M. Kimberly Stagg

Of Counsel and Automotive and Autonomous Vehicles Practice Group Chair

M. Kimberly Stagg, Of Counsel in Dickinson Wright’s Nashville office, focuses her practice on automotive distressed supplier and contract negotiations. Kim has significant experience in preparing and negotiating production and non-production purchasing contracts, managing disputes under those contracts and addressing distressed supplier issues that are unique to just-in-time supply chain situations. She also is active in supporting certified minority businesses through formation and the certification process. Kim has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America since 2020 for work in bankruptcy and creditor-debtor rights.

Education & Credentials

Education

University of Tennessee

B.S.B.A., 1987

With Highest Honors

University of Tennessee College of Law

J.D., 1994

Order of the Coif
Managing Editor, Tennessee Law Review

Bar Admission

Tennessee
Mississippi

Acknowledgements

Best Lawyers in America®
- Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, 2020-2025
- Commercial Litigation, 2024-2025
ALM’s
- Women Leaders in the Law, 2015
Tennessee Bar Association
- Justice Joseph W. Henry Award for Outstanding Legal Writing, 2014
TriState Minority Supplier Development Council
- Impact of the Year Award, 2014
Nashville Bar Foundation
- Fellow
Nissan Chairman's Award
- Honorable Mention

Representative Clients

Local, national and international companies

Prominent Assignments

Providing Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) counsel to a global consulting firm for a variety of joint ventures.

Counsel to numerous manufacturing companies in addressing and finding practical solutions to legal and business issues, from corporate, commercial, real property, troubled customer and supplier, and bankruptcy litigation, to general business matters.

Significant experience in production and non-production purchasing contracts from drafting and negotiation to dispute resolution. Contract experience includes all aspects of manufacturing operations and related joint ventures, outsourcing projects, and supply chain and logistics matters.

Counsel to various companies, members, owners, and shareholders involved in start-ups, acquisitions, divestitures or out-of-court restructuring efforts.

Counsel to financial institutions and closely-held real estate development companies in connection with general litigation and bankruptcy matters in Tennessee.

Representations in Bankruptcy Courts include counsel to Original Equipment Manufacturer in various North American supplier and bankruptcy matters, including Noble International, Ltd. (E.D. of Mich.), Contech U.S., LLC (E.D. of Mich.), Fluid Routing Solutions Intermediate Holding Corp. (Delaware), Imagepoint, Inc. (E.D. of Tennessee), and counsel to various Tier 1 automotive suppliers regarding preparations for GM bankruptcy filing and defending various bankruptcy matters.

In-house lead attorney at Nissan North America, Inc. for numerous significant transactions and regulatory and litigation matters, including international and domestic strategic planning projects, contract negotiations and settlements, bankruptcy and out-of-court workout matters, corporate divestitures, outsourcing arrangements, minority joint ventures, environmental matters, corporate compliance matters, real property transactions, state incentive negotiations, and aviation matters. Founding member of Nissan's cross functional team implemented to respond strategically and proactively to automotive industry restructuring activities.

Professional Involvement

Nashville and Tennessee Bar Associations
Mississippi Bar Association
Hearing Committee Member, District V, Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee (2010-2015)
Turnaround Management Association, Tennessee Chapter, Board of Directors (2010-2018), Program Chair (2011)
American Bankruptcy Institute, Member

Community Involvement

TriState Minority Supplier Development Council, Certification Committee (2010-Present), Board of Directors (2011-Present)
Southern Automotive Women's Forum, Board of Directors (2013-2015), Scholarship Committee Chair (2011)
Tennessee Delegate, 34th and 33rd Annual Joint Meetings of the Southeast U.S./Japan and the Japan/U.S. Southeast Associations, Nashville, Tennessee & Tokyo, Japan (2010 & 2009)
American Red Cross, Nashville Chapter, Board of Directors (2006-2009), Executive Committee Member and Audit Committee Chair (2007-2008)
Member, volunteer and supporter of various professional and community associations

Experience

Nissan North America, Inc., In-House Counsel, 2001-2009
Law clerk to the Hon. Aleta A. Trauger, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, 1996-1998
Law clerk to the Hon. Richard C. Stair, Chief Judge, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, 1994-1996
E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., Finance Function Field Program in auditing, biomedical manufacturing cost accounting, and international tax, Delaware & Massachusetts, 1987-1991
Certified Public Accountant (Delaware), May 1989-1991

Publications/Presentations

Author, “Right-to-Repair Orders Issued by Federal Trade Commission", Dickinson Wright Client Alert, Nov 2022
Speaker, The Automotive Industry & Lessons from the COVID Crisis, Turnaround Management Association (Tennessee Chapter), April 2021
Co-Author, "Managing Uncertainty Through Financial Crisis Requires Proactive Guidance," Dickinson Wright Client Alert, March 2020
Co-Author, “A Tale of Two Industries and the Bankruptcy Code,” American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, August 2016
Author, “Legal Considerations for Manufacturing Contracts,” AME Target Online, April 2016
Speaker, Going Global & Developing Cross-Border Strategic Relationships, Great Lakes Women’s Business Conference, September 2015
Co-author, "Beware the Email Account: Protecting Attorney-Client Communications," Computer and Internet Lawyer, Vol. 31, No.4, at 1 (CCH Inc. Apr. 2014)
Co-author, "Legal Corner: E-mail Troubles-- Can Your Company's Handbook Help You in Employment Litigation?," Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA) News, January 2014
Co-author, "We Know . . . You’ve Got Mail: Attorneys Face Challenges in Protecting Client Communications in the Age of Email," Tennessee Bar Journal, December 2013
Speaker, Legal Strategies, Supplier Trends and Supply Chain Issues, Original Equipment Suppliers Association Regional Meeting, June 2013
Speaker, Purchasing Pitfalls, Tennessee Automotive Manufacturers Association, June 2013
Speaker, Performance-based SOWs and Contract Success, Association for Operations Management, Middle Tennessee Chapter, October 2012
Speaker, NMSDC Certification: Its Value and Benefits, Tennessee Minority Supplier Development Council Marketplace of Opportunities, August 2012
Moderator, Roundtable Presentation, Original Equipment Suppliers Association Regional Meeting, May 2010
Panel Speaker, Mid-South Commercial Law Institute, December 2009
Panel Speaker, Vanderbilt Law School, Winter Symposium, 2008
Speaker, In-House Contract Principles and Purchasing Training, Nissan North America, Inc., 2001-2009
Author, "Sixth Circuit Review, Norton Bankruptcy Law Adviser," March 1998
Author, "You Are Ruined by the Company You Keep, Vicarious Liability and § 523(a)," Norton Bankruptcy Law Adviser, February 1997