Dan Hirschman

Dan Hirschman was named General Counsel for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in January 2025, bringing decades of experience as an environmental lawyer representing state, federal, and private entities. Hirschman is the chief legal officer for DEQ, acting as the service agent and initial point of contact for all litigation involving the Department. He supervises the rulemaking coordination process and provides advice and counsel to the Secretary, senior leadership and staff on policy initiatives, legislation, contracts and grants, human resources matters, conflicts of interest, and dispute resolution.

Before joining DEQ, Hirschman served for nearly 18 years in the North Carolina Department of Justice where he most recently held the position of Senior Deputy Attorney General for the Environmental Division under then-Attorney General Josh Stein. From 2002 until returning home to North Carolina in 2007, Hirschman served as an Attorney-Advisor in the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of the Solicitor where his practice focused on environmental and natural resources issues on Indian lands. Prior to his government practice, Hirschman primarily represented nongovernmental organizations in the private sector.

Hirschman holds a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources from Cornell University and he received his law degree from Vermont Law School. He is a native of Gastonia, North Carolina, and now resides in the Triangle.