Nicholas Austin, JD

Principal Corporate Legal Counsel, Microsoft, Inc.

Nicholas “Nick” Austin’s work primarily focuses on providing expert counsel to Fortune 500 companies. He currently serves as Principal Corporate Legal Counsel at Microsoft, Inc. where he focuses on cloud technology transactions and other strategic initiatives.  

Nick previously worked at Wells Fargo Bank as Vice President and Senior Counsel in the Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Venture Capital (VC) and Strategic Transactions Group. While at Wells Fargo Nick also served as a diversity leader for the bank. He also serves as the current Treasurer of the National Bar Association. Nick is also a member of the Board of Trustees for the The Black Student Fund.

Nick worked as M&A and VC Counsel at Caterpillar, where he advised senior company executives on legal matters pertaining to M&A and Caterpillar’s VC and joint venture projects. Nick helped establish Caterpillar’s first corporate VC initiative, and served as General Counsel of Caterpillar’s Toronto based tunneling business, Caterpillar Tunneling Canada Corporation, where he led legal operations for the entity. 

As an associate at the Washington, DC offices of Foley & Lardner, LLP, Nick handled M&A and Business Transactions where he advised clients on mergers and acquisitions, commercial contracts, securities and energy related matters. While at Foley, Nick served two secondments as in-house counsel for Cummins, Inc. and Sunoco.

Nick also recently completed a term as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Young Lawyers Division of the National Bar Association (NBA YLD). Nick is also a member of the Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association (ABA YLD). During his term as NBA YLD Chair Nick partnered with the ABA YLD on numerous initiatives and events. During his bar year, the NBA YLD was selected as a winner of the annual Embracing Diversity Challenge due to the NBA YLD's pipeline diversity work with law students all across the country that year. The grant money is being used to help fund the NBA YLD's continued diversity pipeline efforts. The ABA YLD’s EMBRACING Diversity Challenge recognizes and awards top young lawyer organization's that increase diversity in the legal profession.

Nick is a proud recipient of the American Bar Association’s Top 40 Under 40 Lawyer award as well as the National Bar Association’s Top 40 Under 40 Lawyer Award. 

Nick earned his JD from Georgetown University Law Center where he competed on the Moot Court team and also served as BLSA President. Nick is a Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Morehouse College where he served as Editor-In-Chief of the student newspaper, The Maroon Tiger. An aggressive entrepreneur and proud DC native, Nick also owns several DC-area based businesses and properties. 

In his free time, Nick loves to plan social events and fellowship with his Omega Psi Phi Fraternity brothers.