Annette L. Hayes named acting U.S. attorney for Western Washington

SEATTLE -- Annette L. Hayes, the second-in-command at the U.S. Attorney's Office for Western Washington, was named the acting U.S. attorney Wednesday to replace Jenny Durkan, who stepped down Tuesday.

Hayes will serve as acting U.S. attorney pending the president's nomination and Senate confirmation of a permanent U.S. attorney for Western Washington.

Hayes has served as the first assistant U.S. attorney since 2010.  In that role, the office said, she has been second-in-command of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and a key leader in both criminal and civil litigation in the office.

Hayes joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 1997 as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Criminal Division. She was assigned to prosecute a range of drug cases ,including large-scale, international trafficking and cartel related cases.

In 2002, she became the deputy supervisor of the Complex Crimes Unit, where she prosecuted cyber hacking and intellectual property cases while working with law enforcement on outreach to the private sector.

In 2005, she became one of the supervisors of the General Crimes Unit, where she worked closely with and trained many new attorneys on a range of federal crimes, including child exploitation, drug, fraud, identity theft, immigration and violent crimes cases.

Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Hayes spent her first six years as a lawyer handling a variety of civil litigation matters at law firms in Seattle and Washington, D.C.

She is a graduate of Cornell Law School and Williams College.