Jim Austin’s practice encompasses representation of both emerging and established enterprises, in their initial formation and in their capitalization, transactional dealings, and in business acquisitions and dispositions.  Jim has served as principal outside counsel or regional counsel to a wide variety of advanced technology, industrial, and retail businesses, and as counsel to both foreign investors and national enterprises.  He has significant experience in corporate and related affairs; venture capital and other equity transactions; lending relationships (both as lender’s and as borrower’s counsel); licensing, distribution, and strategic partnering arrangements; real estate transactions; mergers and acquisitions; and private and municipal transactions involving solid waste collection and disposal.

Although Jim’s practice is primarily transactional in nature, he has participated as counsel in a variety of complex adversarial matters, including major commercial disputes, international trademark and domain name litigation, and in cases involving the application of the federal and state constitutions and statutes to municipal solid waste contracts and regulations.

Jim is a member of the Computer Law Association and has co-chaired or participated as a faculty member of Washington Software Alliance seminars on legal issues of interest to the software industry.  He was the author of The Seattle Times info net series on “Internet Law,” and has been a lecturer on Internet-related issues at continuing legal education seminars.

Jim was for many years the author of the "Bankruptcy Practice" section of the Washington Lawyers Practice Manual and has lectured frequently on matters involving insolvency proceedings, the financing of real property acquisitions and developments, and computer law matters. He is the author of the definitive “Receivership Proceedings in Washington State.”

Jim chaired the committee of the Washington State Bar Association’s Debtor-Creditor Section that produced Washington’s comprehensive receivership code and was a principal drafter of that statute.  He has also participated in drafting Washington statutes governing trademark disputes and real property liens.

Jim is a member of Karr Tuttle Campbell’s board of directors and has served in the past as chairman of its Business and Finance Department. In addition to membership and participation in the American Bar Association, Washington State Bar Association, and King County Bar Association, Jim has served as a member of the Board of Governors and on the Executive Committee of the Bar Association of America and the CIS, for which he served as secretary.

Jim has been included in Washington Law & Politics’ list of Washington State’s “Super Lawyers” every year since 2001, and was selected as one of  “Washington’s Most Amazing Lawyers” in the March 2006 edition of  Washington CEO Magazine.  He also was recognized in 2007 by Seattle magazine as one of Seattle’s “Top 155 Lawyers” and by Seattle Business Monthly as one of “Seattle’s 90 Top Business Lawyers,” as well as one of Seattle’s “Top 87 Business Lawyers” in January 2008.