-consolidation expert and advises on regulatory financial accounting issues. Prior to joining Chapman, Gist served as general counsel for the capital markets unit of US Bank, among other in-house roles with other financial institutions.
Naumoff has experience with financial technology, credit cards and CLOs. Naumoff advises clients in the structuring and assessment of a variety of structured finance products and asset-backed securities. He is regularly involved in transactions as counsel to issuers and underwriters of securities backed by credit card and other consumer receivables issued from master trust structures, and he works on both publicly registered and private placement transactions. In addition, Naumoff has experience structuring and evaluating CLO and CDO transactions. He also advises on the application of risk-retention requirements, the Volcker Rule and other regulatory considerations arising under the Dodd-Frank Act.
“We’re thrilled to join forces with our friends and colleagues at Orrick,” Mitchell said. “The firm is deeply committed to the structured finance market and has a long record of advising on innovative transactions and supporting new markets like fintech.”
“Adding this team to the existing Orrick platform enhances one of the dominant practices in the ABS market with attorneys that provide innovative legal representation on behalf of market leading clients and use their exceptional expertise to counsel clients through the most challenging regulatory issues,” Alan Knoll, leader of Orrick’s structure finance group, said. “We’re especially excited by this addition to our practice, which will support our clients in many areas, including the growing fintech securitization space.”
