Attorney Austin LiPuma is a Partner and the Personal Injury Department Director at Freking Myers & Reul. Since its beginning, Austin’s career has been exclusively focused on representing plaintiffs. During law school, he clerked for Judge Patricia Oney (retired) in the Butler County Court of Common Pleas, served as an instructor with the Law & Leadership Institute focused on bettering education for students in underserved areas, and was a research assistant for Professor Emerita Marianna Bettman where he assisted with the acclaimed blog Legally Speaking Ohio.
Austin has centrally focused his career on representing injured people. From dog bites to catastrophic trucking cases, he has recovered millions on behalf of his clients along the way. His first-chair trial experience has equipped him with the skillset to handle all aspects of personal injury litigation including depositions, mediations, hearings, and jury trials.
Austin is a proud double graduate of University of Cincinnati where he earned both his undergraduate and law degrees. He was actively involved in Cincinnati’s Mock Trial Association and U.C. Law’s Moot Court. Austin was also on the executive board of the student-run Freedom Center Journal, a mentor with the Student Legal Education Committee, and a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution club. For the last 11 years, Austin has acted as head coach for University of Cincinnati’s nationally ranked Mock Trial Association.
Legal Career
- Partner, Freking Myers & Reul LLC
- Associate, Dyer Garofalo Mann & Schultz
Areas of Practice
Education
- J.D. University of Cincinnati College of Law – Cum Laude
- B.A., University of Cincinnati – Magna Cum Laude, Departmental High Honors
Professional Associations
- Cincinnati Bar Association
- Ohio State Bar Association
- Ohio Association for Justice, Board of Trustees
- Southwest Ohio Trial Lawyers Association, Secretary
- Co-Founder/Chair, Torts & Insurance Group, CBA
- For Love Of Children (“FLOC”), Presentation Director/Board Member
Licenses
- State of Ohio, 2016
- State of Indiana, 2017
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio, 2016
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana, 2017
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, 2017
Honors & Awards
- Best lawyers in America “Ones to Watch” 2023 - 2024
- Super Lawyers 2020 – 2024
- The National Trial Lawyers, Civil Plaintiff - Top 40 under 40
- Cincinnati Academy of Leadership for Lawyers, Class 25
- Schmieg & Weill Award for Outstanding Contribution to Moot Court
- Norman I. Barron Award for Demonstrated Leadership and Integrity
- John R. Sayler Prize for Achievement of Highest Grade in Evidence
- Order of The Barristers
- Phi Beta Kappa
Publications
- The Personal Injury Primer by Austin LiPuma
- Personal Injury Claims During a Pandemic and Beyond:
- Treatment, Technology, & Telehealth: Receiving Care During COVID-19
- I contracted COVID-19 at work—do I have a personal injury claim
- The (Surprise) Billing Stops Here
- Snow & Ice: Nothing is Nice
- "Beyond" What Will We Take With Us?
- A “Comparative” Look at Ohio’s Open & Obvious Doctrine Co-Author, Dayton Bar Briefs, Feb. 2018
- Student Contributor, Legally Speaking Ohio
Presentations
- Lawyers’ Club of Cincinnati, Truck Law
- NBI Auto Injury Claims in Ohio: Negotiating Liens on Auto Injury Settlements: ERISA and More
- OAJ Winter Conference, Using Easily Accessible Resources to Build Your Case
- Cincinnati Paralegal Association, Communication Tips for Paralegals
- Zooming Towards The Future: Continuing Pandemic Practices, CBA
- Continuing Practice Through COVID-19: An overview on developing and continuing best practices that promote efficacy, safety, and sustainability in representing clients during a pandemic, CBA
- Tort & Insurance Law Legal Basics, CBA
- “Freecon” What You Can Find Online at No Cost, Southwest Ohio Trial Lawyers Association
- NBI Ohio Personal Injury Litigation: Secrets Only the Top Attorneys Know
- CBA, “Practicing in an Increasingly Virtual World”
Recent Results
- $3.9 Million Golf Cart Accident resulting in wrongful death (with Mark Napier)
- $1 Million Trucking Collision resulting in wrongful death
- $900,000 Trucking Collision involving fractured femur
- $350,000 Trucking Collision involving disc herniation
- $300,000 Motorcycle Accident
- $250,000 Dog Bite to lower extremities
- $175,000 Dog Bite involving facial scar
- $170,000 Chemical Exposure
- $150,000 Burn involving a lit cigarette
- $115,000 Surgical Foreign Object
- $100,000 Horseback Riding incident involving fractured arm
- $100,000 Pedestrian versus Motor Vehicle involving PTSD
- $100,000 Motor Vehicle Accident with shoulder Injury
