Cathy K. Austin
Drinker, Biddle, Gardner & Carton, Chicago

Cathy Kiselyak Austin is a Partner in the Chicago office of Drinker Biddle & Reath, where she is the Vice Chair of the Intellectual Property Group and Chair of the Information Technology & Outsourcing Practice Team. Ms. Austin specializes in negotiating agreements for the development, acquisition and operation of information systems for U.S. and international clients. She also handles a wide range of matters related to the Internet - from online contracting, privacy and security issues to Web site policies and agreements. Prior to university, Ms. Austin studied in Germany finishing with an Abitur from the Heinrich Hertz Gymnasium. She began focusing on information technology as an undergraduate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and then worked in the industry for a year before attending Yale Law School. She later served as Assistant General Counsel for Household Finance Corporation where she was responsible for all legal matters relating to information technology for HFC and its subsidiaries. A frequent speaker and writer, Ms. Austin also was co-Editor-in-Chief of a CCH journal on business information issues for several years.