Jake Hays is an associate at Goodwin Procter LLP in the firm’s Business Law Department and a member of its Technology and Life Sciences practice groups. His work focuses on general corporate representation, venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions, and public offerings. Mr. Hays counsels emerging growth companies in technology, life sciences, and clean tech at all stages of maturity, including formation, initial funding, expansion, and exit. He also serves as the Associate Chair of the New York Steering Committee for Goodwin’s Neighborhood Business Initiative (NBI), a program created to provide pro bono legal services to low-income entrepreneurs and small-business owners in underserved communities. Mr. Hays was designated a Pro Bono Star by Goodwin in 2017 and 2018 and has completed over 250 hours of pro bono service on a variety of matters in addition to his work with NBI, including the protection of endangered species (bird law) for the American Bird Conservancy and the prevention of wrongful convictions for the New England Innocence Project.

From 2011-2017, Mr. Hays served as the Director of the Environmental Health Program at PSE and as a Research Associate at Weill Cornell Medicine, where he worked on public health, environmental, and ethical issues surrounding unconventional oil and gas development. He has also worked on various environmental matters at Natural Resources Defense Council, Riverkeeper, and Environmental Defense Fund.

Mr. Hays received his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law, his M.A. in Environmental Ethics from the University of Montana, and his B.A. in Philosophy from Connecticut College. At Fordham, Mr. Hays was chosen as a Stein Scholar for his efforts in public service and received the Adele Monaco Memorial Award, the Archibald R. Murray Public Service Award, the Public Service Student Leadership Award and, upon graduating, became a member of the Order of the Coif.

Selected Publications:

  1. Garcia-Gonzales DA, Shonkoff SBC, Hays J, Jerrett, M. (2019) Hazardous Air Pollutants Associated with Upstream Oil and Natural Gas Development: A Critical Synthesis of Current Peer-Reviewed Literature. Annual Reviews of Public Health. 40:283-304.
  2. Hays, J, (2017) Feeling the Noise: Proposed Standards and Alternatives to Wind Energy Nuisance Litigation, 28 Fordham Environmental Law Review. 242.
  3. Hays J, McCawley M, Shonkoff SBC. (2017) Public health implications of environmental noise associated with unconventional oil and gas development. Science of the Total Environment. 512-513:36-42.
  4. Shonkoff SBC, Hays J, Hill LA, Krieger E, Hughes D, Hosang N, Law A. (2016) Trump: Renewables for Self-Sufficiency. Nature. 540:341.
  5. Hays J, Shonkoff SBC. (2016) Toward an Understanding of the Environmental and Public Health Impacts of Unconventional Natural Gas Development: A Categorical Assessment of the Peer-Reviewed Scientific Literature, 2009-2015. PLoS ONE. 11(4) e0154164.
  6. Hays J, Finkel ML, Depledge M, Law A, Shonkoff SBC. (2015) Considerations for the development of shale gas in the United Kingdom. Science of the Total Environment. 512-513:36-42.
  7. Finkel ML, Hays J, Law A. (2015) Unconventional natural gas development and human health: thoughts from the United States. Medical Journal of Australia. 203(7):294-96.
  8. Finkel ML, Hays J. (2015) Environmental and health impacts of ‘fracking’: why epidemiological studies are necessary. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. jech-2015-205487.
  9. Hays J, de Melo-Martín I. (2014) Ethical concerns surrounding unconventional oil and gas development and vulnerable populations. Reviews on Environmental Health. 29(4):275-76.
  10. Law A, Hays J, Shonkoff SB, Finkel ML. (2014) Public Health England’s draft report on shale gas extraction. British Medical Journal. 348:g2728.
  11. Shonkoff SB, Hays J, Finkel ML. (2014) Environmental Public Health Dimensions of Shale and Tight Gas Development. Environmental Health Perspectives. 122(8):787-95.
  12. de Melo-Martín I, Hays J, Finkel ML. (2014) The Role of Ethics in Shale Gas Policies. Science of the Total Environment. 470-471:1114-1119.
  13. Finkel ML, Hays J, Law A. (2013) The Shale Gas Boom and the Need for Rational Policy. American Journal of Public Health. 103(7):1161-63.
  14. Finkel ML, Hays J. (2013) The Implications of Unconventional Drilling for Natural Gas: A Global Public Health Concern. Public Health. 127(10):889-93.