Alison L. Plessman 

Alison L. Plessman is a Hueston Hennigan LLP partner focused on trials and complex civil litigation. She co-founded the firm in 2015 with five partners from Irell & Manella LLP.

At Columbia Law School, she was named a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and won the Frederick H. Weisberg Award in constitutional law.

“It’s been fantastic,” Plessman said of her new firm’s early years. “We’ve been more successful that we’d ever dreamed.”

In early June, Plessman had just finished a seven-week jury trial in which she defended the parent of Pacific Power, the Portland, Oregon-based utility accused of negligent operation and maintenance of its transmission and distribution system in connection with the devastating Labor Day Fires that arose in hot, windy conditions in 2020. Plaintiffs are seeking $1.6 billion.

The case was the first class action to go to trial among the widespread wildfire litigation over the last three years in California and Oregon. Plessman will be co-leading the defense for Pacific Power in additional trials upcoming in August and January 2024. James et al. v. PacificCorp et al., 20CV33885 (Multnomah Co., Ore., Cir. Ct., filed Sept. 30, 2020).

As the litigation progressed, Plessman attained the dismissal of the plaintiffs’ inverse condemnation claims, limiting damages.

The case ended amid fresh reports of the 2023 wildfire season’s huge blazes in Canada and the resulting smoke clouds blanketing the U.S. East Coast.

As she awaited the jury’s verdict, Plessman said the issues in her cases were likely to recur as climate change intensifies drought and wind conditions in fire-prone wildland regions.

“In many ways, this was a test of hindsight. Should we have turned off the power? We said there wasn’t sufficient weather data to make that call. There had never been a public safety power shut-off here before, and at the time, the community was against it.”

In a new matter, Plessman represents CA Inc., a Broadcom Inc. subsidiary, in a breach of contract suit accusing General Motors Holdings LLC of backing out of a software licensing deal worth millions of dollars. CA Inc. v. General Motors Holdings LLC et al., 23CV416530 (S. Clara Co. Super. Ct., filed May 18, 2023).

And she’s representing Tim and Chris Vanderhook, the founders of a digital advertising company, in another breach of contract matter. v., 1:23-cv-01347 (S.D. N.Y., filed Feb. 16, 2023).

“We work our hearts out on these matters,” Plessman said. “The people in this firm truly know how to try cases.”

— John Roemer