Interview: Derrick Braaten, partner, Baumstark Braaten Law Partners, Bismarck, ND
Braaten moved to North Dakota to work with Sarah Vogel Law Partners, now Baumstark Braaten, in August of 2007. Prior to entering the legal profession, he worked with the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture for two years, and has been very active working with sustainable agriculture and local food systems advocacy.
Braaten began his legal career working for Larry Leventhal, the renowned civil rights and American Indian law attorney, and member of the legal defense team for the founders of AIM following the Wounded Knee II standoff. During this time, he also served as an editor for the Journal of Law and Inequality at the University of Minnesota Law School. In recent years, Braaten has been involved as a volunteer and board member for several organizations in Minnesota and North Dakota working on agricultural issues, ranging from serving as President of the local open-air market in Bismarck called Urban Harvest to serving as a board member for Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society.
Braaten’s practice has always centered on providing legal services to family farmers and ranchers. Although his practice has historically focused on agricultural and tribal law, his focus in recent years has been oil and gas work on behalf of mineral owners and surface owners.
Braaten handles many matters in this area, ranging from negotiating oil and gas leases and surface agreements to complex multi-jurisdictional litigation against large oil and gas exploration and production companies. He continues to maintain a significant agricultural law practice as well, handling matters such as crop insurance arbitrations, NAD appeals, elevator insolvency actions, and other complex litigation.
In this interview, host Jason Spiess and Braaten talk about how the practice of eminent domain is increasingly being abused in North Dakota. Braaten opines about what he believes should happen with eminent domain laws and compares it to Wyoming’s current law. Pipeline companies and he Western Area Water Supply Authority’s use of eminent domain is discussed as well.
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