Chicago City Wire

The City of Chicago has hired the environmental litigation firm Pawa Law Group, based in Massachusetts, to represent it in a lawsuit against Monsanto Co. and related defendants, according to a contingency fee engagement letter obtained through a public records request by Chicago City Wire.

The lawsuit, City of Chicago v. Monsanto Co., et al., is pending in Cook County Circuit Court (Case No. 2023 L 009542) and seeks damages in connection with “measures to address PCB contamination [that] impose significant costs on the City,” according to the agreement.

Under the agreement signed in late May, Pawa Law Group will represent the City on a contingency fee basis, meaning the firm will only be paid if the City recovers money through a settlement or court judgment. The firm has agreed to advance all litigation costs.

If the lawsuit is resolved before briefing on dispositive motions, the firm will receive 21.5 percent of the net recovery. If resolved after briefing but before trial, the fee increases to 23 percent. If resolved after trial, the fee rises to 25 percent. The agreement defines “net recovery” as the total recovered amount minus litigation costs.

The City maintains authority over all major decisions in the case, including whether to settle. Day-to-day litigation responsibilities are delegated to Pawa Law Group, which is required to provide regular status updates. Stephen Kane, Deputy Corporation Counsel in the City’s Law Department, is named as the City’s point of contact.

The agreement also stipulates that Pawa Law Group will handle any claims for fees brought by its predecessor counsel, Seeger Weiss LLP, and will indemnify the City against such claims.

According to the agreement, “the City shall not be required to pay any costs except from a monetary recovery in the litigation.”

Pawa Law Group, P.C., with headquarters in Newton Centre, Mass., was founded by attorney Matthew Pawa. The firm has represented government entities in environmental litigation in multiple states.

Chicago City Wire submitted this FOIA request as part of its commitment to providing comprehensive news coverage on local governmental affairs, in conjunction with The Coalition Opposing Governmental Secrecy, a non-profit organization dedicated to investigating government actions through FOIA and Sunshine Laws.

The decision by local governments to hire contingency-fee lawyers for such litigation was the topic of a recent white paper published by the Washington Legal Foundation, authored by former Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson (R). While the paper focuses on lawsuits related to the opioid epidemic, it raises broader legal questions about whether cities and counties have the authority to bring lawsuits on behalf of the public—an authority traditionally reserved for state attorneys general. 

Peterson argues that allowing local governments to pursue public-impact litigation through outside counsel could blur legal lines and create conflicts with state-level legal strategies.