Overview
Giovanni Saarman González is a partner in the San Francisco office of Munger, Tolles & Olson who focuses his practice on representing and advising clients operating in regulated industries and is a key member of MTO’s energy practice.
Giovanni represents clients in federal and state courts and administrative proceedings before government agencies, including the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). He is recognized by Chambers USA for his work in commercial and regulatory litigation in the energy sector.
Representative matters before the CPUC include proceedings related to Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s (PG&E) Plan of Reorganization and its $7.5 billion rate neutral securitization transaction and representing Southern California Edison Company (SCE) in a proceeding related to San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.
Giovanni’s regulatory practice also extends to other industries and administrative agencies. For example, he has represented a railroad trade association before the Surface Transportation Board in proceedings related to reciprocal switching. In addition, he has represented PG&E in appeals before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals stemming from orders issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and a related adversary case in PG&E’s bankruptcy proceeding.
He maintains an active pro bono practice, including representation of plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit alleging that certain policies and practices of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Southern California violate the Fourth Amendment. He also has filed amicus briefs in cases before the United States Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit and represented individual parents and a non-profit organization challenging implementation of Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act.
Giovanni clerked for the Honorable Goodwin H. Liu of the Supreme Court of California and the Honorable Timothy B. Dyk of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C.
Giovanni earned his J.D. from UCLA School of Law, where he was awarded the Lawrence E. Irell Prize after his first year and graduated first in his class. During law school, he served as an articles editor of the UCLA Law Review, participated in the Supreme Court Clinic, and externed with the Natural Resources Defense Council.
He graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in economics from Occidental College.
Capabilities
Practices
Industries
Experience
Pacific Gas and Electric Company in:
- successfully obtaining approval from the CPUC of its Plan of Reorganization.
- appeals before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals stemming from orders issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and a related adversary case in PG&E’s bankruptcy proceeding.
- successfully obtaining approval from the CPUC of its $7.5 billion rate neutral securitization transaction.
- various financing related applications before the CPUC.
- a pending application before the CPUC seeking authority to securitize $2.3 billion of vegetation management expenses in order to provide a rate credit to customers.
Southern California Edison Company in:
- the latter stages of an investigation proceeding before the CPUC related to San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, which resulted in a 2018 settlement agreement approved by the CPUC.
- pending applications that seek authorization from the CPUC to recover in rates the costs arising out of the 2017 Thomas Fire and 2018 debris flow events as well as the 2018 Woolsey Fire.
A railroad trade association before the Surface Transportation Board in proceedings related to reciprocal switching.
The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ICIJ), and an individual in a class action lawsuit (with co-counsel ACLU of Southern California and the UC Irvine School of Law Immigrant Rights Clinic) in federal district court alleging that certain policies and practices of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Southern California violate the Fourth Amendment. Giovanni successfully argued a motion for class certification, whereupon the court certified two classes in the case—the “Knock and Talk” class and the “Ruse” class. In May 2024, the court largely granted plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment related to the “Knock and Talk” class claims. The parties reached a favorable settlement of the “Ruse” class claims in November 2024 and a motion for preliminary approval of the Ruse Class Settlement Agreement is currently pending before the court.
More
Publications
- “Evolving Jurisdiction Under the Federal Power Act: Promoting Clean Energy Policy,” UCLA Law Review (June 2016)
- “Regulating Pollutants, Good Neighbor Agreements, and Negative Externalities,” Ecology Law Quarterly (Jan. 2014)
