Krista Hanvey is Co-Chair of Gibson Dunn’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice Group and Co-Partner in Charge of the firm’s Dallas office. She counsels clients of all sizes across all industries using a multi-disciplinary approach to compensation and benefits matters that crosses tax, securities, labor, accounting and traditional employee benefits legal requirements. Krista has significant experience with all aspects of executive compensation, health and welfare benefit plan, and retirement plan compliance, planning, and transactional support. She also oversees the Dallas office’s pro bono adoption program.
Krista offers broad expertise on executive compensation securities disclosure requirements and all types of public and private equity compensation and employee stock purchase plans; 401(k), ESOP and 403(b) tax-qualified retirement and nonqualified deferred compensation plans; executive employment, severance, retention, change in control and non-compete agreements; performance bonus, sales commission and other incentive pay plans; and retiree medical, cafeteria and other welfare benefit plans. She regularly advises clients on the requirements of and compliance with SEC disclosure requirements, tax laws, ERISA, HIPAA, COBRA and, the Affordable Care Act.
Krista is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers USA in the area of Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation with clients describing her as “a one-stop shop” and “technically strong, enabling her to not only relay applicable rules in an easy-to-understand format but to also come up with creative and practical solutions when necessary.” She was selected as one of the Texas Diversity Council’s Top Women Lawyer Award Winners and has been ranked multiple years by Lawdragon500 as one of the nation’s Leading Corporate Employment Lawyers. Krista has also been named by the Dallas Business Journal to its 40 Under 40 list of “next-generation North Texas leaders” for 2025, named by Bloomberg Law's “They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40” list for 2025, and was elected to the Texas Bar Foundation Fellows.
Krista graduated first in her class from William and Mary School of Law, where she served as senior articles editor of the William & Mary Law Review. Krista earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with highest honors in Government from The University of Texas at Austin.
Representative Experience
- Regularly advises numerous Fortune 500 companies and their boards of directors on management transitions and SEC disclosure requirements
- Advised SpaceX on its groundbreaking initial public offering and dual listing on Nasdaq and Nasdaq Texas
- Advised on Pioneer Natural Resources on its $60 billion business combination with ExxonMobil
- Advised CenterOak Partners LLC, a Dallas-based private equity firm, in its acquisitions and divestitures of numerous businesses, including Cascade Windows, Wetzels Pretzels, Aakash Chemicals, Full-Speed Automotive, TruRoad, Turf Masters, Entomo Brands, Village Green, SurfacePrep, HK Solutions Group, Guardian Access, Hometown Services, CollisionRight, Service Champions, Shamrock Environmental and Solid Ground Solutions
- Advised SM Energy Company on its definitive, all-stock merger agreement with Civitas Resources
- Advised AT&T on its joint venture with BlackRock to construct and operate a fiber network across the United States and on its $5.75 billion acquisition of substantially all of Lumen’s Mass Markets fiber business
- Advised Coterra Energy on its $58 billion all-stock merger agreement with Devon Energy, a leading oil and gas producer
- Advised Calumet Specialty Products Partners, a provider of specialty branded products and renewable fuels, on its corporate transition to a new Delaware corporation
- Advised ExxonMobil with its redomestication to Texas
- Advised ERock, Inc, a provider of natural gas power systems to data centers, utilities and large businesses, on its initial public offering
Recent Publications and Speaking Engagements
- “Executive Compensation Disclosure Handbook: A Practical Guide to the SEC’s Executive Compensation Disclosure Rules,” Donnelley, Updated February 2023 (co-author with Elizabeth A. Ising, Geoff Walter, Gina Hancock, James Kroll, Heather Marshall)
- “Pay Ratio Disclosures” chapter in A Practice Guide to SEC and Proxy Compensation Rules (co-author with Lilias Lee)
- Texas Emp Law Summit: Transforming Benefits and Compensation: Compliance Strategies for the Evolving Legal Landscape (September 2024)
- “How Do the Controlled Group Rules Apply to Private Equity Funds?,” Benefits Law Journal, Autumn 2013 (co-author with Michael J. Collins)
Capabilities
- Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Securities Regulation and Corporate Governance
Credentials
Education:
- College of William & Mary - 2009 Juris Doctor
- University of Texas - 2006 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
- Texas Bar