Stephanie Gause Culpepper joined ORIX USA Corporation as Assistant General Counsel in 2017. Culpepper is responsible for driving internal legal matters for ORIX Real Estate Americas and counsels internal clients with respect to all aspects of real estate related transactions. She assists ORIX Real Estate Americas in commercial mortgage loans, mezzanine financing, construction financing, and preferred equity originations, with a particular focus on self-storage, multifamily, and hospitality property types, and supports the origination and management of CRE commercial loan obligation securitizations.
Prior to joining ORIX, Culpepper was a partner at Frost Brown Todd, a super-regional Midwest based law firm with more than 500 lawyers in eight states. Frost Brown Todd entered the Dallas market in 2015 and Culpepper was recruited to head the firm’s Texas real estate practice.
Preceding Frost Brown Todd, Culpepper practiced for five years at Bell Nunnally & Martin, a full-service law firm based in Dallas, in the areas of real estate, corporate and finance. She was elected as a partner in 2014. Culpepper started her career in the Global Projects section of Baker Botts where she worked on complex domestic and international commercial real estate matters for multinational companies.
Culpepper is actively involved in the legal community. She was elected to President Elect of the Dallas Women Lawyers Association in 2019 and has served on the Board of Directors of the Dallas Bar Association since 2015. In 2016, Culpepper served as President of the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers (DAYL) - a professional development and civic organization of more than 3,500 young lawyers. Under her leadership, the DAYL was awarded first place in its division for outstanding comprehensive programming by both the American Bar Association and the Texas Young Lawyers Association.
Culpepper was selected by the Dallas Business Journal for inclusion on its “40 Under 40” list in 2014, highlighting her professional success and community involvement. She served as Chair of the 40 Under 40 Alumni Advisory Board in 2018. Through the Junior League of Dallas, Culpepper has contributed over 600 hours of service to the Dallas community, working with non-profits such as Stewpot, Our Children’s House, and many others. She is also an advocate for the arts and served on the Steering Committee of Dallas Museum of Art Junior Associates from 2012-2018.
Culpepper earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, with honors, in Finance and the Business Honors Program from the University of Texas at Austin and a Juris Doctorate, with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law.