Stephanie Laird Tolson

Stephanie Tolson is a trial lawyer who represents those in the financial services industry and a variety of other corporate clients in complex litigation. She has extensive experience handling significant commercial cases, commercial bankruptcies, and loan workouts.

In the financial services arena, Stephanie works with national lenders, credit card processing companies, floor plan lenders, loan servicers, and premium finance companies, representing them in litigation, bankruptcy, and restructuring matters. Stephanie has represented many lenders in complex litigation matters in both state and federal courts. Armed with more than 25 years of bankruptcy-related experience, Stephanie has advised clients on the full range of adversary proceedings—including representing creditors in Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 bankruptcy. She has handled Chapter 11 issues for national lenders and financial services companies, national floor plan lenders, and oil and gas companies, as well as automotive manufacturers, heavy equipment manufacturers, and individuals.

Stephanie also works with heavy industrial construction companies and manufacturers. This includes helping them to draft and negotiate master contracts and purchase orders, handling lien and payment issues and serving as general counsel. She also represents them in litigation, including matters concerning contract disputes and construction defects.

In addition to defending her clients in state and federal courts and before arbitrators, Stephanie has extensive appellate experience. She handles a large volume of appellate cases at the state and federal levels and before administrative agencies in Texas.

A trusted advisor, Stephanie also serves in an outside general counsel role for several clients. She advises them on contracts, commercial collections, lien resolution, and insurance-related issues, as well as personal injury and workers' compensation claims, payment disputes, and general commercial litigation.

• State Bar of Texas
• Southwest Association of Bank Counsel
  • Board of Directors

• Holds the AV® Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, its highest rating for ethics and legal ability

• Co-Presenter, "Lender Liability – Handle with Care, Managing Your Way Through Special Assets," Risk Management Association (RMA) Gulf Coast Chapter, Webinar, April 10, 2024
• Co-Presenter, "Lessons from Lubbock — The Reagor Dykes Case," Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, Virtual Event, September 19, 2023
• Co-Presenter, "Commercial – Tips to Avoid UCC Traps," 2023 Auto Finance Seminar: Driving Ahead: Auto Finance Insights from Industry Leaders, Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, Chicago, Illinois, May 4, 2023
• Panelist, "Nurturing the Next Generation in Legal," Driving Diversity In Law & Leadership Conference, Houston, Texas, April 27, 2022
• Co-Presenter, "Handle With Care: Managing Your Way Through Special Assets," Annual Conference by Southwest Association Bank Counsel and Texas Bankers Association, San Antonio, Texas, October 7, 2021
• Co-Presenter, "Out of Trust - Out of Business: Automobile Lien Priorities in Troubled Dealer Situations," 2019 Consumer Finance Legal Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, October 15, 2019

Stephanie is a huge baseball fan. She cheers on the Astros from Minute Maid Park and her son's high school and college teams. Additionally, Stephanie is an avid reader and enjoys riding horses.

• BARC Animal Shelter and Adoptions, Volunteer
• Houston Food Bank, Volunteer
• St. Thomas High School
  • Mom's Club
  • Baseball Team Mom
  • Tom's Moms, Member
  • St. Thomas Round-up, Volunteer
• Texas Tech Alumni Association
• State Bar of Texas, Pro Bono Program
• Women's Business Enterprise Alliance, Former Member of the Board of Directors