Ms. Hardt has significant experience representing mutual funds and their boards of directors, money managers, broker-dealers, banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions in connection with investment company, investment adviser, broker-dealer and insurance product matters, including securities, regulatory, product design and transaction counseling.

Ms. Hardt counsels boards of directors of investment companies, and in particular independent directors, on their special responsibilities.

Ms. Hardt was selected for inclusion in Illinois Rising Stars by Law & Politics (which names the top 2.5 percent of lawyers 40 years old or younger or who have been practicing for 10 years or less in each state as chosen by their peers and through the independent research of Law & Politics). She has been recognized as a leading attorney by the Legal 500 United States guide in the Mutual/Registered Funds category since 2014. From 2016 to 2023, Ms. Hardt was selected by her peers as a Leading Lawyer in Securities & Finance Law. Since 2019, she was recognized by Chambers USA as a leading practitioner nationwide in the Investment Funds: Registered Funds practice area and by Chambers Global since 2021.

Ms. Hardt is a frequent speaker on investment management issues. She is co-author of two chapters on investment company advisory contracts published in Mutual Fund Regulation, and she is the former co-editor of the Investment Services group’s monthly Regulatory Update.

Ms. Hardt is a member of the Chicago Bar Association, for which she formerly served as Chair of the Investment Company Subcommittee.