University of Pennsylvania, MA 1993, PhD 1994
Columbia University, JD 1986
Office: Cargill Hall
Mail: 400 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115
Tel: (617) 373-5149
Fax: (617) 373-5056
E-mail: d.austin@neu.edu
Daniel A. Austin
Professor Austin teaches bankruptcy and commercial law. He has written articles on consumer and business bankruptcy, as well as a book, Reaffirmation Agreements in Consumer Bankruptcy Cases. In addition, he served as a contributing editor to Norton’s Bankruptcy Law and Practice (3rd ed.), and as a contributing author to Newberg on Class Action (3rd ed.).
Professor Austin’s research interests include pensions and retiree healthcare in business bankruptcy, constitutional and jurisdictional issues in bankruptcy law, and the metrics and impact of debt and personal bankruptcy. In addition to his legal background, Professor Austin holds a PhD in political science, and a subject he has taught at the college level.
Prior to joining the law faculty in 2009, Professor Austin worked for 16 years as a bankruptcy and commercial law attorney, representing a range of clients from individuals to Fortune 500 corporations. From his years in legal practice, Professor Austin has reached the conclusion that the legal profession must do more to make legal services more affordable and transparent to clients. Professor Austin strives to instill this philosophy in his teaching.
- Reaffirmation of Secured Debt in Consumer Chapter 7 Bankruptcy (with Donald Lasswell), American Bankruptcy Institute (2009).
- “The Bankruptcy Clause and the Eleventh Amendment: An Uncertain Boundary Between Federalism and State Sovereignty,” 42 Univ. of San Francisco L. Rev. 383 (Fall 2007).
- “For Debtor or Worse: Discharge of Marital Debt Obligations Under the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005,” 51 Wayne L. Rev. 1369 (2005).
- “Zero Tolerance for Commercial Fraud: Bankruptcy Metrics Dictate That Forewarned is Forearmed” (with Musso, Weiner and Seward), 24 American Bankruptcy Institute Journal 46 (2005).
- “Drop Down? Drop Dead! Excess Insurers Are Not Required To Provide Primary Coverage In Lieu of an Insolvent Insurer,” 24 American Bankruptcy Institute Journal 56 (2005).
- “E-Sleuthing and the Art of Electronic Data Discovery: Uncovering Hidden Assets in the Digital Age” (with Jack Seward), 23 American Bankruptcy Institute Journal (2004).
- “Eat My Dirt! Dirt for Debt Swaps Under 11 U.S.C. Section 1129(b)(2)(A),” 23 American Bankruptcy Institute Journal 48 (2003)
- §§141:31 — 141:59, “Digital Electronic Data” (with Jack Seward), in Norton's Bankruptcy Law and Practice, Thompson West.
- “Realism, Institutions, and Neutrality: Constraining Conflict Through the Force of Norms,” Commonwealth: A Journal of Political Science, 9(1998): 37-56.
