As senior lawmakers on Capitol Hill continue to probe Sher Edling’s financing and consulting relationships, new evidence suggests yet another “advisor” has closer ties to the firm than previously revealed. New information reveals that University of Vermont Law professor emeritus Pat Parenteau, a longtime commentor on climate litigation in the media, has worked directly with Sher Edling to pitch “highly confidential” environmental litigation to a state attorney general.
In fact, Parenteau appears to have worked hand-in-hand with controversial Biden administration appointee Ann Carlson, who has attracted controversy on Capitol Hill over her own consulting work with Sher Edling. At issue is Carlson’s prior work as a “consultant” on a “committee” advising Sher Edling alongside Parenteau and the former head of the Leonardo DiCaprio foundation.
But Carlson is just the tip of the iceberg. Just how many of these “advisors” are actually working for Sher Edling? From Ann Carlson to Naomi Oreskes to Michael Burger, the numbers continue to grow as the firm’s network of relationships is revealed.
The implications are significant since the firm’s “advisors” are frequently quoted in news stories as outside academic experts without any mention of these ties. The advisors’ failure to disclose their relationship with Sher Edling should be alarming to the media covering these lawsuits. Will they now update their previous coverage?
UCLA records reveal Sher Edling’s advisory committee
Recall that last year, Fox News reported on public records obtained by Energy Policy Advocates that reveal extensive coordination between Carlson, UCLA donors, and Sher Edling. According to public records, UCLA Law donor Dan Emmett emailed Carlson in July 2017 for thoughts after he had been solicited to “support” Sher Edling’s climate lawsuits. In response, Carlson told Emmett that she was “on a committee advising the plaintiffs’ lawyers”:
“I am serving – along with Terry – on a committee advising the plaintiffs’ lawyers so I definitely have thoughts about this.” (Emphasis added)
“Terry” is Terry Tamminen, then-director of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation and a member of the UCLA Emmett Center’s advisory board, who, in 2008, described Sher Edling founder Vic Sher as “my old environmental advocacy colleague-in-arms.” As head of DiCaprio’s foundation – which took heat in 2016 for its own shady practices that enabled the 1MDB money laundering scandal – Tamminen funneled a still-unknown amount of money to Sher Edling via a dark money pass-through to finance the climate nuisance lawsuits.
The first indication that Parenteau was “advising” Sher Edling alongside Tamminen and Carlson came in 2018, when Parenteau and Carlson co-hosted an “invitation-only” webinar on the status of public nuisance lawsuits filed against oil and natural gas companies. Presenters included Vic Sher, Matt Edling, and Kevin Kirchner, all of Sher Edling. Public records later revealed that Tamminen was also involved in orchestrating the webinar, which was attended by dozens of academics from universities across the country and presumably put on to round up more “expert” surrogates.
It took four years following the webinar for reporters to disclose the true extent of Parenteau’s involvement with Sher Edling.
Parenteau: Sher Edling advisor and business partner
A longtime commentor on climate litigation, Vermont Law professor emeritus Pat Parenteau’s official affiliation with Sher Edling was only revealed in January 2022, when the Washington Post identified him as an “informal” advisor to Vic Sher. Three months later, Stateline tagged him as part of an “informal advisory group that supports some of the governments’ cases.”
Previously, Parenteau had been affiliated by only association with the law firm. His commentary on the litigation has been featured for years in outlets such as Bloomberg, Reuters, and The Guardian without any mention of his role supporting Sher Edling’s cases. Just this week, E&E news Parenteau’s comments in the same article with quotes from Vic Sher, but failed to mention this connection.
He even co-authored an amicus brief in support of a Rhode Island District Court’s ruling that the state’s climate lawsuit should remain in state court – again sans disclosure of his advisory role, even though Sher Edling represents the state of Rhode Island in its suit.
But Parenteau is not just an advisor to Sher Edling, he’s also a business partner.
In June 2019, Sher Edling submitted a response to an RFP put out by the Michigan Attorney General’s office for outside counsel to work on PFAS litigation. The “highly confidential” response names Parenteau on the bidding team, right alongside Vic Sher and Matt Edling and Hausfeld LLP. Ultimately, Sher Edling’s team didn’t win the PFAS contract.
The proposed legal services agreement outlines a generous contingency fee breakdown that would pay out large sums to the Parenteau, Vic Sher, and the other lawyers in the case of a victory or a settlement:
“The State agrees to pay, as compensation for attorneys’ services, sixteen percent (16%) of all claims or recoveries (collectively, “Recovery” or Recoveries”) from and against all sources, persons, or entities whether tried before a judge or jury or not. For Recoveries greater than $150 million, Attorneys shall receive nine and one-half percent (9.5%) on the amount of the Recoveries greater than $150 million.”
Curiously, neither Parenteau’s bio or resume attached to the response identifies his advisory work with Sher Edling, although he was closely involved with the firm and other “advisors” dating back to at least 2018. In the RFP response, Parenteau identifies his role as “Professor of Law and Senior Counsel to the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic at Vermont Law School.”
His involvement in the RFP response raises several questions:
Bottom Line: Parenteau has said the real end goal of these climate lawsuits is not to prevent or mitigate the effects of climate change, but to “bankrupt” domestic, investor-owned energy producers — revealing the motivations of those supporting the litigation. Should Sen. Cruz and Rep. Comer continue digging into Sher Edling, they’re likely to find a vast network of donors and academics propping up litigation intended to destroy the American energy industry.
