Katherine Bell

Katherine E. Bell is a partner in the Global Finance practice at Paul Hastings LLP, based in Orange County, California. She advises banks, finance companies, private debt lenders and borrowers on commercial finance transactions, including asset-based and cash flow lending, acquisition financing, structured finance, and domestic and cross-border restructurings and recapitalizations.

Katherine has significant experience negotiating complex intercreditor and capital structure arrangements, including first- and second-lien financings, split-collateral structures and unitranche transactions. Her work spans industries such as technology, healthcare, transportation, energy, retail and manufacturing.

An active speaker and contributor to the secured finance profession, Katherine co-authored Asset-Based Lending: A Practical Guide to Secured Financing (Practising Law Institute, 8th ed.). She speaks on intercreditor agreements, credit documentation, deal structuring, restructurings and lender due diligence, and has written for The Secured Lender.

Katherine serves as a director of SFNet and formerly chaired its Women in Commercial Finance Committee. She is a fellow of the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers and was ranked Band 1 in Banking & Finance by Chambers USA in 2025–2026.