|
Charles Buffon continues to play a leading role in the firm's Litigation, Antitrust, Consumer Law and Intellectual Property practices. He is also General Counsel to the firm responsible for professional conduct matters and serves as a consultant to law firms and individual lawyers on professional ethics issues. His opinion as an "expert in legal ethics" has been cited and followed in a U.S. Patent Office disciplinary proceeding.
Mr. Buffon's practice encompasses class actions and other complex civil litigation, government investigations and consent negotiations, antitrust advice and dispute resolution, intellectual property litigation, franchise and distribution issues, trade regulation, consumer protection law, Internet security, advertising substantiation and professional conduct law. He has argued both antitrust and intellectual property cases before several Federal Courts of Appeal, appeared in court proceedings in federal and state courts in more than twenty states, engaged in numerous negotiations with the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice and other federal and state government agencies, and has experience both in mediation and as a mediator. He also has extensive experience representing European and Japanese luxury, fashion and cosmetic product manufacturers with respect to distribution in the United States.
Representative Matters
- Expert in legal ethics issues arising in arbitration between a major law firm and departing partners.
- Successfully argued motion to dismiss antitrust monopolization claim in Emigra Group v. Fragomen, Del Rey, Bensen & Lowery (S.D.N.Y. 2009).
- Lead counsel to a major issuer of credit cards in the defense and settlement of an antitrust action in the Southern District of New York alleging a conspiracy among banks and Visa and MasterCard to foreclose banks from issuing American Express cards.
- Lead counsel to a major credit card issuer in mediation and settlement of the Foreign Exchange Fee Antitrust Litigation, a nationwide class action now pending in the Southern District of New York. Mr. Buffon successfully argued a motion establishing the enforceability of our client’s arbitration clause, thereby facilitating resolution of the matter.
- Counsel to a major Internet company in resolving a Federal Trade Commission investigation of the data security provided by its identity authentication service. The standard articulated in this matter has become the template for resolution of subsequent FTC data security investigations. Mr. Buffon has also assisted several clients in responding to FTC investigations closed without action.
Previous Experience
- Washington College of Law of American University, Adjunct Professor, teaching basic course in professional ethics.
- University of Virginia Law School, Adjunct Instructor, teaching seminar in antitrust litigation.
- Howard University Law School, Lecturer on ethics issues affecting patent practitioners.
Honors and Rankings
- Euromoney, Benchmark: The Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys, Litigation Star, DC
- Washington defense litigation Super Lawyer
- Who’s Who in America
- Who’s Who in American Law
- Certificate of Appreciation from DC Bar for Chairing Multidisciplinary Practice Committee (2002)
- Certificate of Appreciation from DC Bar for Chairing Legal Ethics Committee (1987)
Memberships and Affiliations
- Past Chair of DC Bar Multidisciplinary Practice, Legal Ethics, Court Rules and Legal Specialization Committees and member of Steering Committee of Section on Courts, Lawyers and the Administration of Justice
- Member of DC Bar Committees on drafting and revision of Rules of Professional Conduct, Multi-jurisdictional Practice and Long Range Planning
- Life Member American Bar Foundation
Publications and Speeches
- "Antitrust Arbitration Counseling," Antitrust (Fall 2004), Co-Author
- "Under One Roof: Multidisciplinary Practices," Washington Lawyer (September 2002), Author
- "Trademark Owners Win Major Victories Against Sellers of Altered and Decoded Goods," 120 CIPIC Journal 1 (February 2002), Co-Author
|
|