Stites & Harbison, PLLC

Kathi Allen is a transactional attorney with extensive experience in commercial financial services, creditors' rights and commercial transactions, focusing on structuring, negotiating and documenting complex financial arrangements, both before and after bankruptcy, with borrowers, lenders, syndicated lenders, buyers, sellers, trade vendors, shareholders, and competing creditors. She also has significant experience in matters covered by the Uniform Commercial Code, including sales of goods, leases of goods, negotiable instruments, banking and payment systems, letters of credit, investment securities, asset securitizations, consignments, and secured transactions. Kathi represents state, regional and national banks, asset-based lenders, leasing companies, finance companies and other financial institutions, advises suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and lenders in matters involving supply chain contracting, product distribution, electronic contracting and financing and also frequently advises non-Tennessee lenders on the intricacies of the infamous Tennessee recording tax/indebtedness tax.

She has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America^® since 1995, is listed in Nashville Business Journal's Best of the Bar for 2006, 2008 and 2009 and was named in the 2007, 2008 and 2009 Mid-South Super Lawyers magazine for corporate finance.

Representative Matters

• Acted as local counsel in numbers of large multi-state credit facilities
• Represented bank's leasing subsidiary in large and small vendor financing programs for varied products including computer equipment, garage equipment, printing presses, and telecommunications equipment
• Assisted surety company in precedent-setting $100 million committed bonding line with 30 affiliated mining companies, secured by liens covering thousands of mine locations in several states
• Assisted financial institution lender in workout, DIP financing and asset sales in bankruptcy of large swine production company in Midwest
• Represented manufacturer of automotive equipment in structuring, negotiating, documenting and reviewing supply agreements with major automotive manufacturers, retail distribution agreements with automotive manufacturers and other vendors, sponsorship agreements, inventory management agreements, financing arrangements and other matters

Recent Speaking Engagements and Publications

• Author, "A Horse is a Horse (Of Course)," Business Law Today, Volume 18, Number 1, September/October 2008
• Presentations on "Recent Developments in Commercial Law," with John E. Murdock, Mid-South Commercial Law Institute, Nashville, Tenn., 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
• "A Horse is a Horse . . . Unless it's Collateral," American Bar Association Business Law Section, Joint Subcommittee Meeting (Commercial Financial Services Secured Lending and Uniform Commercial Code Secured Transactions Subcommittee), April 2006
• Author, 1987-2002 annual supplements to Tennessee Practice: Uniform Commercial Code Forms and Commentary (Thompson West Group)
• Co-editor, Commercial Law Newsletter, published quarterly by the ABA Section of Business Law's UCC Committee and Commercial Financial Services Committee, 1998-2005
• "Understanding And Documenting Commercial Loan Transactions—A Beginner's Guide," ABA Business Law Section Institute For Young Business Lawyers, March 2005
• "Down To The Wire: Electronic Contracts," Mid-South Commercial Law Institute, December 2004

Before Stites & Harbison

Kathi came late to the law, earning her J.D. degree about 13 years after her B.A. degree. Her favorite job in the interm was working at the venerable Mills Bookstore in Nashville, where she was actually paid to tell people what to read.

Besides Stites & Harbison

Kathi is an avid reader and especially enjoys speculative fiction and mysteries.