Houston lawyer Debra Gatison Hatter has moved on from her position as partner at Clark Hill Strasburger to a similar role at Norton Rose Fulbright.
Hatter, who focuses on corporate securities including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic partnerships, financings, corporate governance, structuring and compliance, told The Texas Lawbook that while she had been in discussions with Norton Rose Fulbright for the past three years, the prospect of making a shift during the pandemic was nonetheless daunting.
“It increasingly became clear to me that I shouldn’t let the pandemic stop me.”
— DEBRA GATISON HATTER
“The dialogue had already been underway,” said Hatter. “And so we just kind of continued the discussion. And it increasingly became clear to me that I shouldn’t let the pandemic stop me from doing that.”
Hatter represents private equity funds and public and private companies across the energy, technology, retail, healthcare and industrial services industries. She also counsels clients on premerger regulatory compliance and filings under the competition laws, including the Hart Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act, for both domestic and cross-border transactions.
“First and foremost, Debra is an outstanding lawyer,” said Jeff Cody, Norton Rose Fulbright’s U.S. managing partner. “She has advised clients on their most complex transactions for more than two decades. Debra is an ideal fit in our M&A group and Houston office, where we started our US practice more than a century ago. Debra is exactly the type of dynamic and accomplished lawyer clients expect from Norton Rose Fulbright.”
Though Hatter said she has seen an uptick in bankruptcies and worked on a number of distressed acquisitions over the summer, she has also seen a fair amount of capital raising, mainly by private companies looking to swoop in on more distressed assets.
Looking into 2021, she sees “a lot of optimism” in mergers and acquisitions.
“Those who have put things on hold, because they were concerned about either valuations, or they were concerned about what the market would actually do, seem to be hopeful, and that there were lots of plans for Q1 to be active. And that is a great sign to me.“
She added that there seems to be a tone of “cautious optimism” on the corporate compliance side ahead of the Biden administration being seated in January.
“People don’t really know what that will bring,” she said. “But I think from the legal standpoint, we’re going to be prepared for whatever happens.”
Hatter said the Norton Rose Fulbright’s global reach and commitment to diversity were what mainly attracted her to the firm.
She works with companies who are looking for acquisitions that may touch on other parts of the world as well as investors who may be investing internationally.
“I can see that continuing,” Hatter said. “And so having a platform where it was just easy to make those connections and to be able to service those needs and not have to refer it out. Which, to me, was attractive, and a way to move to another level in my practice.”
On the diversity front, Hatter, an African American woman, said that after speaking with the firm for a number of years, she believed its commitment to building diverse teams was strong.
“I don’t think that Norton Rose Fulbright is perfect, I don’t know that anyone is,” she said. “But I think that they’ve got, you know, we’ve got a real commitment to change and to make sure that we’re able to serve as clients, and provide the level of diverse offerings from the standpoint of our practice areas, and the types of companies and niche areas and all that, but also that the teams are diverse and inclusive.”