Stephanie Kaiser, a litigator based in Dickinson Wright’s Austin office, provides guidance to her clients on a wide variety of business and legal challenges. Her detail-oriented yet practical approach to identifying and addressing enterprise risk makes her a particularly skilled problem solver, both in and out of the courtroom.
Through her representation of clients in bet-the-company or high-profile cases, Stephanie has built a reputation for successfully handling matters ranging from fraud, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duties, wrongful death, workplace disputes and personnel matters to unfair competition, intellectual property infringement cases, Lanham Act allegations, and lease disputes.
Though her practice is focused largely on litigation, Stephanie’s experience encompasses transactional, real estate, corporate governance, administrative/regulatory, healthcare, and insurance matters. Her clients, which include businesses, corporate executives, and boards of directors across multiple industries, including financial services, general and tower construction, telecommunications, healthcare, security systems and equipment, real estate, and energy, appreciate her sharp eye and wide-ranging perspective.
Stephanie has gained particular experience representing creditors in a variety of troubled commercial loan and consumer finance disputes. She has handled matters related to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and Equal Credit Opportunity Act, as well as those related to consumer protection laws, the Dodd–Frank Act, and potential regulatory enforcement actions.
She routinely works with clients to develop policies and procedures, perform internal reviews and investigations, advise and respond to audits and examinations, and provide training and consulting to all levels within the organization. Her clients seek her guidance in connection with distressed assets, special assets, and restructurings, and she develops custom loans, participation agreements, and loan syndication documentation. Additionally, Stephanie advises on general compliance matters, mergers and acquisitions, and post-merger activity.
Outside of her skills in the area of litigation, Stephanie’s clients view her as a trusted business advisor, often asking her to serve as outside general counsel to develop comprehensive legal strategies that address multiple interconnected and complex legal issues. She regularly serves as a consultant and legal advisor to boards of directors and management members on matters concerning corporate governance matters, including bylaws, committee formation, charters, policies, fiduciary duties, and management-board relationships.
Education & Credentials
Education
University of Texas Law School
J.D.Texas Christian University
B.A.- summa cum laude
Bar Admission
Acknowledgements
- Chambers USA, America's Leading Lawyers for Business
- General Commercial Litigation, 2022-2024
- Austin Monthly Magazine
- Top Austin Attorney, Commercial Litigation, 2019
- Fort Worth Magazine
- Top Attorney, 2012, 2016
- Fort Worth Business Press
- Top 40 Under 40, 2013
- Thomson Reuters' Texas
- Rising Star: Business Litigation, 2006-2012
Prominent Assignments
General Litigation & Administrative Law
- Represents clients in variety of litigation matters, including wrongful death, fraud, fraudulent transfer, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, conversion, Texas Theft Liability Act, Deceptive Trade Practices Consumer Protection Act (DTPA), Lanham Act and patent and trademark infringement.
- Represents clients in administrative and regulatory matters, including federal and state OSHA inspections, citations, and audits and banking examinations and external audits.
- Represents clients in negligence, gross negligence, shareholder derivative, and misappropriation of fiduciary property matters.
- Represented professional association in litigation, corporate, labor and employment, board, administrative, and regulatory matters.
- Represented various medical and dental practitioners in state board, administrative, and litigation matters.
- Represented real estate investment trust and other lessors in various lease agreement disputes involving real property located in Texas and Mexico.
- Represented religious organization in insurance coverage of sexual abuse allegations.
- Defeated claims of fraud and negligence on summary judgment.
- Represented various plaintiffs and defendants in insurance coverage disputes.
- Represented widow and child of man who was shot, abandoned and killed by employees of a Webb County ranch in obtaining favorable jury verdict, judgment, and settlement.
- Represented victim of negligent and excessive force by nightclub security guard in obtaining favorable jury verdict and judgment, including award of punitive damages that was affirmed by Third Court of Appeals.
- Represented alarm company in federal court against Lanham Act allegations.
- Obtained vacating of citation issued against the employer relating to workplace fatality.
- Obtained favorable settlement for tower construction company in defending against gross negligence allegations relating to deaths of two employees who fell from 300-foot tower.
- Obtained injunctive relief on behalf of daycare against state agency.
- Represented clients in connection with OSHA inspections, investigations, and citations.
Corporate Governance & Counseling
- Serves as standards of conduct official for clients and external compliance resource.
- Serves as a board consultant and as a consultant to management employees.
- Develops policy and procedure guidance, including Bylaws, charters, Board policies, and management procedures on conflicts of interest, fiduciary duties, standards of conduct, internal investigations and reviews, and Whistleblower programs and provides practical training on such areas and with regard to such guidance to all levels within the organization.
Lending, Troubled Debt, & Bankruptcy
- Represents various creditors and parties in distressed asset transactions and restructures, including the identification of distressed assets and non-interest earning (non-accrual) debts and options for returning such assets and debts to viability.
- Represents various creditors in bankruptcy court proceedings, including adversary proceedings involving preferences, fraudulent transfers and breaches of contracts, and involving contested confirmation and valuation proceedings. Also represents various creditors in state court proceedings to: recover monies owed, including obtaining writs of sequestration and possession of collateral; defend against collection efforts; and obtain injunctive and other relief.
- Represented creditor in obtaining dismissal of Chapter 11 bankruptcy case with prejudice for bad faith filing.
- Advised and trained clients on various litigation, bankruptcy, administrative, regulatory, labor and employment, and consumer law matters.
- Served as sole arbitrator and mediator in matter involving two financing institutions.
- Represented clients in handling special assets and resolving issues involving distressed debt.
- Represented creditor in seeking declaratory relief in multi-state dispute over real estate and non-judicial foreclosure.
- Advised clients and prepared documents on various financing projects, including syndication, participation and custom loans.
- Represented clients to recover assets in matter involving extensive Ponzi scheme.
Corporate and Corporate Finance
- Serves as outside general counsel to a number of clients in a variety of industries to provide overall guidance and management of legal affairs and related matters.
- Represents clients in custom loans, participation loans and agreements, loan syndications, and refinances and assignments, including considerations of agribusiness, private equity, and multi-party participants.
- Represents clients in corporate filing reviews and updating corporate filings to reflect goals of the company.
- Represents clients on mergers and acquisitions, franchise agreements and relationships, and initiating and responding to due diligence-related items
Consumer Finance Experience
- Advised clients on consumer laws, including Dodd–Frank Act and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and provided training on same.
- Defended cable company in federal court against Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Fair Credit Reporting Act class action case. Plaintiff dismissed complaint after motion to dismiss was filed on behalf of cable company.
Professional Involvement
- Robert W. Calvert American Inn of Court, Master
- Standards of Conduct Workgroup
- Data Privacy Workgroup
- Collateral Evaluation Workgroup
- Texas Bar Foundation, Fellow
Community Involvement
- Texas Christian University
- AddRan Board of Visitors
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committe, Member
- AddRan Board of Visitors
- St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, Member
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas
Publications/Presentations
- Data Privacy and Cybersecurity – from an Ethical and Practical Perspective
- Standards of Conduct, Fiduciary Duties, and Conflicts of Interest
- Borrower Rights and Distressed Debts
- Internal Investigations, Whistleblowers, and Criminal Referrals
- Workplace Considerations for the Telecommunications and Tower Industry