Mr. Austin is a partner at Rutan & Tucker, where his practice focuses on business litigation and municipal law, with emphases on real-estate, land-use, and environmental litigation. Mr. Austin has extensive trial experience and has handled and argued numerous appeals. In 2007, Mr. Austin was named a California “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers magazine due to his demonstrated skill in civil litigation.

Mr. Austin began his career in Rutan & Tucker’s Public Law Department, where in his initial years he focused on litigation for and against public entities, with cases including complex land-use matters, employment and discrimination disputes, constitutional claims, and wrongful-death tort matters. Since that time, while retaining a focus on land-use disputes and other public-agency litigation, Mr. Austin has greatly expanded his practice to include complex commercial disputes on behalf of developers and businesses of all sizes, general real-estate litigation, and environmental litigation. In his several years of practice, Mr. Austin’s clients have included residential and commercial developers, nationally recognized private companies, public entities, small businesses, and private homeowners.

Mr. Austin is a member of the State Bar of California and the Orange County Bar Association, as well as a member of the American Business Trial Lawyers’ Association. He is admitted to practice law in California, in the United States District Courts for the Central, Southern, and Northern Districts of California, and in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Mr. Austin received his Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles in 2000, graduating with high honors as the 10th highest ranked student of his class. In addition, Mr. Austin was a member of various honor societies, including the Order of the Coif, the St. Thomas More Law Honor Society, and the Sayre MacNeil Law Honor Society. While at Loyola, Mr. Austin was the Senior Production Editor of the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review, in which he published an article concerning the constitutionality of state legislation that mirrored the Federal Religious Freedom Restitution Act, entitled Holier Than Thou: Attacking the Constitutionality of State Religious Freedom Legislation, 33 Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review 1183 (2000). Before law school, Mr. Austin graduated cum laude from the University of California, Irvine with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Ecology and emphases on criminal justice and psychology.

PUBLISHED CASES

• In re County of Monterey Initiative Matter (N.D. Cal. 2006) 427 Fed.Supp.2d 958.
• City of Long Beach v. Department of Industrial Relations (2004) 34 Cal.4th 942 (amicus).

REPRESENTATIVE CASES

• Represented multi-billion dollar company in federal-court lawsuit against large telecommunications company alleging breach of contract and commercial torts.
• Represented developer in lawsuit against the City of Pasadena relating to City’s failure to follow directives under environmental law.
• Defended businessman/developer in month-long arbitration brought by developer’s former business partner for accounting and alleged misuse of funds.
• Represented large grocery chain in class-action lawsuit relating to car-towing policy.
• Represented ousted members of development partnership in dispute with former partners for portion of company’s profits.
• Represented minority citizens in federal-court lawsuit against the County of Monterey challenging a County initiative measure under federal Voting Rights Act.
• Represented service-station owner against Shell, Texaco, and other oil companies in Ninth Circuit appeal relating to business dispute.
• Defended large residential developer in complex fraud and breach-of-contract action brought by several homeowners.
• Represented city in lawsuit against Adelphia and Verizon seeking to enjoin the cable companies from carrying-out franchise transfer.
• Defended multiple cities in writ-of-mandate and constitutional actions challenging cities’ adoption of general-plan amendments and other zoning measures.
• Represented political organization in federal-court lawsuit against City of San Diego, challenging constitutionality of City’s campaign-finance regulations.
• Represented school district in lawsuit against district’s architect for negligence and breach of contract.
• Defended city against lawsuit filed by former female police officer alleging gender discrimination and harassment.
• Defended multiple cities in wrongful death and other tort actions.
• Defended homeowner in easement dispute between neighbors.

SEMINARS

• In 2003, 2004, and 2005, Mr. Austin has presented a seminar on “Boundary Law” with the Lorman Education Foundation.

PRACTICE GROUPS

• Business Litigation
• Environmental
• Land Use/Natural Resources

EDUCATION

• Loyola Marymount University (JD 2000 St. Thomas Moore Law Honor Society Sayer MacNeil Law Honor Society Loyola Scholar Full Scholarship Recipient)

MEMBERSHIPS/ADMISSIONS

• Supreme Court of California, 2000
• Federal District Court for the Central District of California, 2000
• State Bar of California
• Orange County Bar Association

AWARDS & HONORS

• Southern California Super Lawyers, Rising Stars Edition, 2007-2010