Meredith Hathorn, chair of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, will be passing the baton off to Warren "Bo" Daniels at the end of this month, capping off a two year stint on top of a storied four decade career in public finance and public service.
Hathorn served as vice chair under Chair Patrick Brett before she took the reins and over the last two years, has overseen the
"It has been an honor and a privilege," Hathorn said. "[Being chair] has just been so impactful in my practice, in my relationship with the MSRB. It's been a fantastic five year period."
When Hathorn took the reins two years ago, her stated goals were to highlight the strong value of being a self regulatory organization and continue to earn the public trust. "I think that by being transparent and accountable, that will go a long way in making the market feel that we are listening and hearing the diversity of our stakeholders," Hathorn said.
Stakeholder engagement is a key priority of any MSRB chair, as how the market responds to certain rule changes or fee proposals must play a role in how the board goes about implementing such changes. But with such drastic moves to shorten the settlement cycle and time of trade disclosures, the prospect of these proposals
"I would've loved to have had more time to make more progress and headway with respect to our stakeholder engagement," Hathorn said. "I wish we'd had more time because the dialogue was so constructive and it was really strengthening our relationships with stakeholders. I hope that they also thought that we were listening to them because I always thought that it had to be a two way street," she added. "I know the MSRB staff is totally committed to and dedicated to having stakeholder engagement like we started and I know it will be continued."
But aside from the big ticket regulatory items, she considers the many rule proposals being approved and put into place as a key achievement from her time as chair.
"One of the priorities that I had when I became chair was really looking at the continued modernization of the rule book," Hathorn said. "And I think that that remains something that I was very happy to see, that we did a lot with that modernization and retired a lot of interpretive guidance."
After graduating from Tulane University School of Law in 1983, where she was editor of The Maritime Lawyer and a senior fellow tasked with teaching legal research and writing to fellow students, she became an associate at Mudge Rose Guthrie & Alexander in New York City.
Two years later she joined Foley & Judell, where she has built her career over the last nearly forty years, eventually making her way up to managing partner where she now sits.
"I have been juggling two full-time jobs and it was a lot of work but totally enjoyable and I loved every minute of it," Hathorn said. "I feel that what we do here is so important and serving on the board really gave me the opportunity to see how these rules that we implement, how it really does affect broker-dealers and municipal advisors and everyone that we regulate and it's so important that we have a regime that is actually fair and that doesn't overburden people."
With Foley & Judell, Hathorn has been the point person and lead bond attorney for the State of Louisiana on most transportation and other specialized financings, and she has also served as bond counsel to the Port of New Orleans, the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority in addition to many 501(c)(3) financings for hospitals, universities and charter schools.
As well as her with the MSRB board, she has also served as chairman of the Government and Public Law Section of the Louisiana Bar Association, editor of the Government and Public Law Newsletter, served a four-year term on the board of directors for the National Association of Bond Lawyers, where she was Secretary of the Board, co-chair of the NABL Committee for The Functions and Professional Responsibilities of Bond Counsel, served on the NABL Committee that published the Model Engagement Letters, and was assigned to the NABL TIFIA Task Force. She is also currently chair of the MSRB Steering Committee.
She is also the immediate past president of the Louisiana Chapter of Women in Public Finance and was named a Bond Buyer Trailblazing Woman in Public Finance in 2021.
"I also think that my time at the MSRB has made me think again on how important this $4 trillion market is to everything that we do in our communities," Hathorn said. "Just drive around, it's roads, it's our time in traffic, it's hospitals, it's our schools, it's water, it's transportation, it's housing. I think the new board, the new board chair, the staff, are all so dedicated to thinking about our Congressional mandate and thinking about implementing our vision, which is giving America the confidence to invest in its communities. I think that's really very important."
