Candise E. Caylao

Candise E. Caylao is Of Counsel at Dentons, practicing in the Corporate group, specializing in Mergers and Acquisitions. She assists in the representation of numerous distilleries in Kentucky, as well as clients in the hospitality, manufacturing, healthcare, and construction industries, on corporate and transactional matters.

Candise's practice encompasses real estate acquisition, land use and zoning, state and local incentive agreements, construction contracts, intellectual property development and protection, licensing, regulatory compliance (including TTB and state regulations), financing, acquisitions, and mergers. Notable matters include representing Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. in the carve‑out sale of its Diamond Power division to Andritz AG for US$177 million, assisting in due diligence; representing a client in the acquisition of a Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Lexington, Kentucky, involving franchise matters and a private capital raise; and advising a distillery client on a multi‑site development project requiring negotiations with utilities, government agencies, and agricultural businesses.

Candise holds a J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law (2019), where she was on the Law Review and served as a Student Bar Association ABA Representative, and an MS and BS in Justice Administration from the University of Louisville. She has been named to Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Corporate Law (2026), was a Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Pathfinder (Class of 2021), and was named on the Lawyers of Color Hot List (2022, 2023).