Pacific Gas & Electric location located in San Francisco. Pacific Gas & Electric location located in San Francisco.

Morrison & Foerster is the latest law firm hired by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. as the utility giant navigates the legal fallout of California wildfires.

A California federal bankruptcy judge Tuesday approved PG&E's motion to hire Morrison & Foerster as special counsel to represent it during its bankruptcy with regard to investigations by its state regulator.

Morrison & Foerster will represent the utility on legal matters involving ongoing governmental investigations by the Safety and Enforcement Division of the California Public Utilities Commission, according to PG&E's application, which was approved by Judge Dennis Montali of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California.

The filing did not go into detail about the associated legal fees, but said they will be “in accordance with Morrison & Foerster's standard hourly rates.”

CPUC is investigating allegations that the utility violated state laws and regulations in connection with the deadly wildfires in Northern California in 2017 and 2018. The most recent of those, the Camp Fire, killed 86 people and destroyed more than 18,000 properties, according to PG&E's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

In addition to hiring Morrison & Foerster, PG&E is employing Weil, Gotshal & Manges as lead bankruptcy counsel; Keller & Benvenutti as co-bankruptcy counsel; Cravath, Swaine & Moore as corporate counsel; and Munger, Tolles & Olson as regulatory counsel.

In a series of March filings, the utility giant said it has paid its legal counsel at least $84 million for legal services leading up to the company's January bankruptcy filing.

Since early 2018, Morrison & Foerster has served as regulatory defense counsel to PG&E and provided legal advice concerning ongoing governmental investigations by the Safety and Enforcement Division of the CPUC, according to PG&E's application, which was filed May 22.

“The Debtors also have selected Morrison & Foerster as their attorneys because of the firm's extensive general experience in and knowledge of the energy industry, as well as Morrison & Foerster's recognized expertise in the field of regulatory defense, criminal investigations, and litigation involving state and federal government entities,” PG&E said in its motion to obtain Morrison & Foerster as special regulatory counsel.

The utility said Morrison & Foerster partner Joshua Hill has previously represented the company in an investigation by the CPUC related to PG&E's gas distribution record-keeping and safety practices.

“As a result of its [previous] representation of the debtors, and, in particular, Joshua Hill's prior representation of the debtors, Morrison & Foerster has acquired familiarity with the debtors' operations generally, as well as in-depth knowledge of the facts and circumstances specific to the ongoing investigations against the debtors,” PG&E said.

Read More

PG&E Legal Bills Already Top $84M for Chapter 11 Case

Cravath Advises PG&E on Reorganization in Aftermath of California Wildfires

As California Burns, PG&E Turns to Cravath, Wilson Sonsini and Quinn