David Michael Buffo

September 9, 2020 Director David Buffo, a graduate of University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, joined Dysart Taylor in 2017. An experienced commercial litigator, he has a strong business acumen that helps him understand his clients needs. David, working primarily in transportation and construction, has been helping Fortune 500 companies and small businesses alike for nearly 17 years. Read on to learn more about David in our Attorney Spotlight: Why did you want to become an attorney? What made you decide on this field? I wanted to become an attorney because after working for 10 years after graduating from college, I realized how important attorneys were to our society. It became apparent to me that people needed good legal counsel both for personal and business matters. I always enjoyed working with people and figured that working with people as their lawyer would provide a rewarding and hopefully long-lasting career. What is your most significant memory or case in your career? My most significant memory comes from a plaintiffs case that I took a number of years ago. I represented a property owner against a large quarry owner; the quarry had done significant damages, in excess of $1.2M, to my clients property. The quarry owner refused to repair or compensate my client so we were forced to sue the quarry owner. The quarry owner was a multibillion-dollar company and my client was a small property owner in Kansas. To say this was David versus Goliath was an understatement! The quarry owner was represented by a large national law firm with a team of lawyers who were less than desirable to deal with over the two plus years of litigation. We attempted two mediations, which were both failures - the quarry never offered more than $2,000 to settle. We went to trial in federal court and after 3 ½ days of us putting on our case and getting in very favorable testimony over relentless objections, the quarry approached us about settling. Needless to say, although my client was not made entirely whole, the quarry paid significantly more than $2,000 to settle! It was rewarding to help the little guy against the big company and to see the judicial system work! What is the best advice you can give an up-and-coming attorney? Be prepared to work harder than you ever imagined and dont be afraid to ask questions. Also, find a good mentor and use your mentor as a resource. How do you like to spend your time outside of work? Thats an interesting question at the present time. And the answer is - Im not really sure. My time outside of work was almost exclusively occupied with my two sons activities and being involved as much as possible with them as they grew up, but we just took our youngest son to college in August so now my wife and I will have to adjust to life as empty nesters. Is there anything you did more of during quarantine than before? Yes, spent more time with my family. My oldest son came home from college during the recent quarantine and my youngest son was also home so it was the first time in nearly three years that our entire family was living under the same roof for an extended period of time.