Austin is a partner with an emphasis in complex litigation. He has represented plaintiffs and defendants in federal and state courts around the country in matters ranging from mass torts, class actions, antitrust litigation, consumer protection, contract disputes, fraud, and civil RICO. Several of Austin’s cases have made national headlines, including Austin’s recent work on behalf of school districts concerning the youth e-cigarette epidemic, which was featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and Good Morning America.
Austin was a member of the University of Kansas Law Review, where he graduated in 2012. During his third year of law school, Austin externed for the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office, where he supported the office in all phases of the criminal justice process. Austin was certified pursuant to Kansas Rule 719 to appear on behalf of the office and did so on multiple occasions.
After earning his Juris Doctor, Austin joined the national law firm of Robbins, Geller, Rudman & Dowd LLP, in San Diego, CA, where his practice focused on complex class actions. Austin’s experience includes recovering hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of aggrieved plaintiffs and doing so against some of the largest companies in the country.
After several years in California, Austin returned to the Midwest with his wife and two kids and joined Wagstaff & Cartmell’s complex litigation practice.
Most notable recent result that Austin has obtained on behalf of clients:
$1.9 Billion Settlement Against Juul Labs, Inc. and Altria Group
Austin and the firm pioneered the concept of suing e-cigarette makers Juul Labs, Inc. and Altria Group (Philip Morris) on behalf of public schools over their alleged role in targeting underaged youth resulting in a historic $1.9 billion settlement. Austin represented hundreds of schools nationwide, including some of the nation’s largest, like New York City and Chicago. On the eve of trial in a case brought by the firm’s client, the San Francisco Unified School District, defendant Juul Labs, Inc. and related individual defendants settled the case for an amount widely reported to be $1.7 billion. After three weeks of trial and at the conclusion of plaintiff’s evidence, Altria Group settled the remainder of the case for another $235 million. The settlement provided much needed relief to hundreds of school districts to combat the youth e-cigarette crisis in their schools.