Thomas M. Grim

Practice Areas

• Energy and Public Utility Law
• Municipal Law
• Environmental and Natural Resources Law
• Litigation

Education

• University of California, Santa Barbara, B.A., 1984, Phi Beta Kappa
• Santa Clara University School of Law, J.D., 1988, cum laude

Professional Experience

Tom Grim focuses his practice in the areas of energy, public utility, and municipal law. He represents clients in commercial transactions, administrative-contested cases, and judicial proceedings. He currently acts as general or special counsel to numerous publicly-owned utilities in the region.  Mr. Grim is the Chair of the firm's Energy and Utility Practice Group.

In energy and public utility-related matters, Mr. Grim has developed expertise in dealing with power acquisition contracts, resource development, and regional power and transmission issues. He has assisted clients with:

• Negotiating contracts for the purchase and sale of power and ancillary electric services on both the wholesale and retail level.
• Negotiating standard and complex financial instruments to hedge power-market risk.
• Developing electric generating facilities in the region.
• Negotiating interconnection and transmission agreements for electric generation facilities.
• Acquiring electric distribution and transmission assets, including substations, transformers, and transmission lines.
• Developing power and transmission policy and legislation at the state, regional and federal level.
• Representing clients in rate development proceedings before the Bonneville Power Administration.
• Handling litigation matters before state and federal agencies and courts (for his public utility clients). 

In his municipal practice, Mr. Grim advises clients on a range of issues, including public meetings, contracting, and authority issues.  He works with his municipal clients on:

• Negotiating special contracts with large industrial customers.
• Resolving rate development and cost-of-service issues related to providing municipal service commodities.
• Negotiating agreements for the acquisition of utility service territories.
• Negotiating franchise agreements for provision of utility services.
• Acquiring and defending exclusive, service territory claims before the Oregon Public Utility Commission.  

Mr. Grim has advised clients on telecommunications matters, including the negotiation of contracts for the purchase and sale of telecommunications services. He has assisted public entities in the organization and implementation of several fiber optic infrastructure projects and represented clients before the Oregon Public Utility Commission.

Representative Work

• Successfully defended public utility clients in market mitigation, gaming and refund proceedings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.
• Recently negotiated power sale, inter-connection and transmission agreements for several regional biomass cogeneration facilities.
• Formed a public intergovernmental entity for the potential development of a wave generation project on the Oregon coast.  Mr. Grim is currently assisting the entity in obtaining a preliminary development permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
• Represented a public utility in negotiations for the long-term purchase of a significant amount of power from one of the largest wind generation projects in the region.
• Successfully defended a recent judicial action to enjoin the annexation of territory to a public utility client.
• Assisted public utility client in the negotiation of power output purchase and transmission agreements from a regional geothermal generation facility.
• Was instrumental in forming a public intergovernmental agency to develop a significant electric cogeneration facility in Oregon.  Mr. Grim then helped the agency negotiate the contracts for the financing, construction, and operation of the facility.  He also argued before the Oregon Supreme Court to exempt the facility from ad valorem taxation.
• Represented four Oregon municipal utilities in litigation before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission concerning the statutory and contractual allocations of power from a major regional hydroelectric project.
• Represented a public entity in the judicial confirmation of its authority to participate in a fiber optics project.

Admitted to Practice

• Oregon State Courts
• United States District Court, District of Oregon
• United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
• United States Supreme Court

Associations

Federal Energy Bar