Natalie Hardwick Rao > Latham & Watkins LLP > Houston, United States > Lawyer Profile
Latham & Watkins LLP Offices

811 MAIN STREET, SUITE 3700
HOUSTON, TX 77002
TEXAS
United States
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Natalie Hardwick Rao

Position
Natalie Hardwick Rao represents clients in high-stakes white collar investigations and criminal defense matters across a number of regulatory regimes, including government-facing and internal corporate investigations, and congressional inquiries.
Natalie approaches each matter with fact-finding prowess and forward-thinking strategy to defend individuals and leading corporations in investigations involving the Department of Justice (DOJ), congressional committees, and other government agencies.
She leverages her experience as a former military analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency to advise clients on these matters, while identifying risk and developing strategies to achieve successful resolutions.
Natalie also counsels large companies across multiple industries on compliance with anti-corruption laws, including developing, implementing, and enhancing corporate compliance programs. She also frequently advises clients in connection with cross-border M&A and capital markets transactions, including pre-acquisition due diligence.
Natalie maintains an active pro bono practice, including securing federal sentencing relief for Cory Maples, an Alabama death row inmate whose original lawyers abandoned him, as part of the team that received the firm’s 2022 Robert M. Dell Prize for Extraordinary Pro Bono Service.
She formerly served as a member of the firm’s Training & Career Enhancement (TACE) Committee, which develops and oversees in-house training and mentoring programs for associates.
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Insurance > Advice to policyholders
- Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: global offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings
- Antitrust > Cartel
- International trade and national security > CFIUS
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- Finance > Commercial lending
- Intellectual property > Copyright
- Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection)
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Energy > Energy transactions: electric power
- Energy > Energy transactions: oil and gas
- Environment > Environment: litigation
- Environment > Environment: regulatory
- Environment > Environment: transactional
- Finance > Fintech
- Real estate > Land use/zoning
- Environment > Environment: regulatory
- Dispute resolution > Financial services litigation
- Environment > Environment: regulatory
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- Healthcare > Life sciences
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: litigation
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: transactional
- Antitrust > Merger control
- Environment > Environment: regulatory
- Environment > Environment: regulatory
- Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (International Trade Commission)
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: toxic tort
- Finance > Project finance
- Real estate > Real estate
- Real estate > Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
- Energy > Renewable/alternative power
- Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Industry focus > Sport
- Finance > Structured finance: derivatives and structured products
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: regulatory
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: transactions
- Intellectual property > Trade secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters)
- Tax > US taxes: contentious
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
Firm Rankings
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Corporate governance
- International trade and national security > Customs, export controls and economic sanctions
- Energy > Energy regulation: electric power
- Energy > Energy regulation: oil and gas
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Government > Government contracts
- Insurance > Insurance: non-contentious
- Dispute resolution > International litigation
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Healthcare > Service providers
- Finance > Structured finance: securitization
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Venture capital and emerging companies
- Dispute resolution > Financial services litigation
- Healthcare > Health insurers
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: litigation
- Finance > Financial services regulation
- Dispute resolution > Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal)
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Shareholder activism