Katie Stenberg

Partner, Board of Directors, Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP

Biography:

Banks, specialty lenders, healthcare companies and indenture trustees trust Katie Stenberg for representation in financial transactions, corporate reorganizations, bankruptcy proceedings and state and federal court litigation. Stenberg, a member of Waller’s board of directors, previously led the firm’s finance and restructuring practice. During her tenure, the firm served as counsel to indenture trustees in the two largest municipal bankruptcies in U.S. history – the City of Detroit and Jefferson County, Alabama. In 2016, Stenberg was honored as Banking Lawyer of the Year in the Women in Law Awards, and she has also been profiled as a “Female Powerbroker” by Law360. Katie is a key member of the team handling the Promise Healthcare Group bankruptcy, currently the largest healthcare bankruptcy in the country.

What advice would you offer to women just starting out in the industry?

Make yourself indispensable. Learn as much as you can, not just substantively, but also in terms of identifying what is most important/critical to the folks you work with or are working for.  Try to figure out what makes them “tick” – personally and as an organization.  That knowledge can help you stay ahead of issues and anticipate go-forward strategy and drive it instead of just being a participant.

Studies have shown women are more reluctant to tout their accomplishments in the workplace. What advice would you give to help women be more comfortable with speaking up?

Know that most, if not all, of the members of your “audience” will not have the same disposition.  They may have had very little opportunity to learn about you and/or your accomplishments, and if you don’t give them a basis for trust in their ability to rely on your advice/counsel/suggestions, you may face an uphill battle in getting the work done that needs to be done. 

What do you know now that you wish you knew in the beginning of your career?

I wish I had figured out sooner in my career that the list of truly fatal mistakes is quite small.  By far, most mistakes can be corrected if you are open to having them brought to your attention and if you are willing to do everything that is necessary to address the mistake immediately upon its identification. This can include some very tough discussions, but a mistake is not something that gets better with the passage of time, so eat your crow while it’s hot.

What do you enjoy most about your role? Least?

I had a professor in school who often said that real life is stranger than fiction. She was right. That’s what I enjoy most about my commercial finance practice and my law firm management responsibilities though. There are opportunities for creative problem-solving every day. Each deal presents a unique opportunity for strategizing and puzzle-solving. And I’m very fortunate to work with some of the most talented folks in the country, both in terms of clients and the members of my internal working teams. I learn a lot from all of them, and we have countless opportunities to collaborate and figure out new ways of doing things. 

In terms of what I like least, I’d say it’s the potential that exists for disappointing folks. Most problems are capable of a solution, but there is a small number that aren’t or that have a solution that isn’t necessarily desirable or practical.

How do you balance work/personal time?

I’m very fortunate to be part of an organization that permits a great deal of flexibility. I also have to maximize what can get done within that zone of flexibility though.  Being organized and paying attention to detail is critical.  If you can clearly map out what has to be accomplished and account for potential pivots at the outset, it’s much easier to carve out time to accomplish the things that need to be done on both the work and personal fronts.