My CUB Law Clerk Experience

It is hard to believe that a little over four years ago, I was making my way from Texas to the great Northwest to learn how to “defend dirt,” as my father would teasingly say, at the University of Oregon School of Law. Having gotten a big dose of energy, environmental and consumer law and policy during an internship with Public Citizen’s Texas office, studying environmental law with an emphasis on energy was the next logical step for me. It was not long after that that I began hearing about CUB.

Given the remarkable work that CUB does in the name of residential consumers of Oregon’s investor-owned utilities I kept my eye on any opportunities that CUB made available to law students and new attorneys. I could not have been more excited, or felt more fortunate, to join CUB as a practicing attorney through CUB’s law clerk program this past June. It is hard to believe that I am already beginning my sixth month here with CUB—the old idiom “time flies when you’re having fun” is definitely applicable to my experience.

As you may already know, CUB is an organization rich in people and interests, and has an array of staff, interns, clerks, and volunteers that work to represent both the financial and environmental interests and values of its members and Oregon ratepayers. As an attorney in CUB’s law clerk program, most of the work I do relates to the regulation of Oregon’s investor-owned electric, gas, and telecommunications companies (IOUs).

The Public Utility Commission of Oregon (OPUC) is the agency in charge of regulating customer rates and services of Oregon’s IOUs. The OPUC has the obligation to ensure that customers receive safe and reliable utility services at fair and reasonable rates. CUB intervenes in regulatory proceedings as a matter of statutory right, meaning that CUB becomes a party to those proceedings so that it can ensure that the values of residential ratepayers are fully represented in front of the OPUC. Most folks are surprised to learn that cases in front of the OPUC share a lot of the same characteristics as cases in front of a judge in a courtroom. Most parties are represented by attorneys, who serve discovery, write motions, briefs and other legal documents, and unless the parties settle, participate in a hearing similar to a trial that you might see in a regular courtroom (without the jury, of course!).

CUB’s law clerk program gave me with the opportunity to dive into this process head first, providing hands-on, practical experience while making a difference in the name of Oregon residential ratepayers. Through its team of staff, interns, clerks, and volunteers, CUB has an immense wealth of knowledge, and I have been very fortunate to have been surrounded by people with a willingness to impart that knowledge to me, and to mentor me as a new lawyer. They also forced/cajoled/enticed me to get out of my chair and get to know Portland on foot – that is running – and have thus been responsible for not only expanding my knowledge but also for keeping me fit!

In my short time here at CUB, I have been to settlement conferences, OPUC workshops, administrative hearings, and observed Oregon’s legislature in session. I have completed research on some extremely interesting topics, ranging from shale gas production to the history behind Oregon’s laws protecting residential ratepayers and a whole host of other legal topics. I have drafted memoranda, motions, petitions, a brief, and now a blog post! I have had the opportunity to meet other attorneys, analysts, national and local experts, Commissioners, and other stakeholders in the field. In short, I have had the opportunity to sit in the room with, and soak up the knowledge of, some of the brightest minds on energy law and policy in Oregon, the Pacific Northwest, and arguably the country.

The experiences and knowledge that I have gained have been truly invaluable both personally and professionally. CUB’s law clerk program provides its participants with a truly unique experience—no other organization offers the same opportunities and hands-on experience. But perhaps most importantly, my experience with CUB has provided me with the ability to make a difference in the lives of Oregonians. I could not be more thankful for the experience that I have gained with CUB. It is truly great that CUB has both the desire and the ability to provide such a valuable law clerk program.

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