Utilities and Infrastructure Litigation

Our generalist litigation training equips us with the skills to simultaneously manage, coordinate and direct a successful response, including drawing on our technical knowledge to address substantive allegations. We defend utilities and infrastructure clients across the country, with particularly deep experience litigating sprawling—and often novel—theories of alleged liability. For example, our work extends to leading the response to claims brought against natural gas, energy and electric service providers arising from dozens of major wildfires, including some of the largest wildfire events in United States history. In aggregate, the exposure on claims we have handled exceeds $50 billion, and our team works closely with our clients to help resolve potential liabilities—the scale of which can threaten to overrun an organization and prevent it from providing critical service to its customers.

We also regularly conduct complex internal investigations and respond to inquiries or investigations by various regulatory and governmental authorities. As a result, we are adept at navigating the landscape of interlocking regulatory schemes that must be considered. Our ample experience working alongside regulatory specialists and experts allows us to offer tailored advice that addresses both industry‑specific requirements and potential risks. Our clients often turn to us to manage the full spectrum of related litigation, investigations and regulatory responses, enabling us to craft holistic strategies directed to the interconnected issues and claims that arise in this area.

We appreciate the trust and responsibility placed in utilities and other guardians of infrastructure, and understand the importance of maintaining this trust and credibility across all relevant constituencies, including customers, regulators and legislators.

In recognition of certain critical matters we have handled in this area, we were honored as a 2024 “Energy Practice Group of the Year” by Law360. Cravath also has been named “General Commercial Firm of the Year” by Benchmark Litigation, and “Class Action Department of the Year” by the New York Law Journal. Our partners have repeatedly earned recognition individually for their work in mass tort and class action matters. Our work in complex, business‑central litigation is frequently recognized broadly by peers and the market, including:

• “The team is completely dedicated to getting the right result for their clients,” with “an amazing ability to pull the facts together in short order to produce a highly trusted outcome.”  Testimonials, The Legal 500 US
• “When you stand back and look at organizations, and put together your list of who you would go to if the world came to an end, it’s Cravath.”  Client, Chambers USA
• Cravath’s “talented litigation group…impresses with its client‑oriented approach and commercial know how” and “is regularly sought out for the most complex of litigation issues.” Chambers USA
• “An excellent, dedicated and highly professional team with a rare ability to understand and simplify complex factual and legal issues and present these in a clear and understandable way.” Testimonial, The Legal 500 US