DESCRIPTION

Chief Administrative Hearing Officer Bryan Nickels and Deputy Chief Administrative Hearing Officer Leslie Hayes will present this webinar about the newly-created Office of Administrative Hearings ("OAH").  The webinar will address the background and creation of OAH, the mandatory and permissive functions of OAH, the statutory duties of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer, the new Code of Conduct and other requirements for OAH Hearing Officers, and key future agency activities, including rule promulgation and hearing of DHW cases.

An application for 1.00 CLE hour has been submitted to the Idaho State Bar.

GUEST SPEAKERS

Bryan Nickels was appointed by Governor Brad Little to be the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer for the newly-created OAH on September 6, 2022. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Nickels was a partner and founding member of Scanlan, Griffiths, Aldridge + Nickels, a civil trial and litigation law firm in Boise, and has more than 20 years of experience in administrative, civil, and criminal law. Mr. Nickels was also a registered civil mediator prior to joining OAH. His areas of practice included civil litigation, criminal defense, mediation, medical indigency, judicial review actions in state district court, and appellate litigation. He is a member of the Richard C. Fields American Inn of Court No. 130, and a member of the Idaho Mediation Association and Idaho State Bar Association. Mr. Nickels received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Idaho before receiving his Juris Doctorate at Boston College Law School. Mr. Nickels has also previously served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Idaho, teaching civil litigation, as well as Boise State University, teaching business law.

Leslie Hayes, Deputy Chief Administrative Hearing Officer, joined the OAH on November 15, 2022. Prior to coming to the OAH, she spent ten years with the Office of the Attorney General in the Civil Litigation Division. During her time with the Office, she has handled administrative appeals in front of the Idaho Personnel Commission, the Idaho Board of Veterinary Medicine, the Idaho Lottery Commission, the Idaho Charter Commission, and many more. Prior to joining the Attorney General’s Office, Ms. Hayes worked in private practice in insurance defense and clerked for the Idaho Supreme Court. Ms. Hayes has represented clients in all Idaho state courts, the United States District Court for the District of Idaho, the Western District of Washington, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.

Ms. Hayes attended the University of Portland and Gonzaga University School of Law, graduating cum laude. She is active in the bar, volunteering to grade bar exams and serving as a member of the Appellate and Litigation Section Governing Council. She also sits on the Board of Directors for Idaho Women Lawyers, currently serving as the President of the Board. Ms. Hayes is the recipient of the Idaho State Bar’s Service Award and Idaho Business Reviews Women of the Year and Leaders in the Law Award.