Litigation Consulting and Support

Litigation consulting and support services are a natural extension of and complement general management practice areas. We specialize in supporting electric utilities, unregulated generating companies, insurance companies and other electric power industry clients in general rate cases and civil litigations.

Our consultants are experienced in all phases of such proceedings including: discovery; factual, technical, and management-related research and analysis; and developing and sponsoring written and oral testimony.  We can conduct independent, third party studies as a basis for testimony or contribute as members of a litigation team with specific research, analysis, or support responsibilities.

Consultant Qualifications

Our services are based on the education, training, and professional experience of Mr. Mischkot and other consultants that are available through Transactive Management. Since becoming a management consultant in 1984, Mr. Mischkot has supported electric utilities and other power generating companies in all phases of complex civil and regulatory proceedings in the litigation consulting and support areas summarized below.

Please contact us if you would like a copy of the Transactive Management Litigation Consulting Qualifications Statement, which provides Mr. Mischkot's experience in supporting clients in both civil and regulatory proceedings as well as his education and experience by area of expertise.

Other consultants available through our practice are experts in these same areas as well as the following:

•  Power generating engineering and forensic analysis.

•  Nuclear and fossil-fired plant design and construction.

•  Nuclear, fossil-fired, and hydroelectric generating plant operations and maintenance.

•  Power plant maintenance planning.

•  Power plant accidents and safety programs and processes.

•  Work and process flow analysis.

•  Decision and probabilistic risk analysis as applied to major construction projects.

Please contact us for the names and profiles of other litigation consultants that are available through Transactive Management.

Litigation Consulting Practice Areas

Independent third party studies are conducted as a basis for providing both written and oral testimony. Our consultants have conducted many types of studies including: retrospective prudence assessments of nuclear construction projects, surveys that document standard industry practices, power plant operations and maintenance studies, forensic assessments of plant operating events and accidents, and estimates of plant economic value and service life. Our study teams include economic, business, technical subject matter experts, who are responsible for research and analysis, and sponsoring witnesses, who oversee studies and formulate the conclusions that are the basis for their testimony.

Fact books are a mechanism we have developed to record and document the results of our research and analysis in a way that allows clients, counsel, and witnesses to quickly understand and apply information. They include position papers that outline: (1) research objectives; (2) analytical methods and criteria; (3) conclusions; and (4) the basis for conclusions with reference to supporting documents and working papers, which are provided as attachments. Attachments are organized by numbered tabs and include all documents collected and reviewed, interview notes, data analysis, working papers, and other source materials. We highlight key passages using different colors to distinguish between statements that support or counter client positions. In prior engagements fact books have been used to develop case theories, prepare testimony and exhibits, depose or cross-examine opposition witnesses, respond to interrogatories, prepare client witnesses, and conduct direct examination.

Research and analysis of industry standard practices, milestone events, and trends support client positions in a number of ways. We can document that our client's policies, decisions, management processes, technical practices, or contracted services meet established industry practice consistent with the prudent man legal standard. Our approach to documenting generally accepted industry practices includes: (1) collecting and summarizing articles in industry periodicals, professional papers, policies, procedures, OEM technical guides, and other documents; (2) interviewing industry practitioners and experts; and (3) analyzing data to quantify how widespread specific practices are or to demonstrate trends in such practices. The same approach is used to develop chronologies of industry events or to show trends or patterns (e.g., market and product life cycles).

Economic analysis is used to quantify damage claims for plaintiffs or to critically assess alleged claims by opposing parties. Our consultants have conducted studies to determine the service life and economic value of power plants in a deregulated market. They have also estimated the income foregone by an IPP client because of an electric utility's failure to honor a power plant construction permit. Damages were estimated by projecting the foregone income stream based on what would have been the plant's rated capacity, operating costs, and revenue stream—estimated by deriving regional market long-term price curves.

Forensic analysis is conducted by affiliated consultants who are experts in nuclear and fossil-fired power plant operations, maintenance, and safety. In the past, these experts have supported civil litigations by analyzing the causal factors of plant accidents and malfunctions.

Litigation Support Practice Areas

Discovery support includes drafting interrogatories, writing responses to interrogatories, preparing client witnesses for deposition, and preparing lines of questioning for deposing opponent witnesses. We support the discovery associated with Transactive Management studies. We also support the broader case discovery phase by serving as members of a client or counsel litigation team.

Digests and summaries of deposition transcripts, testimony, reports, and other lengthy documents are efficiently prepared by using our research skills and business and technical expertise. Using tape recorders, we identify the content on each page, summarize or directly quote key passages, and include notes that analyze particular statements and suggest how they can be used. This approach is used in conjunction with Transactive Management work products—including studies and fact books—as well as to support our role as members of a litigation team.

Database development support includes preparing issue and sub-issue taxonomies that allow Boolean searches. It also includes reviewing documents to classify statements according to such taxonomies for entry into databases. We apply the same approach outlined above for digests and summaries.