Baker & Hostetler announces 3 lateral hires, all working on PG&E bankruptcy case

Three attorneys who are representing claimants in Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s bankruptcy case in San Francisco have joined Baker & Hostetler LLP to expand the firm’s West Coast presence.

The three new hires are Robert A. Julian, Cecily A. Dumas and Kimberly Morris. Julian is a complex commercial litigator handling domestic and international disputes; Dumas practices in the area of business restructuring and insolvency, focusing on creditors’ rights.

Morris also joins the partner as the firm’s white-collar, investigations and securities enforcement and litigation team.

Her first day on the job was Monday; Julian and Dumas started at the firm on Feb. 15, according to managing partner Eric E. Sagerman, who just joined the firm in January.

The three attorneys are representing of the Official Committee of Tort Claimants in the Chapter 11 reorganization of PG&E Corp., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court earlier this year.

Dumas and Julian were appointed in mid-March to represent thousands of people harmed by wildfires allegedly caused by PG&E. It is estimated the utility’s potential liability to the wildfire victims exceeds $30 billion.

Julian joins the firm from Winston & Strawn LLP with more than 35 years of experience and is known for his work in complex commercial litigation. Dumas has more than three decades of experience in restructuring law and previously practiced at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP and is also a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy.

Morris, also from Winston & Strawn, has represented public and private companies in connection with regulatory investigations, enforcement actions and corporate compliance matters, adds to the firm’s already deep white-collar platform, Sagerman said.

The influx of new hires in the first quarter of the year signals the firm’s growth plan focusing on West Coast expansion, geographic balance and tapping into a huge market, especially in practice areas such as data and privacy.

The firm already has significant presence in the intellectual property, business, technology, media and employment areas — especially in the Midwest, Washington, D.C. and New York.