Prior BigLaw and In-house Experience
- Powell Goldstein, Atlanta (now Bryan Cave)
- Brown McCarroll, Dallas (now Husch Blackwell)
- The University of Texas System – Office of General Counsel
Licenses
- Admitted to practice law in Texas and Georgia
Education
- University of Texas, B.S. in Business Communication
- Emory University School of Law, J.D.
Practice Areas
Brief Bio
Katy’s practice focuses on commercial real estate matters, including acquisitions and dispositions, leasing, easements and financing. She has particular experience with transactions involving governmental entities on both sides.
The Rest of the Story
Katy was born in Eldorado, Arkansas, but the oil industry took the family to Houston where Katy was raised until high school, after which her family moved to McAllen, Texas. There Katy made many lifelong friends at McAllen Memorial High while also leading a “double life” working in the Dillard’s China Department and on Friday Nights as a sideline reporter for a local news station covering high school football games along the Rio Grande Valley.
From there, Katy went on to Austin where she graduated from The University of Texas at Austin and became a life-long UT Longhorn football fan. She will proudly tell you that she attended every home football game for four years, save for one game due to the flu. Katy remained in Austin to undertake a year-long stint working for the Texas Legislative Service before attending Emory University School of Law School in Atlanta, Georgia. After passing the Georgia and Texas bar exams, Katy practiced for five years in the Atlanta market before moving to Dallas to join Brown McCarroll, one of Texas’ oldest law firms. To the dismay of her managing partner, she met her future husband, an environmental lawyer in Brown McCarroll’s Austin office, at a firm annual retreat.
The marriage brought her back to Austin and to Katy becoming in-house counsel to the University of Texas System Real Estate Office. That experience in turn took her to Bickerstaff Heath Delgado & Acosta, a firm with a long list of governmental clients. During those 13 years, Katy acquired a wealth of experience representing governmental entities, including continuing as outside counsel to UT System, in a variety of real estate transactions.
In 2009, Katy joined the Austin Chapter of the Commercial Real Estate Women Network, “CREW Network,” an international network of 15,000 members representing all aspects of the commercial real estate industry. CREW Network has chapters in over 80 major markets throughout the Americas, Europe and India. Katy was honored to serve on several committees, the Board of Directors and ultimately to be elected to serve as the 2019 Austin Chapter President.
After leaving Bickerstaff, Katy continued to practice in the private commercial real estate sector until she found her way to Grable Martin. She is excited to have been invited to join a firm with a deep bench of experienced lawyers where she can continue serving clients and offer practical, efficient solutions for their real estate needs.
Outside of work, Katy enjoys traveling, cooking, good friends and community. Her proudest community involvement remains a commitment to Meals on Wheels of Central Texas, for whom she was a volunteer delivery driver for 19 years.
