Heather Austin serves as deputy regional managing partner of the firm’s Philadelphia office and cochair of the national Life, Health, Disability & ERISA Practice. Heather concentrates her practice in the area of ERISA litigation; however, her litigation experience includes the representation of businesses in a variety of actions that include but are not limited to breach of contract, violation of non-compete covenants and wrongful discharge disputes. Heather also represents companies in Interpleader actions filed in state and federal courts and has extensive experience defending insurance carriers and private entities against claims brought under ERISA and state laws relating to the denial of disability and life insurance plans.

Despite her extensive litigation experience, Heather understands that litigation is not the right tool for every dispute and she works with her clients to understand their interests and needs and to make their priorities her own. She is licensed to practice in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey and is admitted to practice in several federal district courts.

Community Involvement
Heather is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated. She is a former member of the Board of Managers of the West Philadelphia YMCA. Additionally, Heather is a former member of the Board of Methodist Services for Children and Families and Methodist Family Services of Philadelphia, two organizations that service the needs of women, children and families with, among other things, financial, mental health and substance abuse issues. Heather has served as a mentor through various organizations, including Big Brothers/Big Sisters and Philadelphia Futures. She currently serves as the chair of the firm’s Cluster Mentoring subcommittee, which offers associates, of counsel and junior partners an opportunity to engage in a meaningful way with some of the firm’s most seasoned practitioners through a hybrid program that consists of both one-on-one and group mentoring.

    Education

    • Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law (J.D., 1999)
    • University of Pennsylvania (B.A., 1993)

    Bar Admissions

    • Pennsylvania
    • New Jersey
    • Maryland

    Court Admissions

    • U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
    • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
    • U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania
    • U.S. District Court, District of Maryland
    • U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
    • U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
    • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
    • U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York
    • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio

    Professional Affiliations

    • DRI: The Voice of the Defense Bar; Life, Health, Disability and ERISA Committee
    • Philadelphia Bar Association, former editor in chief, The Philadelphia Bar Reporter

    Awards & Honors

    • Selected for inclusion in Rising Stars for Pennsylvania Super Lawyers, 2011
    • Awarded the “Outstanding Young Lawyer Award,” Barristers' Association of Philadelphia

Events

Heather Austin serves as deputy regional managing partner of the firm’s Philadelphia office and cochair of the national Life, Health, Disability & ERISA Practice. Heather concentrates her practice in the area of ERISA litigation; however, her litigation experience includes the representation of businesses in a variety of actions that include but are not limited to breach of contract, violation of non-compete covenants and wrongful discharge disputes. Heather also represents companies in Interpleader actions filed in state and federal courts and has extensive experience defending insurance carriers and private entities against claims brought under ERISA and state laws relating to the denial of disability and life insurance plans.

Despite her extensive litigation experience, Heather understands that litigation is not the right tool for every dispute and she works with her clients to understand their interests and needs and to make their priorities her own. She is licensed to practice in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey and is admitted to practice in several federal district courts.

Community Involvement
Heather is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated. She is a former member of the Board of Managers of the West Philadelphia YMCA. Additionally, Heather is a former member of the Board of Methodist Services for Children and Families and Methodist Family Services of Philadelphia, two organizations that service the needs of women, children and families with, among other things, financial, mental health and substance abuse issues. Heather has served as a mentor through various organizations, including Big Brothers/Big Sisters and Philadelphia Futures. She currently serves as the chair of the firm’s Cluster Mentoring subcommittee, which offers associates, of counsel and junior partners an opportunity to engage in a meaningful way with some of the firm’s most seasoned practitioners through a hybrid program that consists of both one-on-one and group mentoring.

Heather Austin

Bachrach and Austin Obtain Summary Judgment in Disability Case Involving Focal Epilepsy

Philadelphia partners Josh Bachrach and Heather Austin obtained summary judgment in favor of our carrier client in an ERISA case pending in federal court in Pennsylvania. The plaintiff previously worked as a registered nurse but stopped due to symptoms related to focal epilepsy. She described her symptoms as a déjà vu-like feeling that lasted for one to two minutes, followed be a few hours of fatigue and brain fog. Benefits were initially approved but denied after 24 months when the plaintiff had to prove that she was totally disabled from pursuing any occupation. The court rejected the plaintiff’s procedural challenges to the claim decision, including to the applicable standard of review in court. On the merits, the court concluded that our client reasonably rejected the opinions of the treating doctor, who overstated the number of episodes the plaintiff experienced each month and recommended testing to objectively confirm the claimed symptoms, but testing was never performed. The court also concluded that the alternative occupations identified by our client were reasonable. Therefore, the denial of additional benefits was not arbitrary and capricious and Josh and Heather proved our client was entitled to judgment in its favor. 

Joshua Bachrach and Heather Austin

Austin, Bachrach and Stone Obtain Summary Judgment on Preexisting Conditions Limitation

Heather Austin (Partner-Philadelphia, PA), Josh Bachrach (Partner-Philadelphia, PA) and Parks Stone (Partner-Atlanta, GA) obtained summary judgment in favor of our client carrier in an ERISA lawsuit pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The plaintiff sought disability benefits shortly after she began working for the policyholder. But in the months before her coverage began, she was seen by doctors for fatigue, joint pain and swelling, muscle weakness, nausea, lung issues and stomach issues. A few months after she began working she was diagnosed with scleroderma and then stopped working. While scleroderma was responsible for all of the plaintiff’s symptoms, she argued that the policy’s preexisting conditions limitation did not apply to her claim because a diagnosis was not made until after she stopped working. Citing to an earlier Eleventh Circuit decision in which Wilson Elser represented the defendant, the court reached “the inescapable conclusion” that the client’s decision was reasonable and it was entitled to judgment in its favor. 

Heather Austin, Joshua Bachrach and Parks K. Stone

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