Austin represents clients in intellectual property and commercial litigation matters in federal and state courts, focusing on patent, trademark, and brand protection disputes.
Overview
He excels in each phase of litigation, bringing a detailed and dedicated approach to initial case development and pleading drafting, discovery, dispositive motions, and trial preparation.
Austin takes on leadership roles in complex matters, including taking party and third-party depositions, conducting oral argument on summary judgment motions, and directing document review teams to manage electronically stored information collection. He thrives in these high-responsibility settings, drawing on his meticulous preparation and collaborative approach to advance client objectives.
Austin helps clients protect and defend their brands through trademark and patent enforcement, as well as through pre-litigation efforts such as cease-and-desist letters. His practice also encompasses securities claims, complex breach of contract actions, and real estate disputes.
Before joining the firm as an associate, Austin worked at Stinson as a summer associate, where he assisted in both litigation and corporate matters.
Experience
Intellectual Property Litigation
- Represents clients in a variety of industries, including food and beverage, recreational sports, and telecommunications in patent and trademark disputes.
- Defended ingredients supplier to the beauty industry against patent infringement, leveraging invalidity positions to resolve dispute.
- Served on the case team in a multiple forum patent dispute involving fiber optic technology.
- Successfully brought Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) expungement and cancellation proceedings to cancel trademarks that had been cited against his client's trademark applications.
- Initiated numerous successful Uniform Dispute Resolution Proceedings (UDRP), enforcing clients' trademark rights in cyberspace.
Complex Commercial Litigation
- Obtained complete dismissal of all claims brought against his client in Colorado state court action, including contract and tort theories, and a judgment for his client’s attorneys’ fees.
- Achieved successful resolution of a putative class action brought against a financial institution related to overdraft fee practices.
- Defended a financial advisor against breach of fiduciary duty claims.
- Assisted a precious metals investment firm responding to a subpoena form a state regulatory agency.
- Served on the case team obtaining dismissal of claims for tortious interference brought against a company that financed a clean energy development.
News & Insights
News
Publications
Practices & Industries
Admissions
- Missouri, 2023
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
- U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
Education
University of Illinois College of Law, J.D., summa cum laude, 2023
- Illinois Law Review, Internet & Symposium Editor
- Order of the Coif
- Rickert Award for Legal Writing
- Academic Excellence Awards in Constitutional Law I, Poverty & the Law, Business Associations I, Conflict of Laws, Secured Transactions, Decedents' Estates and Trusts, Consumers Finance, and Remedies
Kenyon College, B.A. Mathematics, Sociology, 2020
