Fred R. Wagner

Chief Counsel, Federal Highway Administration

Fred Wagner was sworn in as Chief Counsel for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on January 18, 2011. In that role, he oversees the legal counsel provided to the FHWA from a staff of nearly 60 attorneys and paralegals in Washington, D.C. and several regional field offices around the country. He also helps coordinate Department of Transportation legal and policy initiatives that impact FHWA.

Prior to joining FHWA, Mr. Wagner was a shareholder at the law firm Beveridge & Diamond, P.C., where he served as Chair of the firm's Land Use Practice Group. In the 19 years he spent in private practice, Mr. Wagner focused on all aspects of federal environmental and natural resources law, concentrating specifically on statutory programs and regulations impacting development on public lands or proposals for development requiring federal permits or approval. In the transportation sector, Mr. Wagner represented several State Departments of Transportation, as well as a major metropolitan planning organization association.

At the start of his legal career, Mr. Wagner served as a Trial Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, Environment Division. At Justice, Mr. Wagner represented many different federal agencies in litigation challenging government compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and other major natural resources programs. He also served as a Special Assistant Attorney General in the District of Columbia's U.S. Attorney's Office, prosecuting criminal cases in District of Columbia Superior Court.

Mr. Wagner is an active member of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), serving on the Environmental Law in Transportation Committee, the Legal Resources Executive Board and the Special Task Force on Climate Change. He is a frequent lecturer on transportation and natural resources law at TRB and on all aspects of environmental and land use law before other organizations such as the American Bar Association Environmental Law Section, the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation and various energy and mineral development trade associations.

Mr. Wagner earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1987 and his B.A. from Tufts University in 1984. He is married to Mary Wagner and has two children, David and Sarah.