Kathleen A. Austin
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Born: July 15, 1976; Red Lake Falls, Minn.
Education: University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., 2003; University of North Dakota, B.A., 1999
Employment: Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly, associate, 2003-present
Professional Associations: Hennepin County Bar Association, Minnesota State Bar Association
Community Activities: Minnesota High Tech Association, St. Joseph’s Home for Children, University of Minnesota Multi-Profession Business Law Clinic
Hobbies/Interests: Scuba diving
Family: Husband, Brandon
Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly, L.L.P.
Education: University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., 2003; University of North Dakota, B.A., 1999
Employment: Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly, associate, 2003-present
Professional Associations: Hennepin County Bar Association, Minnesota State Bar Association
Community Activities: Minnesota High Tech Association, St. Joseph’s Home for Children, University of Minnesota Multi-Profession Business Law Clinic
Hobbies/Interests: Scuba diving
Family: Husband, Brandon
Minneapolis attorney Kathleen A. Austin has become the unofficial party planner for staff gatherings at Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly — a role that she relishes.
Austin is not one to retire into a corner. The corporate law attorney has a background that includes stints performing in theatrical productions, singing and dancing. She credits the large family from which she came as the source of her ease in social situations and in the spotlight.
“With nine children and only two parents, you really have to find your own way and find ways of being noticed,” explains Austin, who has at various points served as a coach for a Special Olympics girls gymnastics team and a girls high school dance team.
Austin has two older brothers who are lawyers, and never had any serious doubts that law was the career path for her. She started at Oppenheimer directly after graduating from law school, and after five years, is sure she made the right choice of firms.
“It’s a real team environment,” she says, adding that Oppenheimer has one of the best corporate law practice groups in the country, “bar none.”
Austin acknowledges that the workload is sometimes heavy, particularly when there is a big merger or acquisition that has to get done, but says she enjoys the fast pace and chance to learn new things. For example, she recalls putting in long hours on a major deal that had to be completed last year.
The “learning opportunities” that Austin has had in the last year alone include representing:
• the acquirer in a merger of two public medical device companies in a deal valued at $750 million;
• the seller of a developmental-stage medical device company in an investment, tender offer and acquisition;
• the buyer of a public company in an investment and merger;
• the buyer in an $81 million asset acquisition; and
• a rodeo in a major investment transaction.
Within her own firm, Austin devotes more than 300 hours per year to mentoring. “I really love to learn, and part of that is teaching and mentoring people. If you teach or mentor people, you solidify your own learning and become that much more of an expert in whatever it is and become more confident in your abilities,” she explains.
Outside the firm, Austin is a volunteer for the St. Joseph’s Home for Children reading program and a supervising attorney at the University of Minnesota’s Multi-Profession Business Law Clinic.
Asked what advice she would give incoming members of the legal profession, Austin offers the following counsel: “A really good attorney is somebody who is really well-rounded — not just a hard worker.”
