Energy & Regulated Industries

Our representations include:

• The City of Los Angeles and its Department of Water and Power, as lead counsel in the investigation and civil litigation stemming from the 2025 Palisades Fire, which damaged or destroyed approximately 7,500 structures in Los Angeles in January 2025. 
• Southern California Edison Co. in the investigation and regulatory work related to the January 2025 Eaton Fire. 
• Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. and subsidiaries as lead counsel regarding the August 2023 devastating Maui wildfires, including the Lahaina Fire, which was the deadliest U.S. wildfire in over a century. 
• Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) as lead counsel in civil and criminal litigation arising from numerous wildfires, including the 2021 Dixie Fire, the 2020 Zogg Fire, the 2019 Kincade Fire, the 2018 Camp Fire and the 2017 Tubbs Fire. In these, we have negotiated historic outcomes with local district attorneys that resulted in the dismissal of all criminal charges and comprehensive civil settlements. The plea agreement we reached in the Camp Fire litigation was instrumental in helping PG&E emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. 

Our representations include:

• Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC in a victory before the U.S. Supreme Court in an emergency application to vacate stays placed on construction of a gas pipeline by a Fourth Circuit panel in response to three lawsuits brought by the project’s opponents. 
• Plains All American Pipeline, the owner and operator of a pipeline that spilled oil off the coast of Santa Barbara County. We defended Plains in a four-month criminal trial on claims brought jointly by the California Attorney General’s office and the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s office. Thirty counts were dismissed before trial and we avoided conviction on the counts charging Plains with a “knowing” discharge of oil. Plains paid an approximately $3 million criminal fine and we limited the restitution award to approximately $150,000. On the civil side, we negotiated a $230 million settlement. 
• Aera Energy, LLC, a California Resources Corporation’s subsidiary, in litigation challenging California Geologic Energy Management’s alleged policy, directed by California Governor Gavin Newsom, of banning the issuance of permits for well stimulation treatments. 
• Safari Energy LLC in resolving its lawsuit against Chint Power Systems (CPS) for defective solar equipment (inverters) provided to 13 Safari facilities in Georgia. 
• Southern California Edison Co. in:  
  • Defending against an antitrust lawsuit filed by Southern California Electrical Firm (SCEF), a contracting firm founded by former employees, alleging the utility used monopoly power to prevent SCEF from working on new electrical connections.  
  • Obtaining dismissal of a securities class action alleging that the 2017 and 2018 wildfires and mudslides in Southern California revealed that the company and its executives had misrepresented its safety practices and the risks of potential wildfire liability. The Daily Journal recognized the dismissal on its “Top Verdicts for 2021.” 
  • Winning a Ninth Circuit affirmation of the dismissal of an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) class action against fiduciaries of Edison’s employee stock ownership plan.  

Our representation include:

• Pacific Gas & Electric Co. in: 
  • Securing a victory in a D.C. Circuit appeal of a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruling that would have enabled a San Francisco-owned utility to use PG&E’s facilities to take over PG&E’s customers. 
  • Obtaining CPUC approval for its Plan of Reorganization. 
  • Obtaining CPUC approval for a $7.5 billion rate-neutral securitization transaction, which involved application of the stress test set forth in California Senate Bill 901 and a novel transaction structure that included a customer credit. The transaction was one of the largest in the history of the utility bond securitization market and a critical element of PG&E’s post-emergence deleveraging plan. 
• Southern California Edison Co. in: 
  • CPUC proceedings to successfully resolve the extent to which SCE could recover its remaining investments in the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Units 2 & 3 after extended outages and their eventual permanent shutdown. 
  • A successful settlement of a CPUC application to recover in rates costs incurred to defend and resolve claims arising from the 2017 Thomas Fire and 2018 debris flow events. Under the settlement agreement approved by the Commission, SCE will recover 60% of its costs, or approximately $1.6 billion, among other terms. This is the first time the CPUC has authorized recovery of wildfire claims costs. We have filed a similar application with respect to SCE’s costs associated with the 2018 Woolsey Fire, which is currently pending before the CPUC. 
  • An application for authority to engage in a transaction related to wireless attachments to transmission towers. 
  • Connection with the Calpine, Western Community Energy, A123, Cal Solar 10 and Clear Peak bankruptcy cases. 
• Liberty Utilities Co. in:  
  • Handling rehearing proceedings and subsequent appeal in a securitization matter before the Missouri Public Service Commission. 
  • An application before the CPUC to recover in rates costs incurred to defend and resolve claims arising from the 2020 Mountain View Fire. 
• Pacific Gas and Electric Co., San Diego Gas & Electric Co. and Southern California Edison Co. in challenging a CPUC decision reforming the net energy metering program, which provides incentives to customers who install rooftop solar systems.  
• NV Energy, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway and Sierra Pacific Power in creating a proposal for a $500 million wildfire self-insurance policy, paid for partly through customer rates and filing an application with the Nevada Public Utilities Commission.