ABOUT
Big Spruce Law is the law office of Alberta lawyer Michael M. Wenig.
Mike’s focus is on environmental, energy, natural resources, and administrative law, and on public access to information.
In his 35+ year legal career, Mike has represented land owners, non-profit organizations, and governments.
He has worked for regulatory agencies and tribunals—including Alberta’s Natural Resources Conservation Board and Environmental Appeals Board—and represented parties challenging regulatory decisions.
Mike takes a strategic, solution-oriented approach. He is committed to helping citizens, governments, non-profit organizations, and companies develop environmentally sustainable ways to live and work.
Mike is originally from the US, where he practiced law for over ten years before moving to Alberta in 1996 with his wife, a native Albertan, and their two children. Mike’s legal work in the US—including seven years in Alaska—gives him a valuable perspective, to add to the knowledge he’s gained from his experiences in Alberta.
Started in August, 2018, Big Spruce Law operates from Mike’s Calgary home. (The law office is named after the giant Colorado Blue Spruce tree in the front yard.) Working from home allows Mike to keep his overhead low, so he can provide quality legal services for reasonable fees.
When not practicing law, Mike helps his wife and her family manage their quarter section in the foothills southwest of Calgary. He also loves to play hockey and tennis.
Mike’s recent and current work (updated Dec. 2023):
· Representing the Pembina Institute in the Alberta Utilities Commission inquiry (AUC 28501) into the ongoing economic, orderly and efficient development of electricity generation in Alberta.
· Represented the Canadian Renewable Energy Association in an Alberta Utilities Commission proceeding (AUC 26911) to review the Alberta Electric System Operator’s proposed tariff for the energy storage industry. (The storage tariff was part of an overall tariff for all transmission-connected electricity consumers.)
· Represented the Pembina Institute in an Alberta Utilities Commission proceeding (AUC 23757) to review the Alberta Electric System Operator’s proposed rules to establish and operate an electricity capacity market.
· Represented the Pembina Institute in the Alberta Utilities Commission’s Inquiry (AUC 24116) regarding regulatory steps to proactively address the growth of distributed energy, and related trends in the electricity distribution system.
· Backstopped the General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer – Operations, for the Natural Resources Conservation Board.
· Represented the Alberta Chapter of the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers in an intervention in several ranchers’ application for judicial review of the Alberta government’s May 2020 rescission of the 1976 coal policy. Representing the BHA in ongoing appeals of Alberta Energy’s refusal to disclose parts of various records relating to the coal policy rescission.
· Representing an Alberta landowner in efforts to resolve environmental regulatory issues regarding historical industrial operations on the land.
· Assisting B’nai Brith Canada in several administrative appeals of access to information requests for records showing whether Canada ever investigated approximately 200 suspected Nazi war criminals who may have entered Canada after World War II. Related work includes assisting B’nai Brith in advocating for amendments to the federal Access to Information Act and for Canada’s creation of a publicly available, digital archive of unredacted Holocaust records. (This work is through the Matas Law Society, which is a subcommittee of B’nai Brith’s League for Human Rights.)
Education
· Stanford University, B.A. (Honours), Economics and Political Science
· Columbia University School of Law, J.D. 1985
· University of Calgary Faculty of Law, LL.M. 1999
Bar memberships
· Law Society of Alberta (admitted July, 1999)
· New York and Alaska Bars (Alaska membership currently inactive)