Timothy J. Whipple

Background

Tim joined Ahlers & Cooney in 2022 and focuses his practice in the Government Law Practice Area working with municipal utilities, including electric, water, sewer, gas, and telecommunications. He works closely with clients as counsel on municipal utility matters, general municipal law matters, administrative law matters, board governance, and regulatory matters at the state and federal levels. Tim’s breadth of experience includes utilities law, municipal law, public finance, economic development, taxation, legislation, and administrative law.

Prior to Ahlers, Tim served as General Counsel for the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities (IAMU), where he focused on advancing the interests of over 700 municipal-owned utilities of all sizes across Iowa by representing them in Washington D.C. and at the Iowa state Capitol, and by advocating for helpful public policy, monitoring state and federal regulatory issues, and providing general legal support.

He was formerly Vice President and General Counsel at MidAmerican Energy, an investor-owned utility company, and was responsible for overseeing legal services and litigation, state and federal regulatory compliance, corporate transactional work, government affairs, rate analysis and design, and environmental compliance in three states, with a department of 25 people and a substantial budget that included lobbyists, consultants, and outside legal counsel.

Tim began his legal career as Legal Counsel at the Iowa Legislative Services Agency, and then joined the Iowa Economic Development Authority as General Counsel, where he was responsible for representing the agency before the Iowa legislature, developing its public policy agenda, monitoring regulatory issues, implementing new programs, drafting administrative rules and regulations, handling administrative legal issues, and providing general legal support to the state of Iowa's primary economic development agency. He was instrumental at IEDA in developing and implementing an innovative public/private partnership structure for the agency, as well as redesigning many of the state’s economic and business development financial assistance programs.

Tim is a native of Cedar Falls, Iowa, and prior to law school, worked at a medical records software company on its patent development program. Tim speaks on a variety of municipal utility issues, and while at IAMU and IEDA, often served as a spokesperson on public policy issues.