CA-22 21-1169 Resolution to Approve a Professional Services Agreement with Rivenoak Law Group, P.C. for Legal Services Relative to Sustainability Initiatives ($50,000 annually)
The city should contract with a different energy lawyer. Rivenoak’s principal attorney, Valerie Brader, has impressive credentials and experience, but consider her clients and their public positions. She intervened on Enbridge Energy’s side in its Line 5 pipeline tunnel application (MPSC case U-20763) for three different clients, including the Michigan Oil & Gas Association last August. On June 1 she filed an amicus brief in Governor Whitmer’s federal lawsuit to shut down Enbridge’s existing Line 5 pipeline (case 1:20-cv-01142-JTN-RSK). Ms. Brader’s client’s position: keep the pipeline open and the crude oil flowing. She represents Lambda Gathering, an oil and gas pipeline operator, and she filed its May 28 pipeline application (MPSC case U-21091). Lawyers, of course, represent clients of opportunity. But Ann Arbor needs a lawyer who fights for the things we value: environmental protection (as we define it, not Enbridge) and rapid decarbonization. Ms. Brader is clearly not that person.
The city should contract with a different energy lawyer. Rivenoak’s principal attorney, Valerie Brader, has impressive credentials and experience, but consider her clients and their public positions. She intervened on Enbridge Energy’s side in its Line 5 pipeline tunnel application (MPSC case U-20763) for three different clients, including the Michigan Oil & Gas Association last August. On June 1 she filed an amicus brief in Governor Whitmer’s federal lawsuit to shut down Enbridge’s existing Line 5 pipeline (case 1:20-cv-01142-JTN-RSK). Ms. Brader’s client’s position: keep the pipeline open and the crude oil flowing. She represents Lambda Gathering, an oil and gas pipeline operator, and she filed its May 28 pipeline application (MPSC case U-21091). Lawyers, of course, represent clients of opportunity. But Ann Arbor needs a lawyer who fights for the things we value: environmental protection (as we define it, not Enbridge) and rapid decarbonization. Ms. Brader is clearly not that person.