Legal News

Nahai joins Lewis Brisbois in L.A.

By Richard Binder

Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard & Smith has announced that H. David Nahai will be joining the firm as a partner in their Los Angeles office. He will co-chair the firm?s energy, environmental and water practice and real estate practice.

A well-recognized environmental leader, David Nahai has three decades of experience representing public and private companies in complex real estate, energy, water and environmental matters. He is the former Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the former President of the LADWP Board of Commissioners, and the former Chair of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board). Mr. Nahai was appointed by Mayor Villaraigosa to the LADWP and served in the administrations of Governors Wilson, Davis, and Schwarzenegger while on the Regional Board.

Mr. Nahai led the overall transformation of the LADWP including the unprecedented expansion of the utility's renewable energy portfolio; the origination and execution of the City's groundbreaking Water Supply Plan; the attainment of historic reductions in water consumption in the City; the realization of record-breaking energy efficiency levels; and the launch and implementation of water and power infrastructure improvement programs. Under his leadership, the LADWP increased its renewable energy portfolio from 3 percent in 2005 to around 15 percent by the end of 2009.

Mr. Nahai is also widely recognized as a leading expert on water issues. He served for over 10 years on the Regional Board, including an unprecedented four terms as its chairman. He is credited with reinvigorating the effectiveness of the Regional Board and spearheading some of its most aggressive programs, especially in the area of coastal protection.

He holds graduate and post-graduate degrees in law from the London School of Economics and the University of California at Berkeley, and was a Visiting Scholar at Berkeley. He will continue to maintain his consulting practice under his company, David Nahai Consulting Services, LLC, and will remain a Senior Advisor to the Clinton Climate Initiative.

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on September 28, 2010 (boomark / email).