J. Austen Irrobali

Austen is a Tillotson Patton partner and trial lawyer who brings to his clients’ cases the same tenacity that carried him from El Paso public schools to Harvard University.  A former fifth-grade teacher, he draws on his experience in the classroom to translate complex concepts and arguments into terms a jury can follow — a unique skill at the core of how he tries cases.

With over a decade of tenure at Tillotson Patton, Austen has been a key contributor to several of its largest matters. He led the defense in a years-long non-compete case that the opposing side abandoned on the eve of trial, has handled a series of lawsuits for a group of investors defrauded in a Ponzi scheme, and has resolved numerous complex commercial, employment, and property disputes.

Prior to joining the firm, Austen practiced in the Dallas office of Andrews Kurth. At Wake Forest School of Law, Austen captained the National Trial Team and served as Managing Editor of the Wake Forest Law Review before clerking for the Honorable Kathleen Cardone of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.