After earning a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, Britt Ide (JD ’99) began working for a consulting company doing energy analysis and policy work. As she listened to hearings with the Department of Energy and saw what lawyers were involved in on the policy side, Ide started considering a different career path.
“I was working on the Clinton Climate Change Action Plan and was fascinated with how energy and environmental aspects combined. We were doing the science, math and analysis for regulations, but the lawyers were bringing in the perspectives of fixed-income, retired people and the environmental benefits,” she recalls. “I became interested in policy and law at that point.”
A fifth-generation Montanan, Ide had worked summers with a professor at Montana State University in Bozeman and received a fellowship to complete her master’s degree in environmental engineering, where she studied policy, economics and statistics while preparing to apply for law school.
“The energy policy piece got me hooked on law school, and I fell in love with the University of Utah. The size wasn’t too big, it was in a beautiful place, and the faculty were great. One of my economics professors knew Bob Keiter, so I got to connect with him early on,” Ide says. “I loved the focus on environmental law, so Utah Law was a really good fit for me.”
With encouragement from Professor John Flynn, Ide clerked with alum Judge Stephen Anderson (JD ’60) of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Though they were based in Salt Lake City, she and Anderson would go to Denver every other month for hearings.
“Reading through all the trial transcripts and watching the appellate arguments, I got a better understanding of the legal system and appreciation for it. I had and still have no interest in ever doing criminal law, but watching those amazing U.S. public defenders gave me faith in our judicial system,” she explains. “It was a fabulous opportunity and also a great opportunity to work on my writing.”
During law school, Ide met a lawyer whose advice she continues to value today—and passes on to law students.
“He said, ‘A lawyer's product is your writing, so take as many seminars and classes as you can to work on your writing,’” she recalls. “That was so true, and the clerkship was lots of writing. It was also very quiet, and I realized quickly that I’m more of an extrovert and need more interaction.”
Ide then spent four years in-house with Boise Cascade as part of its program to hire lawyers out of clerkships.
“We rotated through litigation and securities and then learned the paper and wood business. It was cool to be trained as a business lawyer by really good lawyers in-house and see what worked or didn’t work for the mergers and systems,” she says. “That was a great experience.”
She worked as senior attorney for a short time at Albertsons, Inc., and then as an associate general counsel for Healthwise, a nonprofit whose mission was helping people make better health decisions. Then came an offer that allowed her to change course.
Recharging her batteries
“I got a call to work for the Idaho Power Company and go back to my roots with energy policy, and from there, I went out on my own,” Ide explains. “My kids were younger, and I saw a need for more collaboration across the different silos in the energy space.”
From that point, Ide began focusing on energy consulting instead of legal practice. The hardest part, she recalls, was letting her licenses expire in Utah and Idaho (though she does maintain her Montana Bar membership).
“You work so hard on those tests, and it was such a big thing. I took the Utah and Montana Bar exams in the same week, which was crazy,” she says. “I realized, though, that I loved what I was doing in energy consulting and didn’t want to follow that same legal path.”
Over the past 15 years, Ide has grown her consulting business, Ide Energy & Strategy, from working on the board of a small public company in Boise to leading boards at companies like Northwestern Energy (Nasdaq NWE), where she serves as chair of the nominating and governance committee.
“My work is rewarding, because it’s strategic and I use the skills I learned in law school,” she says. “Lawyers are taught to spot issues, which is great in the boardroom. You’re asking questions on all different aspects of the business.”
On an average day, Ide spends an hour or so coaching a client, often a woman looking for advice in her executive role. Later in the day, she might have a board call to discuss strategy for the year ahead. She occasionally has consulting calls with clients and investors learning more about the energy industry, and she spends time traveling to and preparing for board and committee meetings and dinners.
“All in all, it feels pretty balanced, which I'm really grateful for. I remember when I was a young lawyer and it was the cultural thing to say, ‘I'm really busy,’ because that meant you were successful or billing a lot of hours,” Ide says. “I’ve tried to stop saying that, because the phrase ‘busyness is not a badge of honor’ has stuck with me. There’s nothing wrong with being busy—but the important thing is not to be busy, but to do what you love. For me, it’s having an interesting career, spending time with my family, and getting out to hike. I’m grateful my ‘busy’ means making sure I have time to do that.”
In March 2025, Ide was included on BoardProspects’ “100 Leaders in the Boardroom” list. She is proud that her governance work has been recognized and that she helps companies through both good and bad times.
“I was honored to be part of that list and among a great group of leaders. When I graduated from law school, I definitely did not understand that you could have a portfolio career, where you can do a bit of everything—and that’s been so wonderful,” she says. “It gave me a lot of flexibility when raising my kids. It also keeps me learning new things, whether it’s consulting, executive coaching or serving on boards.”
Closing the circuit
Narrowing her skillset has also allowed Ide to dispel preconceptions about energy law. She recalls that some of her classmates were shocked when she took a job at Boise Cascade, a forestry and lumber company, because she was hyper-focused on environmental causes, including recycling, during law school.
“I remember thinking, ‘Who do you want to be in these companies: people who care about the environment, or people who don’t?’ There are a lot of resource extraction companies trying to do the right thing, and we all have phones and need the minerals used to make them. We can’t avoid everything,” Ide says. “If you have a passion for energy or the environment, take that passion and help companies be better. Try to be less polarized. Learn from all sides, ask questions, and understand different perspectives.”
She continues to be excited about both the scientific and environmental aspects of her field.
“Energy is our infrastructure and the backbone of our entire economy. As we talk more about data centers and have different ideas about renewables and nuclear and geothermal energy, it has become more interesting,” Ide notes. “Energy can have such a negative impact on the environment, but there are so many great ways to have a positive impact. I try not to reduce energy law to platitudes but instead to understand its complexities and help people do the right thing.”
Looking to the future, Ide wants to continue the variety of energy work she’s involved in and expand her board leadership throughout the world.
“There is more activity in climate solutions internationally right now than there is in the U.S., so I’m looking for an additional board that is challenging and interesting,” she says. “My hope is that we have a collaborative, innovative future and energy policy that helps us continue to grow our economy and protect the climate and environment we all love to recreate in.”