Attorney Profiles

Biography

Jan Soifer joined Baron & Budd’s Austin office as Special Counsel to work with the law firm’s Qui Tam litigation team. Jan brings to Baron & Budd more than 27 years of legal experience protecting taxpayers, consumers, nonprofit and governmental entities from the effects of fraud.

Jan says, “Baron & Budd’s resources allow me to expand on work I’ve always been committed to: protecting American taxpayers and the public interest from fraud.”

In addition to her experience in federal and state Qui Tam or False Claims Acts, Jan has successfully represented plaintiffs suing officers and directors who breach their fiduciary duties and commit fraud against nonprofit organizations. She formerly served as Chief of the Texas Attorney General’s Charitable Trusts Section and Deputy Chief of the Consumer Protection Division.

Jan has taken on leadership roles in the legal community, having served as a Director of the State Bar of Texas, Trustee of the Texas Bar Foundation, President of the Austin Bar Association, President of the Austin Young Lawyers Association, a member of the Supreme Court Gender Bias Reform Implementation Committee and the Council of the Antitrust and Business Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas, and Treasurer of the Travis County Women Lawyers Association. She is currently a member of the State Bar’s Women in the Profession Committee and the Austin Bar Association’s Judicial Affairs Committee.

Jan has proven her commitment to providing all people with access to justice. She was appointed one of the initial Commissioners of the Texas Access to Justice Commission, and currently serves on the Access to Justice Commission’s Legislative Committee. She has also served as President of Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas, a bar-sponsored project that provides free legal services to people in need. She was on the organization’s Board of Directors for seven years and was subsequently selected to receive the 1995 J. Chrys Dougherty Award for exemplary dedication and commitment to the principle of access to justice for all people regardless of income.

Jan is very active in the Austin community as well. She currently serves as an Executive Committee Member and co-chair of the Civil Rights Committees of both the Southwest Regional Board and the Austin Council of the Anti-Defamation League and President of Austin Area Interreligious Ministries. She has also served as a President of Congregation Beth Israel of Austin, Vice President of the Jewish Community Association of Austin, a Trustee of the Children's Medical Center Foundation of Central Texas, and Chair of the Community Relations Council of the Jewish Community Association of Austin. Jan is a graduate of Leadership Austin and Leadership Texas.

Jan has been generous in sharing her experience with other lawyers, aspiring law students and the broader community. From 1992 until 2008, Jan was an adjunct faculty member at the University of Texas School of Law, teaching trial advocacy classes. She is a frequent speaker and author of several publications for the Center of Community-Based and Nonprofit Organizations at Austin Community College. She has also been a speaker and instructor at various continuing legal education seminars on trial advocacy and procedure, consumer law, nonprofit organizations and ethics.

Jan is AV-rated by Martindale Hubbell Legal Directory, its highest rating. She is also Board Certified in Consumer and Commercial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Jan is married to Pat O'Connell, and they have two children, Brad, a marine biology major at the University of Texas at Austin, and Ally, a stage management major at the University of Cinncinati College-Conservatory of Music. When Jan can find the time, she volunteers in local, state and national political campaigns and Democratic organizations or indulges in her love of reading.