Mr. Van Cleve established the firm with Ms. Davison in 2000, and has been a pioneer in the energy law industry for more than 30 years.  Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Van Cleve was in-house counsel for an investor-owned utility for ten years and an associate with a Washington, DC based energy law firm for four years.  He has vast experience in all aspects of the energy industry, including energy related transactions, regulatory proceedings, lobbying and litigation before state and federal courts and energy regulators. He represents large energy users and rural electric cooperatives on transactional, legislative and regulatory matters.  He is a licensed bar member in Oregon and Arizona.

​

Mr. Van Cleve has been involved in nearly every significant regulatory proceeding involving electric utilities in Oregon and Washington since 1996.  He has also litigated cases before the Nevada and California public utility commissions, as well as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).  He was a primary author of electric restructuring legislation in Oregon, and he played a lead role in the development of retail choice for large customers in the state of Washington.  He has also testified before the Oregon legislature and the U.S. Congress on electric matters.  He has negotiated countless agreements for the purchase and sale of natural gas, electricity and transmission services, as well as the acquisition, development and sale of electric generating facilities and transmission assets. 

​

Since co-founding the firm, Mr. Van Cleve has been at the forefront of many successes.  He represented large energy users in numerous regulatory proceedings to implement customer choice.  He effectively represented an electric cooperative in its effort to become the first market participant outside of California to join the California Independent System Operator.  He was the lead attorney in a FERC transmission rate case.  He has represented both generators and utilities on issues related to generator interconnections, and he has been responsible for development of open access transmission tariffs and generator interconnection procedures and agreements.  In 2015, he represented a large industrial energy user in successful litigation to allow it to switch service providers.  In 2016, he negotiated a joint venture to form an independent transmission company in the Southwest.  He has also been involved in the development of organized electric markets in the West. 

 

Admitted and active in Oregon and Arizona