Brownstein Names New Natural Resources and Corporate & Business Department Chairs

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck is pleased to announce two leadership elevations. Effective Jan. 1, 2023, Brad Herrema, a shareholder in the firm’s Los Angeles office, is chair of the Natural Resources Department. Jay Spader, a shareholder in the firm’s Denver office, is chair of the Corporate & Business Department.

“Brad and Jay are highly respected members of the firm and have been instrumental in contributing to the growth and evolution of the firm,” said Rich Benenson, Brownstein’s managing partner. “I look forward to working with both of them as we continue to advance our strategic plan.”

Herrema is a longtime member of the firm’s Natural Resources Department, having joined Brownstein in 2003, and has played a leading role with the firm’s Water Group. Herrema serves as special water counsel to private corporations, private equity funds, renewable energy developers, water purveyors, resorts and golf courses, mining companies, investor-owned utilities and landowners developing innovative strategies to address issues such as water supply planning, water right permitting and adjudications, and environmental concerns. A trailblazer in groundwater matters, Herrema serves as general counsel to the Chino Basin Watermaster, which oversees the implementation of a four-decade- old groundwater right adjudication in the Southern California Inland Empire. 

Spader has been an integral part of the firm’s Corporate & Business Department for a decade. He represents both lenders and borrowers in a wide range of complex financing transactions with an emphasis on private equity-backed leveraged buyouts. He has been recognized by Chambers USA as a “Notable Practitioner” in the Banking & Finance category and was recently awarded the firm’s 2022 Shareholder Mentor of the Year Award. Since joining the firm, he has led the growth of Brownstein’s Corporate Finance practice, which has been recognized by Chambers USA as a “Band 1” practice for Banking & Finance in Colorado.