Natalie Hausknecht is an associate attorney in the Denver office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where she practices in the firm’s litigation department. She is a commercial litigator with experience in high-exposure representation of major technology companies, global energy leaders, and corporate executives. Her experience also has included handling sensitive government and white collar investigations. Ms. Hausknecht received a 2021 Best Lawyers: Ones To Watch recognition for Energy Law. She was also named an Up and Coming Lawyer by Law Week Colorado in 2020.

For nearly two decades, Ms. Hausknecht has advised global government and business leaders in high-stakes situations during which she has built a reputation for sound judgment and creativity. Since becoming an attorney, Ms. Hausknecht has represented clients in several important litigation, investigative, and appellate matters, including:

• Critical labor and employment classification disputes for gig economy companies, including defeating several preliminary injunction motions seeking the immediate reclassification of independent workers as employees and securing dismissal of multiple putative class action complaints
• A broad-ranging SEC investigation into the actions of a Board of Directors and several executives that resulted in no prosecutorial action
• An FCPA investigation concerning business contracts in Latin America
• Complex trade secret and consumer protection litigation in federal court
• Advice to energy companies on a range of local, state, and federal regulatory matters
• Multiple extensive Federal Trade Commission investigations for large technology companies—none of which have resulted in any action by the Commission.
• An unanimous reversal and a remand to the Board of Immigration Appeals from the Seventh Circuit in a pro bono immigration appeal: Ruderman v. Whitaker, 914 F.3d 567 (7th Cir. 2019)

Ms. Hausknecht earned her law degree from Yale Law School. During law school, she served as an advocate for children in abuse and neglect proceedings, including in hearings and trials. She received the Florence M. Kelley Family Law Prize in recognition of her outstanding courtroom advocacy work.

Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Hausknecht clerked for the Honorable Thomas B. Griffith of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the Honorable James E. Boasberg of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Ms. Hausknecht is also an international security and development expert with broad experience throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Before attending law school, she worked as a Senior Special Advisor to President of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq for almost a decade. She won a Marshall Scholarship during this time and earned her Doctorate in International Relations from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and her Masters of Science with honors from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.

Ms. Hausknecht also graduated summa cum laude from American University with a B.A. in International Service. She was recognized as the Outstanding Academic in her class at American, where she also won several other awards, including a 2002 Boren National Security Scholarship.

Ms. Hausknecht is a member of the State Bar of Colorado.