John S. Austin



Practice Areas

  • Complex Civil and Commercial Litigation; Catastrophic Personal Injury and Wrongful Death; Professional Malpractice (including Medical, Accounting, Auditing and Legal); Nursing Home Negligence; Products Liability; Business Torts; Securities Litigation; Class Actions; Abusive Tax Shelters; Automobile Accidents; Defamation; Collections and Creditors Rights; Insurance; Appellate Advocacy; and Toxic Tort Litigation

Education

  • North Carolina State University (B.A. English with a  concentration in Writing and Editing, 1990)
  • Campbell University School of Law (J.D. 1994)

Clerkship

  • Law Clerk, N.C. Supreme Court, Chief Justice Burley B. Mitchell (1994-95)

Honors

  • C&D Insurance Scholar, Campbell University School of Law
  • Managing Editor, Campbell Law Review (1993-94)
  • Editor in Chief, Technician newspaper (1986-87)

Bar Admission

  • North Carolina (1994)
  • U.S. District Courts (Eastern, Middle and Western) (1995)

Professional Memberships

  • American Bar Association
    • Section of Litigation
      • Executive Council (2001-02)
      • Program Evaluation Committee, Co-chair (2002-04)
      • Associate Editor, Litigation News (2003-04)
    • Section of Tort Trials and Insurance Practice
      • Non Profit Committee, Chair (2003-04)
    • Young Lawyers Division
      • Executive Council (1999-2001)
      • Ninth District Representative (1999-2001)
      • Associate Editor, The Affiliate (2000-01)
    • ABA Standing Committee on Publications (2003-04)
  • North Carolina Bar Association
    • Young Lawyers Division
      • Executive Council (1997-2001)
      • Disaster Legal Services Committee, Chair (1997-98)
      • Newsletter Editor  (1998-99)
  • North Carolina State Bar

Representative Reported Cases

  • Rich Food Services, Inc. v. Rich Plan Corp., 98 Fed. Appx. 206, 2004 WL 937260 (4th Cir. 2004)
  • Gaunt v. Pittaway , 135 N.C.App. 442, 520 S.E. 2d 603 (1999)

Publications/Seminars Taught

  • New Jersey Rejects Mandatory Referral and Fee-Sharing Arrangement (Litigation News 29:5 July 2004)
  • Jury Trials May Be Headed to Vanishing Point (Litigation News 29:4 May 2004)
  • Courts Require Stricter Showing to Seal Litigation Documents (Litigation News 29:3 March 2004)
  • Virginia Begins to Regulate In-House Counsel (Litigation News 29:2 January 2004)
  • On-Line Bidding Raises Serious Ethical Issues (Litigation News 28:5 July 2003)
  • Court Finds Privilege Waiver in Inadvertent Disclosure (Litigation News 28:4 May 2003)
  • EEOC to Get Firm Records to Determine if ADEA Applies, (Litigation News 28:3 March 2003)
  • Note, Prosecutorial Discretion and Substantial Assistance: The Power and Authority of Judicial Review – United States v. Wade, 15 Campbell Law Review 263 (1993)

Civic Activities

  • Board of Commissioners, County of Wake Housing Authority (2006 to present)
  • Board of Directors, Wee Care Children’s Enrichment Program (2006 to present)
  • Board of Directors, Loaves and Fishes, Inc. (2005 to present)
  • Sunday School Teacher, White Memorial Presbyterian Church (2001 to present)
  • Board of Directors, HopeLine, Inc. (1987-88)

Hobbies: History, Gardening, Tennis and Literature

Born:  Atlanta, Georgia

Office Location: Raleigh, North Carolina

Phone: (919) 981-0191

Fax: (919) 981-0199