Thomas J. MacBride

Thomas MacBride, Jr. has practiced before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for more than 45 years.

Tom has served as regulatory counsel to a wide variety of entities with interests in matters before the CPUC including ground and water transportation providers, publicly and privately owned water service providers, telecommunications and energy companies, trade associations, municipalities, real estate developers, homeowners’ associations, and independent metering and billing companies.

Tom has participated in a number of legislative initiatives to reform CPUC procedures, including the 1983 legislation revising provisions of the California Public Utilities Code regarding rehearing of CPUC decisions; the 1985 legislation that expanded the CPUC’s Commission’s authority to exempt certain financial transactions from otherwise applicable statutory requirements for advance formal CPUC approval; and the 1989 legislation that revised the fashion in which CPUC decisions are published.

During the 1997-1998 legislative session, Tom participated in drafting and advocacy, which led to the enactment of the Calderon-Peace-MacBride Judicial Review Act of 1998 (SB 779), greatly enlarging the scope of judicial review of CPUC decisions, permitting review of most CPUC decisions in the Court of Appeal. The Act also provided for Internet access to CPUC documents and expanded the opportunity for parties to comment on proposed CPUC orders. In connection with that endeavor, Tom began publication of the regularly updated Summary of California Supreme Court and Court of Appeal Opinions Reviewing Decisions of the California Public Utilities Commission, which is distributed by the Conference of California Public Utility Counsel (CCPUC) and various organizations.

Prior to joining Downey Brand, Tom was a partner at the San Francisco firm of Goodin, Macbride, Squeri & Day from 1985 until 2021. Earlier in his career, upon graduation from law school, Tom joined the staff of the CPUC where he served as Staff Counsel and as the Advisor to the late Commissioner Vernon L. Sturgeon.