With nearly 30 years of collective experience as a lawyer in private practice, business owner, senior executive and general counsel for an international franchising company, and public servant, Kathy Taylor brings exceptional insight and understanding of the business concerns of the public, private, nonprofit and civic sectors to her role as a corporate attorney with McAfee & Taft and serves as valued business counsel to clients engaged in a broad range of industries and public sector areas. While she regularly consults on a diverse number of legal and business matters for business, municipalities, county governments and education groups, the majority of her practice is focused on franchising and distribution, corporate and commercial transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and the facilitation of public-private partnerships. She has represented numerous companies, including franchise companies expanding domestically and internationally, in the sale, acquisition and restructuring of business assets.
During the course of her career, Kathy has served as a corporate attorney in private practice, as executive vice president and general counsel for the Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, as a member of an ownership team that successfully negotiated the purchase of National Car Rental from General Motors, and as president of a charitable foundation which she and her family established to support education and social issues.
Kathy entered public service in 2003 when she was appointed by Governor Brad Henry to serve as Oklahoma Secretary of Commerce, Tourism and Workforce Development, a multi-faceted leadership position responsible for overseeing the state's economic development. From 2006 - 2009, she served as elected mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma's second largest city, where she combined her broad-based career experience to advance the economic, civic, cultural and educational interests of the city and state.
Immediately prior to returning to private practice with McAfee & Taft, she served on the cabinet of Governor Henry as Chief of Education Strategy and Innovation leading the bipartisan passage of legislation which provides a mandatory statewide framework for teacher and principal evaluation.
In January 2012, Kathy was selected as one of seven Resident Fellows for Harvard University's Institute of Politics located at the John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The program aims to encourage student interest in public life and increase interaction between the academic and political communities through interaction with public service leaders in local, state and federal government and in journalism and international politics.
Active in the community and throughout the state, Kathy serves on the board of directors of Sonic Corp., the Oklahoma Heritage Association, the Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and as co-chair for Street School's 2011 fundraiser. She received a Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Tulsa in 2010.
Throughout her professional career, Kathy has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Oklahoma Bar Association's Mona Lambird Spotlight Award (2003), the Pinnacle Award from the Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women (2004) and the Tulsa Press Club's Headliner Award (2004). In 2010, she was inducted in the Tulsa Hall of Fame and named "Tulsan of the Year" by Tulsa People.
Representative Experience
· Representation of numerous franchisors at various stages of their development including:
- Representation of Sonic Corp in their initial leveraged buyout.
- Representation of Thrifty Car Rental in its sale to Chrysler Corp.
- Representation of the purchaser of Dollar Car Rental.
- Negotiated the purchase and sale of numerous international and domestic franchises of Dollar and Thirty Car Rental.
- Coordinated the team that implemented the $1 billion asset securitization for National Car Rental
· As Oklahoma Secretary of Commerce, Tourism and Workforce Development, led the state's efforts to develop the structure responsible for attracting Dell, Inc., to locate its largest facility outside of Texas in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
· As mayor of Tulsa, led the city in purchasing the former WilTel headquarters as Tulsa's new consolidated City Hall.
In The News
· Taylor Made
Urban Tulsa Weekly - August 18, 2011
· Can you take the heat?
Urban Tulsa Weekly - January 5, 2011
· Kathy Taylor returning to law practice
The Journal Record - September 2, 2010
At The Podium
· The Path Least Traveled: The Under-Representation of Women in Politics, Government, and Public Service presented at Oklahoma Bar Association 2011 Women in Law Conference on September 16, 2011 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
· Lessons in Listening presented at Association for Women in Communications' "Communication Bootcamp" on March 31, 2011 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Professional Organizations And Memberships
· Tulsa County Bar Association
· Oklahoma Bar Association
· American Bar Association
· Oklahoma Bar Foundation (Fellow)
Civic Involvement And Leadership
· Bank of Oklahoma, NA (Board of Directors, 2005-2006)
· Dollar Car Rental (Board of Directors, 1995-1997)
· Gilcrease Museum (Board of Directors, 1996-1999)
· Grand River Dam Authority (Board of Directors, 1999-2002)
· Make-A-Wish Foundation (Board of Directors)
· National Car Rental (Board of Directors, 1990-1992)
· Oklahoma Cowboy Museum (Founding Member, Annie Oakley Society)
· Oklahoma Heritage Association (Board of Directors)
· Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice (Board of Directors)
· Sonic Corp. (Board of Directors)
· Street School (Co-Chair, 2011 Fundraiser)