Buffy Mims > DLA Piper LLP (US) > Washington DC, United States > Lawyer Profile
DLA Piper LLP (US) Offices

500 EIGHTH STREET, NW
WASHINGTON, DC 20004
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
United States
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Buffy Mims

Work Department
Litigation, Arbitration and Investigations; Consumer Goods, Food and Retail; Life Sciences; Healthcare
Position
Partner
Career
Buffy Mims is an accomplished trial attorney who handles cases in a wide range of practice areas, including product liability, toxic torts, commercial, consumer fraud and internal investigations.
She represents clients in the life sciences, automotive, food and beverage, government contracts and retail industries. She defends clients in complex and mass tort litigation in both state and federal multidistrict proceedings. She manages and develops the defense of product liability cases, analyzing ongoing litigation, coordinating the work of counsel across the country and preparing expert and company witnesses for trial. Buffy’s experience in multi-jurisdictional product liability litigation includes acting as national counsel from the pre-trial discovery phase, to bellwether trials and resolution.
Buffy has achieved defense verdicts for clients in ‘bet-the-company’ trials. With her trial partner, she obtained a complete defense verdict in a jury trial of six test plaintiffs alleging damages resulting from the spraying of an aerial herbicide in southern Columbia. She has also tried cases in an ATRA-certified ‘hellhole’ jurisdiction. In 2014, Buffy successfully tried a case on remand from an active MDL in federal court for a large pharmaceutical company. The jury returned a verdict as to all claims following a seven-day jury trial.
Memberships
Chair, Litigation Forum, 2010-2012; Member, Alternate Housing Committee of the DC Board of Professional Responsibility; Defense Research Institute
Education
J.D., Georgetown University Law Center; B.A., Temple University
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: toxic tort
Knowledgeable across a range of toxic-related matters, including chemical exposure, and strengthened by the recent recruitment of a number of accomplished trial lawyers, DLA Piper LLP (US) is increasingly well-positioned to guide defendants throughout the life cycle of litigation. Washington DC-based Buffy Mims co-heads the toxic tort sub-group, following her arrival from Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP in January 2021; she has particular expertise handling state and federal MDL proceedings. The ‘responsive and diligent‘ team is also appreciated for its ‘willingness to innovate‘ on billing and its conversance with hot-button issues including climate change and PFAS matters. On the West Coast, numerous practitioners have toxic tort/environmental litigation expertise, including San Francisco-based George Gigounas who handles national work as well as California’s Proposition 65 law matters.
Lawyer Rankings
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection)
- Real estate > Land use/zoning
- Dispute resolution > International litigation
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: middle-market ($500m-999m)
- Media, technology and telecoms > Outsourcing
- Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: pharmaceuticals and medical devices
- Real estate > Real estate
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: regulatory
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: transactions
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Venture capital and emerging companies
Firm Rankings
- Media, technology and telecoms > Advertising and marketing: transactional and regulatory
- Industry focus > Cannabis
- Antitrust > Cartel
- Dispute resolution > E-discovery
- Industry focus > Energy: renewable/alternative power
- Tax > Financial products
- Media, technology and telecoms > Fintech
- Tax > International tax
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (International Trade Commission)
- Real estate > Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
- Finance > Structured finance: securitization
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: non-contentious (including prosecution, portfolio management and licensing)
- Tax > US taxes: contentious
- Labor and employment > Workplace and employment counseling
- Industry focus > Healthcare: life sciences
- Industry focus > Healthcare: service providers
- Industry focus > Insurance: advice to insurers
- Industry focus > Insurance: non-contentious
- Labor and employment > Labor and employment disputes (including collective actions): defense
- Labor and employment > Labor-management relations
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: automotive/transport
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: toxic tort
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: litigation
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- Real estate > Construction (including construction litigation)
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: litigation
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: transactional
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco)
- Intellectual property > Patents: prosecution (including re-examination and post-grant proceedings)
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense
- Finance > Project finance