Jeneane Grundberg

Partner Jeneane Grundberg, Q.C., ICD.D brings unparalleled experience to her practice in the areas of municipal, planning and administrative law.

With more than 120 reported decisions on multiple aspects of municipal, planning and administrative law at all levels of the Alberta Courts, Jeneane leads legal teams on complex litigation as well as policy and bylaw development. Her work has been recognized as having important precedential value, helping inform future court decisions and municipal actions; she is often a consultant to the provincial government on planning and development matters.

Jeneane takes a strong client-focused approach to her practice, with clients that include municipalities, provincial departments, and subdivision and development appeal boards.

“I love to advocate on behalf of my clients. It’s an honour to represent them,” says Jeneane, who has made more than 200 appearances in the Alberta Court of Appeal.

A fifth generation Albertan, Jeneane was born in Edmonton, and grew up in Edmonton and Camrose. She attended the University of Alberta, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and psychology in 1985, and a Bachelor of Laws degree (LL.B.) in 1988.

She graduated from King’s College, London, with a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree in public law in 1990. Called to the bar in 1989, she joined Brownlee LLP (then known as Brownlee Fryett) as an associate in 1990.

Jeneane chose law as a career for a number of reasons. “I thought it would be an avenue to help people, and that it would be exciting, with never two days the same,” she recalls. And that has absolutely been the case.

What motivates her daily, is that she’s helping build communities. In some litigation, she is working to preserve a municipality’s revenue stream through development charges and offsite levies, while in other situations she is assisting municipalities implement council’s planning vision into reality. Jeneane believes a good lawyer is someone who understands the client’s needs, provides practical options, and explains the potential ramifications of any course of action.

For a first year associate or law student, her advice is to “learn as much as you can, and experience as much you can in a broad range of areas” – because broad knowledge helps inform solutions to future challenges.

For clients, she notes that Brownlee’s team approach means that clients will work with highly experienced practitioners who are engaged and solutions-driven.

“We don’t generalize, we don’t practise in multiple areas, and we don’t try to be all things to all people,” she says. “With the complexity of legal issues in the municipal field, it is impossible for one lawyer to provide value-added advice in a broad range of areas; those who try to be generalists do their clients a disservice.” Jeneane sees an incredibly bright future for Brownlee. “Not only do we have experienced senior lawyers, we’ve also got highly capable mid- and junior range associates,” she says. “Our ‘up and comers’ are second to none; the Brownlee legacy will continue.”

Jeneane’s professional goals are to continue practising in the areas of municipal, planning and administrative law, helping advance her clients’ goals and providing value-added advice.

When she’s not at work, Jeneane has been involved in the community with a wide range of organizations, most recently as a director on the Good Samaritan Society board.

She is a keen golfer, downhill skier and hiker, and is also an avid hockey mom. Her son, Nick Rimmer, is a goaltender with Pursuit of Excellence (Kelowna) Bantam Prep team in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League.

REPRESENTATIVE WORK

• Administrative law
• Planning and Development
• Municipal Bylaws
• Municipal Councillor Conflict of Interest
• Municipal Elections and Councillor Disqualification

MEMBERSHIPS

• Law Society of Alberta
• Edmonton Bar Association
• Administrative and Municipal Member (Alberta) Canadian Bar Association
• Municipal Law Section, National Executive, Canadian Bar Association
• University of Alberta, Faculty of Extension, Sessional Lecturer, Applied Land Use Planning Program