Biography
Edwin Buffmire represents clients in antitrust, class action, trade secret, fraud, internal investigations, and other complex and sensitive disputes across the nation. Edwin’s significant courtroom experience in some of the country’s largest bet-the-company litigation is the cornerstone of successful strategies built for clients in a variety of industries. He has successfully pursued recoveries for 3 Fortune 500 companies in the largest antitrust class action settlement in U.S. history, defended trading companies against anticompetitive conduct in the natural gas industry, secured two full defense verdicts at trial for a securities brokerage firm against RICO claims, and defended media clients against a putative nationwide class asserting conspiracy allegations. Edwin and a team of Jackson Walker lawyers also obtained the largest known recovery for a student speech plaintiff in a First Amendment lawsuit involving rights in the era of digital technology and social media.
Edwin has argued before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and has jury trial experience, including defending a client against a federal wire fraud indictment. He also has experience arguing white collar criminal sentencing and presenting testimony on economic losses.
Edwin was recently named to chair Jackson Walker’s pro bono committee and has expanded numerous initiatives helping Jackson Walker assist communities across Texas and beyond.
Prior to working with Jackson Walker, Edwin served as a judicial law clerk on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in the chambers of the Honorable Richard R. Clifton. In that role, he analyzed appeals from the federal courts of California, Washington, Oregon, Montana, Arizona, Idaho, Nevada and Hawaii.
Edwin has established himself in the field of antitrust and was named to the Council for the Texas State Bar Association Antitrust and Business Litigation section. He also has written in the areas of evidence and e-discovery. He was invited to speak at a symposium organized by the Advisory Committee on Evidence Rules for the Federal Rules of Evidence which advises the Supreme Court. Those proceedings were published in the Fordham Law Review. Edwin has published articles with the Tennessee Law Review and the Fordham Law Review discussing Federal Rule of Evidence 502, protective orders, and attorney-client privilege.
Edwin also continues to try to extend his basketball career by playing in local leagues with colleagues and friends, albeit much more slowly than when he played at Princeton. But his dogs, Juneau and Kenai–named from his home state, Alaska—prefer chasing quail across Texas. Edwin’s now at home in the Lone Star state with his Fort Worth-native wife, Mary Madison.
Education
B.A., Princeton University
J.D., cum laude, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
- Order of the Coif
- Northwestern Law Review, Senior Article Editor
Bar Admissions
Texas
Court Admissions
Supreme Court of Texas
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits
United States District Court for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas
Practice Experience
- Antitrust
- Appellate
- Class Action
- Litigation
- Complex Litigation
- Fiduciary Duty Litigation
- Media Litigation
- Shareholder Litigation
Career Highlights
- Delivered opening statement and cross-examined witnesses in federal criminal jury trial defending client against federal wire fraud charges
- Represented Shell Oil Company, Sunoco, Dell Technology, and other large merchants as individual opt outs in largest antitrust class action settlement
- Argued before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, defending one client against charges of healthcare fraud.
- Obtained two full jury verdicts for defendants in RICO trials
- Obtained dismissals of three class action lawsuits in Arkansas
- Led multiple internal investigations for various industries including energy, construction, private equity, and alcohol distribution
- Obtained dismissal of class action for National Motor Club of America, Inc., after the company was sued for violations of federal law in federal district court in Arizona
- Helped client obtain summary judgment on a 20,000-member class action lawsuit for credit union provider to one of largest air carriers in the world
- Obtained the largest known recovery for a student speech plaintiff in United States history, in a contentious First Amendment lawsuit involving groundbreaking issues of student speech rights in the era of digital technology and social media
- Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America, 2023-2024
- “Texas Rising Star,” Super Lawyers – Rising Stars by Thomson Reuters, 2017-2021
- Author, “Enter the Order, Protect the Privilege: Considerations for Courts Entering Protective Orders Under Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d),” 81 FORDHAM L. REV. 1621 (2013)
- Author, “The (Unappreciated) Multidimensional Benefits of Rule 502(d): Why and How Litigants Should Better Utilize the New Federal Rule of Evidence,” 79 TENNESSEE LAW REVIEW 141 (2011)
- American Bar Association
- Dallas Bar Association
- State Bar of Texas – Antitrust and Business Litigation Section Council, 2018-2021
Jackson Walker Wins Release for Client Serving Life Sentence
November 9, 2021
Jackson Walker Represents Diversified Pure Chem in Sale to Global Company
September 29, 2017

September 19, 2023
Speaking EngagementsJennifer Freel and Edwin Buffmire to Speak at UT Law CLE’s Government Enforcement Institute
At the 9th Annual Government Enforcement Institute, Jennifer S. Freel and Edwin Buffmire will present on recent enforcement trends by the U.S. Department of Justice and the expansion of criminal antitrust enforcement.

September 14, 2023
Attorney NewsJackson Walker Congratulates 35 Attorneys Named Among the Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America
Jackson Walker announces the selection of 35 attorneys to Lawdragon’s 2024 list of the 500 leading litigators in America.

October 7, 2022
Attorney NewsJackson Walker Congratulates 36 Attorneys Named Among the Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America
Jackson Walker announces the selection of 36 attorneys to Lawdragon’s inaugural list of the 500 leading litigators in America.

April 21, 2022
NewslettersJW Diversity & Inclusion Newsletter – April 2022
View Jackson Walker’s April 2022 Diversity & Inclusion Newsletter, Perspectives.

April 8, 2022
Client ResultsPro Bono Team Secures Release of Client Serving Life Sentence
Working alongside Brittany Barnett and the Buried Alive Project, a Jackson Walker team led by Edwin Buffmire sought a reduction in the life sentence of Ray Charles Fields, who received a mandatory life sentence in 1994 for nonviolent drug-related crimes.

November 9, 2021
Client ResultsJackson Walker Wins Release for Client Serving Life Sentence
In partnership with the Buried Alive Project, a national nonprofit launched to help free prisoners sentenced to life without parole for nonviolent drug offenses, Jackson Walker sought a reduction in the life sentence of Robert Dale Gray, who received a mandatory life sentence without parole in 1997 for a third felony drug conviction.

September 3, 2021
NewslettersLabor & Employment Dispatch: September 2021
View the September 2021 edition of the Labor & Employment Dispatch.


August 4, 2021
Client ResultsJackson Walker Defends American Airlines Federal Credit Union in 401(k) Management Suit
On July 19, 2021, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, reversed, and vacated parts of the district court’s decision in a suit brought by two former American Airlines employees who sought to certify a 20,000-member class action.



July 27, 2021
NewslettersLabor & Employment Dispatch: July 2021
The June 2021 issue of Jackson Walker’s Labor & Employment Dispatch features insights on President Biden’s antitrust executive order, the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, the 87th Texas Legislature, new guidance on PrEP coverage and retirement plans, the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program, ransomware attacks, and more.


July 27, 2021
InsightsNew Biden Executive Order Places Increased Focus on Noncompete Agreements and Antitrust Enforcement
By Gary Fowler
On July 9, 2021, as part of an executive order announced to promote competition and increase wages for workers, President Biden directed the Federal Trade Commission to consider two key areas affecting employers: to “ban or limit noncompete agreements” and revise the 2016 Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals.