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COBLENTZ 

PATCH 

DUFFY 

&

BASS LLP

One Montgomery Street, Suite 3000, San Francisco, California 94104-5500

415.391.4800 • Fax 415.989.1663

GREGG M. FICKS (State Bar No. 148093) 

COBLENTZ PATCH DUFFY & BASS LLP

One Montgomery Street, Suite 3000 

San Francisco, California 94104-5500 

Telephone: 415.391.4800 

Facsimile: 415.989.1663 

Email: ef-gmf@cpdb.com 

Special Counsel to Debtors 

and Debtors in Possession 

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION

In re:

PG&E CORPORATION, 

-andPACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC COMPANY,

Debtors.

 Affects PG&E Corporation

 Affects Pacific Gas and Electric Company

 Affects both Debtors

* All papers shall be filed in Lead Case No.

19-30088 (DM).

Bankruptcy Case No. 19-30088 (DM)

Chapter 11

(Lead Case) 

(Jointly Administered)

CERTIFICATION OF GREGG M. FICKS 

IN SUPPORT OF FIRST INTERIM FEE 

APPLICATION OF COBLENTZ PATCH 

DUFFY & BASS LLP FOR ALLOWANCE 

AND PAYMENT OF COMPENSATION 

AND REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES 

(JANUARY 29, 2019 THROUGH 

SEPTEMBER 30, 2019)

Date: TBD

Time: 10:00 a.m. (Pacific Time)

Place: United States Bankruptcy Court 

Courtroom 17, 16th Floor 

San Francisco, CA 94102 

Judge: Hon. Dennis Montali 

Objection Deadline: December 4, 2019 at 

4:00 p.m. (Pacific Time)

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 4755 Filed: 11/14/19 Entered: 11/14/19 18:44:28 Page 1 of

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COBLENTZ 

PATCH 

DUFFY 

&

BASS LLP

One Montgomery Street, Suite 3000, San Francisco, California 94104-5500

415.391.4800 • Fax 415.989.1663

I, Gregg M. Ficks, hereby certify as follows:

1. I am attorney licensed to practice law in the State of California. I am a partner at

the law firm of Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP, Special Counsel to the Debtors,1 and am 

authorized to make this Declaration in that capacity. Except as otherwise may be stated herein, all 

statements in this Certification are based on my personal knowledge, and, if called upon to do so, I 

could and would testify to them. 

2. I make this Certification in support of the First Interim Fee Application of Coblentz

Patch Duffy & Bass LLP for Allowance and Payment of Compensation and Reimbursement of 

Expenses (January 29, 2019 through September 30, 2019) (the “Interim Application”). I am the 

attorney designated by Coblentz to sign the Interim Application on its behalf. 

3. Pursuant to the Northern District Guidelines, I certify that:

A. I have read the Interim Application.

B. To the best of my knowledge, information, and belief formed after

reasonable inquiry, the compensation and expense reimbursement sought in

the Interim Application are in conformity with the Northern District

Guidelines, except as otherwise may be indicated in the Interim

Application.

C. The compensation requested in the Interim Application has been billed at

rates, and in accordance with, practices no less favorable to the Debtors than

those currently employed by the Firm and generally accepted by the Firm’s

clients.

4. There is no agreement or understanding between Coblentz and any other person or

entity other than the partners of the Firm for the sharing of compensation to be received for 

services rendered in these cases.

5. As required by the Northern District Guidelines, the Firm has sent billing

statements to the Debtors on a monthly basis. I certify that the Debtors, counsel for the Creditors 

1 Capitalized terms not defined herein shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the Interim 

Application described in Paragraph 2 herein. 

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 4755 Filed: 11/14/19 Entered: 11/14/19 18:44:28 Page 2 of

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COBLENTZ 

PATCH 

DUFFY 

&

BASS LLP

One Montgomery Street, Suite 3000, San Francisco, California 94104-5500

415.391.4800 • Fax 415.989.1663

Committee and the TCC, and the U.S. Trustee each are being provided with a copy of the Interim 

Application in accordance with the Interim Compensation Order. 

6. Attached hereto as Exhibit A is a true and correct copy of a letter transmitting the

Interim Application to the Debtors and advising them of their rights to review and object to the 

compensation and expense reimbursement sought therein. This letter will be transmitted to the 

Debtors by electronic mail within the time limit specified in the Court’s Guidelines for 

Compensation. 

7. The Firm responds to the questions identified in Item C.4. of the U.S. Trustee

Guidelines as follows: 

Question 1: Did the Firm agree to any variations from, or alternatives to, the 

Firm’s standard or customary billing rates, fees or terms for services pertaining to this engagement 

that were provided during the Interim Fee Period? If so, please explain. Answer: The Firm 

discounted its standard rates for the Debtors, as described in the Application seeking the Firm’s 

retention as Special Counsel [Dkt. No. 2595]. 

Question 2: If the fees sought in the Interim Application as compared to the fees 

budgeted for the time period covered by the Interim Application are higher by 10 percent or more, 

did the Firm discuss the reasons for the variation with the client? Answer: The Debtors provide 

annual budgets to the Firm for some of the matters the Firm handles for them. These budgets are 

subject to periodic adjustment by the Debtors as each calendar year progresses. To the extent the 

Debtors provided annual budgets to the Firm for the matters the Firm is handling for them as 

Special Counsel, such budgets have not been adjusted during the course of the Chapter 11 cases to 

date, and Coblentz has not exceeded these budgets during the Interim Fee Period. 

Question 3: Have any of the professionals included in the Interim Application 

varied their hourly rate based on geographic location of the Chapter 11 Cases? Answer: No.

Question 4: Does the Interim Application include time or fees related to reviewing 

or revising time records or preparing, reviewing or revising invoices? If so, please quantify by 

hours and fees. Answer: The Interim Application includes fees for reviewing and revising and 

reducing proposed invoice drafts just prior to the invoices being issued and transmitted to the 

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 4755 Filed: 11/14/19 Entered: 11/14/19 18:44:28 Page 3 of

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COBLENTZ 

PATCH 

DUFFY 

&

BASS LLP

One Montgomery Street, Suite 3000, San Francisco, California 94104-5500

415.391.4800 • Fax 415.989.1663

Debtors, and/or in advance of filing the Firm’s Monthly Fee Statements during the Interim Fee 

Period, in order to to seek to conform the invoices to the Northern District Guidelines and the U.S. 

Trustee Guidelines. The Firm billed for such tasks as part of a category designated as 

Bankruptcy-Related Matters in the Interim Application. The time within this category that was 

incurred revising and reducing proposed draft invoices is approximately 5.2 hours, corresponding 

to approximately $3,239.60 in fees.

Question 5: Does the Interim Application include time or fees for reviewing time 

records to redact any privileged or other confidential information? If so, please quantify hours and 

fees. Answer: No.

Question 6: Does the Interim Application include any rate increases since the 

Firm’s retention in this case? If so, did the client review and approve those rate increases in 

advance? Did the client agree when retaining the law firm to accept all future rate increases? 

Answer: The Interim Application does not include any rate increases since the Firm’s retention. 

The Firm has advised the Debtors that the Firm increases its hourly rates each year, typically 

effective on January 1 of each year. 

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the 

foregoing is true and correct. Executed this 14th day of November, 2019, in San Francisco, 

California.

/s/ Gregg M. Ficks

Gregg M. Ficks 

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 4755 Filed: 11/14/19 Entered: 11/14/19 18:44:28 Page 4 of

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