Mr. Austin is Of Counsel to the firm.  He focuses on real estate, business law, banking law and related civil litigation. He is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) and the Effingham County Bar Association.  Mr. Austin is a member of the ISBA’s Senior Lawyer Section Council, and its Standing Committee on Military Affairs, which he previously chaired. He is a Fellow of the Illinois Bar Foundation. He is a member of the Illinois Access to Civil Justice Council.  He served several terms as an Assembly Representative in the ISBA and served on the ISBA’s Real Estate Section Council, Law Office Economics Section Council, and Mineral Law Subcommittee.  He formerly served as Chairman of Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund, Inc., a bar-related title insurer, and was a founding director of ATG Trust Company, an independent bar-related trust company, where he also served as Chairman.   He holds the AV® Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, its highest rating for ethics and legal ability, and is recognized by his peers as a “Leading Lawyer."

He was admitted to practice in Illinois following his graduation from the University of Illinois, BS Finance 1967, and JD Law 1970, and later admitted to practice in certain federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mr. Austin is a former Assistant and Special Assistant Attorney General. Mr. Austin serves on and has held leadership positions on several corporate boards, as well as on several local, state, and national not-for-profit boards.  He retired in 2001 as a Brigadier General, AUS, following more than 30 years of military service.