WOMEN IN SECURED FINANCE 2024
RECOGNIZING EXCELLENCE
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shley M. Ingraham is a financial services partner in Holland & Knight LLP’s Dallas office. She primarily represents financial institutions, capital companies, business credit divisions and private capital funds in connection with their lending and investment transactions, including asset-based lending, cash-flow lending, real estate financing and senior debt financing. Ashley also counsels senior lenders, subordinated lenders and equity investors in complex intercreditor arrangements critical to various types of transactions.
ASHLEY M. INGRAHAM Holland & Knight LLP
She is a member of the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers and has been consistently recognized as a Rising Star by Texas Super Lawyers. Ashley received a J.D. degree from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law and an MPA degree and a B.B.A. in Business Honors and Accounting degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
What advice would you offer to women just starting out in the industry? My advice to women is to worry less about the work you are doing, and to instead prioritize finding and working with good people, and to not undersell yourself-- dream big. Start by intentionally finding colleagues and mentors who support your growth and help you achieve your goals. Do not be afraid to ask for help. You do not have to learn everything on your own. Over the course of my career, I have been fortunate to have been surrounded by extraordinary mentors and colleagues who have helped me learn, grow professionally, and achieve more than I ever could have on my own. Do not let fear get in the way of your goals. There may be pitfalls and hardships along the way, but don’t get hung up on them. Stay the course, trust yourself and celebrate your successes! What is the best advice you ever received? The best advice I ever received was to get out of my comfort zone - seek out challenging projects and opportunities and be intentional about meeting new people. I find that you learn more about yourself outside of your comfort zone, and often times, the challenging projects or opportunities were the most rewarding and interesting.
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THE SECURED LENDER MARCH 2024
What do you know now that you wish you knew in the beginning of your career? I wish I knew in the beginning of my career that my career path would not be linear. After I graduated law school, my sole focus was to do whatever I needed to do to march my way up the associate ranks and make partner. Somewhere along the way, I got married and had two kids and was still able to accomplish
all of my goals at work all while having a healthy work/life balance. Through these different stages of life, I have learned not to sweat the small stuff and that at the beginning of my career, I underestimated how successful professionally and personally I would be at this time in my life, and what my path to this point would be. What role has mentorship played in your career? Mentorship has always been a priority in my career (and it is for the legal profession as a whole)—not only because it plays a pivotal role in the development and success of future lawyers, but because it also fosters my own growth. My mentors played a crucial role in the development of my skills, judgment, and confidence as a young attorney, and they also helped me build a successful practice. The mentorship role in my career has evolved over time. As a junior associate, I sought out mentors who had expert knowledge in corporate finance, specifically asset based lending, and who could help me navigate the dynamics of both my local office and the law firm more generally. As I rose through the ranks as an associate, I embraced the opportunity to mentor younger associates even as I continued to seek out my own mentors. As a partner, I still have mentors who I turn to for questions and who continue to advocate for me, but I spend a significant amount of time mentoring associates, formally and informally. It is important to me that the associates in my practice are progressing appropriately and meeting their own goals. Most recently, I spent the past three and a half years as the co-hiring partner for Holland & Knight LLP’s Dallas office, which involved the hiring, training and mentoring of law students.