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Austin Legal Market

Austin's market for law firm and in-house job opportunities

Austin is a strong and vibrant legal market with growing law firm and in-house positions. The primary practice areas in Austin are as diverse as the city including: corporate & securities, corporate finance, commercial litigation, IP litigation, ERISA, labor & employment, tax, environmental, estate planning, and health care law. There is a specific focus on technology related positions such as venture capital, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, patent licensing and cross licensing, and patent prosecution. Recently, there has been an upsurge in national, regional and local law firms opening offices in Austin including Dechert, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based international firm; Greenberg Traurig, a Ft Lauderdale, Florida based firm; Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold LLP, a San Francisco, California based firm; Lee & Hayes, a Spokane, Washington based IP firm; and Fee Smith, a Dallas, Texas based firm.

Austin in-house legal jobs are plentiful for a city of this size, and there are quite a number of large public and private corporations that have their home in Austin. A lot of the work is venture capital or technology focused. Dell, AMD, IBM, Freescale Semiconductor, Intel, Temple-Inland, Samsung, and National Instruments all have a major presence in Austin.

It is unavoidable to question that there has been a downturn in the job market globally, and although the Austin legal market has been hit in some practice areas, others remain extremely strong and are growing. It is important for attorneys seeking employment to analyze their strengths and determine the involvement they have had cross training in various practice areas and use those skills to their advantage. Although tort litigation has slowed down as a result of tort reform, general commercial litigation remains strong.