Board of Directors

David Hayes

David J. Hayes is a partner in Latham & Watkins’ Washington, D.C. office, where his practice focuses on environmental, energy and natural resources matters. Mr. Hayes has practiced in the field for more than twenty years, combining an extensive background in EPA-related regulatory matters (contaminated sites, chemical regulation, air and water pollution issues) with natural resource-related matters (water rights and allocation, endangered species act implementation, energy project permitting, land conservation projects, and Indian-related matters).

Mr. Hayes was the Deputy Secretary of the Interior during the second term of the Clinton Administration. As Deputy Secretary, he was the second highest ranking official at Interior, with responsibility over all of the Department’s bureaus and offices. While at Interior, Mr. Hayes played a lead role in many of the Department’s most difficult and important matters with a primary focus on the acquisition and protection of threatened lands (e.g. acquisition of the Headwaters old-growth redwood forest in Northern California); the restoration of threatened ecosystems (e.g. the Bay-Delta ecosystem restoration project in California); the introduction of modern water management approaches in the west (e.g. the Colorado River initiatives undertaken by the Administration); the negotiation of habitat conservation plans under the Endangered Species Act; energy-related issues associated with federal lands and resources (e.g. oil and gas development, hydropower licensing, etc.); and the settlement of long-standing Indian water and land disputes.

Prior to entering public service in early 1997, Mr. Hayes was a partner at Latham & Watkins specializing in environmental and natural resources matters. He has served in a variety of leadership positions in the environmental law field, including Chairman of the Board of the Environmental Law Institute, a nonprofit research and publication center for environmental law and management professionals. He currently serves as a Council member for the ABA’s Environment, Energy and Resources Section. Mr. Hayes is a frequent writer and speaker in the environmental and natural resources field.