Fixed fee arrangement for litigation (Duquesne Light)

For litigation, Duquesne Light uses a Pittsburgh firm, Tucker Arensberg, which handles the utility’s cases on a fixed-fee basis. The general counsel of Duquesne did not give details in the article that described the fee arrangement (GC Mid-Atlantic, Aug. 2005 at 32) but the fact that they have accomplished this deed is noteworthy.

Litigation is usually the most resistant to fixed fee arrangements, unless the law department excludes trials, because of the likelihood that one or two cases do not settle. The cost of trial and possibly appeals looms too threateningly for law firms. (See my post of March 12, 2005 on setting litigation reserves.)