Dana S. Hardy
Senior Managing Partner
Areas of Practice
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Natural Resources
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Utilities
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Administrative Law
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Appeals
Overview
Dana S. Hardy is a founder and the Senior Managing Partner of Hardy McLean LLC.
Ms. Hardy’s experience includes the representation of energy companies, oil and gas operators, investor-owned utilities, investment management companies, private equity firms, and multi-national corporations. She represents oil and gas operators in proceedings before the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division, New Mexico Oil Conservation Commission, and New Mexico State Land Office, including with respect to compliance matters, compulsory pooling, unitization, and approvals of vertical and horizontal, salt water disposal, and acid gas injection wells.
She also has extensive experience representing clients in public utility commission proceedings (rate cases, certificates of public convenience and necessity, location approvals, regulatory compliance), district court litigation, appeals, and administrative proceedings.
Over her two-decade legal career, Ms. Hardy has successfully practiced before the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division and Commission, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, the United States District Court, and all levels of the Courts of New Mexico, including the New Mexico Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.
Ms. Hardy is a native of New Mexico and a second-generation Santa Fean. When she isn’t in the office, Ms. Hardy enjoys spending time with her family and is often found embracing the outdoors while skiing or hiking.
Professional Details
Ms. Hardy’s peers have recognized her as a Southwest Super Lawyer in Energy and Natural Resources, and she is rated as an AV Preeminent attorney by Martindale-Hubbell.
In 2023, Business Today named Ms. Hardy as a "Top 10 Influential New Mexico Attorney Transforming Natural Resources and Environmental Law".
Ms. Hardy has served as a board member of the Appellate Practice Section of the State Bar of New Mexico and was selected to lead the group as chair in 2018.
She is a member of the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law, the New Mexico State Bar, and the First Judicial District Bar Association, where between 2004 and 2007, Ms. Hardy served on the Board of Directors and ultimately as the board’s President.
She obtained her Juris Doctorate, magna cum laude, from the University of New Mexico and while in law school was Editor in Chief of the New Mexico Law Review, publishing the casenote Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District – The Supreme Court Determines the Standard of Liability Under Title IX. Ms. Hardy also served as a mentor for new attorneys through the New Mexico State Bar Association’s mentoring program.
Education and Professional Associations
Education
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University of New Mexico School of Law, Albuquerque, New Mexico
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J.D. magna cum laude – 2000
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Colorado State University
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B.A. magna cum laude – 1996
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Professional Associations and Memberships
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New Mexico State Bar Association
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First Judicial District Bar Association, Board of Directors, 2004 – 2007
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New Mexico Women’s Bar Association, Board of Directors, 2002 – 2003
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New Mexico’s State Bar Membership Services Committee Board of Directors, 2007 – 2011
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New Mexico State Bar Appellate Practice Section Board of Directors, 2016-2019
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New Mexico State Bar Association Bridge the Gap Mentor
Representative Matters
Ms. Hardy has represented clients such as Southwestern Public Service Company and Xcel Energy in both regulatory proceedings and appeals, and in 2017 participated in the successful approval of the largest wind generation facility in the State of New Mexico.
Ms. Hardy has prevailed in appellate proceedings before the New Mexico Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, with notable opinions that include Attorney General v. N.M. Public Regulation Commission, 359 P.3d 133 (N.M. 2015), Baker v. Hedstrom, 309 P.3d 1047 (N.M. 2013), Montano v. Frezza, 393 P.3d 700 (N.M. 2017), and Cahn v. Berryman, 408 P.3d 1012 (N.M. 2017).
