Baker and Hostetler issued the following announcement on April 17.
BakerHostetler announced today that Robert A. Julian, Cecily A. Dumas and Kimberly Morris have joined the firm as partners, adding to the firm’s West Coast presence. All three attorneys are resident in Northern California. 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 as a partner in the firm’s white collar, investigations and securities enforcement, and litigation team.
The three partners are engaged in, among other matters, BakerHostetler’s representation of the Official Committee of Tort Claimants in the Chapter 11 reorganization of PG&E Corp., which filed for Chapter 11 relief in the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California earlier this year. PG&E’s bankruptcy case is the single-largest Chapter 11 case ever filed in California and the sixth-largest such matter ever commenced nationwide, as measured by asset values. It is estimated that PG&E’s potential liability to the fire victims exceeds $30 billion.
“I have known both Bob and Cecily for almost 28 years, and Kim for 15 years, so I am quite familiar with the extraordinary talent that they will bring to the West Coast for the firm,” the managing partner of BakerHostetler’s Los Angeles office, Eric Sagerman, said.
In January, with the hiring of Sagerman, the firm announced its intention to expand its West Coast presence. “We are thrilled to welcome Bob, Cecily and Kim to our firm. We hired Eric to expand our presence on the West Coast, and the acquisition of such talented attorneys in a relatively short period of time is proof of our platform for other laterals,” said BakerHostetler Chairman Paul Schmidt. “We will continue to invest in adding quality attorneys on the West Coast, including in such areas as complex litigation, private equity, mergers and acquisitions, data and privacy, and other areas of strength for the firm.”
Julian comes to BakerHostetler from Winston & Strawn LLP. With more than 35 years of experience, he has a broad practice in complex commercial litigation, with niche expertise in fiduciary and business tort issues.
Dumas brings more than three decades of restructuring experience to the firm. She is a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, and she previously practiced at Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw & Pittman LLP.
“Cecily and I have practiced in San Francisco our entire professional careers, and we both live in Sonoma County in areas affected by fires. We are thrilled to join Eric at BakerHostetler to grow our practices and to otherwise lead the firm’s representation of the victims in the PG&E case,” said Julian. “We are committed to being advocates for the victims of the PG&E equipment-related fires and gas explosions who are spread across wine country, the Sierra Nevada, and the greater Sacramento and San Francisco Bay areas.”
Morris, a seasoned litigator, also comes from Winston & Strawn. She represents public and private companies in connection with regulatory investigations, enforcement actions and corporate compliance matters, and she appears on behalf of witnesses, subjects and targets in connection with grand jury investigations in both state and federal criminal matters. Morris has experience in securities and financial fraud, whistleblower allegations and employment matters.
“I’m thrilled to be part of BakerHostetler’s growing West Coast presence. I was sold on the firm’s deep white collar and complex business litigation platforms,” Morris said. “It is exciting to be on the ground floor of the firm’s California expansion.”
Original source can be found here.