Jenny Austin

Dedicated: That's the word Jenny Austin’s peers use most often when describing the taxation attorney at Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP. Austin has earned the respect of both her peers and her clients. She knows the ins and outs of taxation and is dedicated to her clients, working long hours to help them resolve their most difficult taxation issues.

Austin concentrates her practice on federal tax controversy and litigation, working across all industries, with a focus on matters involving significant intellectual property interests, including those involving medical-device, pharmaceutical, and technology companies. A large part of her practice involves advising and representing clients in administrative matters, including pre-audit planning and representation of taxpayers in Internal Revenue Service examinations.

Robert Moore, the office managing partner for Baker McKenzie LLP in Miami, worked with Austin for 12 years. He said she gained critical experience early in her career handling a case for a pro golfer.

“As a senior associate Jenny led the team as we prepared for the Sergio Garcia tax court case,” Moore wrote. “During trial, Jenny was first chair with several witnesses. Post-trial she led the team through all post trial briefs. Ultimately, we achieved an excellent result for the client. To play such a lead role in a major tax court case at such a young age (or level of experience) is exceptional.”

Austin has also been very involved with The Family Defense Center, a nonprofit that offers pro bono services to families in the child welfare system. Rachel O'Konis Ruttenberg, the Family Defense Center’s executive director, said Austin gets it.

“She innately understands the plights of our clients and is able to serve them in an extremely committed and compassionate way, time and time again,” she wrote. “It seems that whatever she puts her mind to, she accomplishes. Her legal insight on our cases, even though our area of law is so different than the area of law she practices every day, is typically spot-on, and she often finds creative ways to solve issues.”

Ruttenberg described one case Austin handled through the organization: “ A grieving mother had suddenly lost her child from what is now believed to have been a previously undetected heart condition. The mother was found guilty of "death by child neglect," she contacted our organization, and Jenny and her team picked up the case. Jenny handled it with creativity and diligence. In the end, the case was done masterfully, and Jenny and her team were able to get our client exonerated from what could have been a 50-year finding against her.”