Robert Benjamin Austrian

Rob Austrian has dedicated his practice to helping his clients obtain justice throughout New York State and Pennsylvania. Mr. Austrian is a passionate advocate and aggressive litigator who takes pride in fighting for his clients and works tirelessly toward obtaining successful outcomes. For Mr. Austrian, everything is about preparing a case to go to trial.  Above all else, Mr. Austrian understands that zealous trial preparation demonstrates to your opponent that you are prepared for battle, thereby ensuring the best possible outcome on a case.  

Prior to going into private practice, Mr. Austrian was an Assistant District Attorney with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. During his tenure, Mr. Austrian handled hundreds of criminal matters and litigated a wide variety of criminal issues. As an Assistant District Attorney, he advocated for victims of crime, and he brings his experiences to advocate for his clients. 

Mr. Austrian was also a paralegal and eventually a law clerk at a major national law firm in the Environmental/Toxic Tort practice group. While there, Mr. Austrian worked on complex products liability matters involving major government contractors, as well as premises liability matters. Mr. Austrian also directly worked on a high-stakes intellectual property federal bench trial.

Additionally, Mr. Austrian is an officer in the New York Army National Guard Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps, where he assists in advising commanders regarding various military and civilian legal matters. Before he became a member of the JAG Corps, Mr. Austrian was a Field Artillery officer, where he served as a platoon leader of a platoon of 105mm howitzers, and a fire support officer attached to an infantry unit coordinating artillery support with infantry maneuvers, among many other roles. Mr. Austrian has spent extensive periods of time in Fort Sill, OK, Fort Dix, NJ, Camp Smith, NY, Fort Indiantown Gap, PA, and Fort Drum, NY. While in the military, Mr. Austrian has had many unique and challenging experiences and adventures, all of which have made him a better advocate for his clients. 

Mr. Austrian graduated cum laude from Brooklyn Law School. He was a member of the Moot Court Honor Society – Trial Division, where he won Best Cross Examination at the Judge Paul Joseph Kelley Jr. Invitational Trial Competition and received the Smiley & Smiley LLP Award for Excellence in Trial Skills. He also won two C.A.L.I. Excellence for the Future Awards for having the highest grade in both Criminal Procedure – Adjudication and Real Estate Finance. He earned a Certificate in Criminal Law With Distinction for his academic accomplishments in that field. Mr. Austrian successfully graduated on time with the above-described accolades from Brooklyn Law School despite being ordered onto active duty in the Army National Guard during his final year of law school.