We are pleased to announce that BRIAN HAYES has joined as a partner in our Chicago office.
Mr. Hayes is a litigation attorney and the leader of the firm's Midwest White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice. Drawing on his years of leadership in law enforcement and experience as an FBI special agent, Mr. Hayes's practice will focus on advising organizations and individuals responding to government investigations, conducting internal investigations, providing guidance on regulatory compliance and complex civil litigation. Mr. Hayes has extensive experience in criminal and regulatory investigations, securities and commodities fraud, healthcare fraud, Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and money laundering violations, and cybercrimes.
Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Hayes served at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois beginning in 2003. During his tenure in the U.S. Attorney's Office, Mr. Hayes held a variety of leadership roles, including chief of the Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Section and chief of the General Crimes Section. In 2016, Mr. Hayes was promoted to chief of the Criminal Division, where he supervised 120 assistant U.S. attorneys in criminal prosecutions involving public corruption and organized crime, securities and commodities fraud, financial crimes, and national security and cybercrimes. Among them were some of the most significant, complicated and high-profile prosecutions brought by the office.
Prior to joining the U.S. attorney's office, Mr. Hayes worked as a FBI special agent and served as an associate general counsel for the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
"Brian is highly regarded in the Chicago legal community, with a reputation as both a skilled prosecutor and a dynamic leader," said David Wirt, executive partner of Holland & Knight's Chicago office. "He is the ideal lawyer to build a team in Chicago that will anchor our Midwest White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice."
Mr. Hayes earned his J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law and his B.A. from San Jose State University.