Taft A. McKinstry
Taft A. McKinstry is Managing Member of the firm and chair of the firm’s Commercial Law and Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights Groups. With sophisticated experience built on more than 40 years of practice, Ms. McKinstry is known for finding successful solutions to highly complicated commercial, bankruptcy and litigation matters.
She represents local and national clients in a variety of industries including real estate, insurance, heavy equipment, equine, coal, oil and gas production, retail and e-commerce. Ms. McKinstry’s appellate experience encompasses numerous published opinions, including cases before the Kentucky Supreme Court and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Ms. McKinstry’s effective handling of difficult bankruptcy issues is built on her
years of experience including her appointment as Bankruptcy Trustee for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and service on the Chapter 7 Trustee Panel for Kentucky’s Eastern District. Ms. McKinstry was inducted as a Fellow into the American College of Bankruptcy in 1994 and has been recognized in the Best Lawyers in America continuously since 1994.
In 2017, Ms. McKinstry was inducted into the University of Kentucky Alumni Hall of Fame. KBA Conference The Hall of Fame was established to acknowledge graduates and long-serving faculty of the college whose extraordinary professional success and contributions, profound
Education
University of Kentucky College of Law, Lexington, Kentucky, J.D., Doctor of Jurisprudence – 1972; Kentucky Law Journal
University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, B.A., Bachelor of Arts – 1969;
Recipient, Sullivan Medallion, Outstanding Graduating Women
Admissions
U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court of Kentucky
U.S. District Court Eastern District of Kentucky
U.S. District Court Western District of Kentucky
U.S. Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit
Professional Associations
American College of Bankruptcy, Fellow inducted 1994, Sixth Circuit Regent, 2016 – present, National Events Chair, 2006 – 2009, Sixth Circuit Council, 2002 – 2007
Commerce Lexington, Board of Directors, 2015 – Present; General Counsel, 2013-2014
Kentucky Bar Association – Bankruptcy Law Section, Chair, 2009 – 2010
Fayette County Bar Association, Board of Governors, 1982 – 1984, Co-Chair, Continuing Legal Education Committee, 1974 – 1975, Secretary, 1973 – 1974, 1982 – 1984
International Society of Primerus Law Firms
Litigation Counsel of America, Fellow, 2014 – Present
Honors
Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rating* Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers; Bankruptcy, 2011 – 2017
Best Lawyers in America, 1994-Present
Lawyer of the Year, Lexington, 2012 Bankruptcy and Creditor/Debtor Rights Insolvency and Reorganization Law Litigation – Bankruptcy
Super Lawyers; Bankruptcy and Creditor/Debtor Rights, 2007-2017
Top 25 Women Lawyers in Kentucky, 2011 – 2021
Kentucky Monthly, Top 25 Woman Attorneys in Kentucky, 2015-2016
Corporate INTL – Lawyer of the Year, Corporate LiveWire Award, 2014-2015
*AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.