Austin K. Barron

A graduate of Harvard Law School (and Homer High), Austin began his career at O'Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles in 1999, returning to Alaska in 2017 to raise a family. Austin brings to Alaska a wealth of sophisticated, large firm legal experience representing large and small clients in all aspects of business and corporate law. In addition to closing dozens of seven to nine figure deals throughout his career, Austin has appeared in courtrooms in California, Delaware, New York, and elsewhere in the lower 48. Austin prides himself on helping clients and colleagues plan and execute sophisticated yet practical strategies in litigation, transactional and general corporate matters, covering large organic deals and bet-the-company litigation as well as more routine matters. Austin has chaired the Bankruptcy Section of the Alaska Bar Association since 2019.

As a veteran of dozens of local, national, and international corporate bankruptcy cases, representing debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, lessors, third party purchasers and other interested parties, Austin has garnered general and specialized expertise to assist clients with any and all matters involving distressed assets or companies. His clients in the Lower 48 included Sony, Yahoo!, Western Digital, SanDisk, Oracle, Qwest, Mission Energy/Edison, Cerberus, Harrington Partners, Los Angeles World Airports, and Verizon. Austin was also debtor’s counsel in a number of notable bankruptcy cases, such as At Home Corporation (Excite.com), MTS (Tower Records), SonicBLUE Corporation (ReplayTV), Chameleon Systems, Advanced Marketing Services and GTS Property Portfolios. 

Since returning to Alaska, Austin has represented dozens of companies and individuals with large and small litigation, corporate, and insolvency matters, from initial formation and financing of business ventures, through day to day operation and expansion, and up to eventual sale, restructuring, or wind-down, focusing a material portion of his practice on Alaska's growing cannabis industry and with a firm commitment to our burgeoning startup community. In addition to numerous smaller clients and startups, Austin has assisted companies and owners of such well-known Alaskan ventures as McKinley Capital Management, ACE Air Cargo, the Anchorage Dispatch News, Great Northern Cannabis, Beacon Media, and Clear Alaskan Glacier, as well as public and similar entities such as AIDEA, the Anchorage School District, the City of Homer, and a number of native corporations and smaller municipalities. 

The broad range of Austin's practice has given him substantive exposure to the business structures and concerns of entities in dozens of industries. Whether you or a major trading partner are contemplating a full blown bankruptcy or are simply facing unexpected operational or financial business challenges, Austin can assist you with workouts and rehabilitation or liquidation strategies, with or without a bankruptcy. This expertise also carries over to non-distressed deals such as mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financings, general contract work and operational guidance, and of course litigation. His significant experience seeing how the chips fall when market forces make sudden downturns, or when business plans simply fail to meet expectations, gives him unparalleled insight into how best to protect his clients’ interests on the front end, when contracts and business relationships are being formed.

Austin grew up in Anchor Point and is an avid fisherman and occasional moose hunter, and he aspires to find more time to snowboard.

Practice Areas

Bankruptcy, Insolvency, Restructuring, and Workouts

Creditors’ Rights and Remedies

Corporate, Business, and Commercial Law

Marijuana Law and Regulation

Complex Litigation

Structured and Secured Financing

Startups, Incubation, and Acceleration

Technology Law and Telecommunications

Education

Harvard University Law School J.D. - 1999

Sussex University Faculty of Law (UK) LL.M. - 1997

University of Southern California B.A./B.A (International Relations/Ethics) - 1994

Example Reported Cases

In re Urban Broadcasting Corp., 401 F.3d 236 (4th Cir. 2005)

In re At Home Corporation, 292 B.R. 195 (N.D. Cal. 2003), aff’d 392 F.3d 1064 (9th Cir. 2004)

In re Chameleon Systems, 306 B.R. 666 (Bankr. N.D. Cal. 2004)

In re Read-Rite Corp., 393 Fed.Appx. 535 (9th Cir. Aug. 31, 2010), affirming 2007 WL 2318901 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 13, 2007), affirming 2006 WL 2241107 (Bankr. N.D. Cal. June 19, 2006)

In re Read-Rite Corp., 2006 WL 1214839 (N.D. Cal. May 5. 2006)

Professional and Community Activities 

Chair, Bankruptcy Section, Alaska Bar Association

Business Member, Anchorage Chamber of Commerce

Anchorage Bar Association

Federal Bar Association, Alaska Chapter

Admitted to Practice

Alaska, California, and all associated Federal Districts