Derek W. Edwards

Derek Edwards is a partner in Waller Lansden's Trial and Appellate Litigation practice group. He is a trusted advisor to public and private companies in financial services consumer class-action litigation, complex commercial litigation, and lender liability litigation. For more than a decade, Mr. Edwards has defended financial institutions in consumer lawsuits alleging violations of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA), Regulation E, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) as well as in identity theft matters. He does so in federal and state courts throughout the United States as well as before arbitration panels. Mr. Edwards also advises companies in their day-to-day operations, especially concerning contracts, ATM operations, and creditors rights in the sale of goods and services, in payment disputes, and bankruptcy. He has represented an international aircraft manufacturer in every airline bankruptcy in the last decade.

Mr. Edwards’ litigation experience in the payment processing and financial technology industry includes representing ATM ISOs, ISRs, operators, sponsor banks, and vendors, including defending dozens of putative EFTA class-action ATM fee-decal cases in federal courts including New York, California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Georgia, Connecticut, Minnesota, Indiana, Tennessee, Alabama, and New Jersey. In particular, he consolidated four putative ATM class-action lawsuits before the Panel on Multidistrict Litigation in New Orleans: In re Regions Bank ATM Fee Notice Litigation, 763 F.Supp.2d 1372 (J.P.M.L. Feb. 3, 2011) and 2011 WL 4036691 (S.D. Miss. Sep. 12, 2011). Mr. Edwards is a member of the ATM Industry Association (ATMIA).
 

Education

• J.D., Vanderbilt University, 2000
• B.A., cum laude, Duke University, 1993
  • Dean's List with Distinction for three years at Duke University

Clerkships and Previous Affiliations

• Attorney, Washington D.C. office of Los Angeles-based firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP
• Lieutenant, United States Navy
• Served as Navigator, Gunnery Officer and Propulsion Division Officer onboard USS Gettysburg, an Aegis guided-missile cruiser, 1993-1997
• Deployed twice to the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean Sea and once to the Baltic Sea while serving onboard USS Gettysburg.
• Piloted USS Gettysburg to and from the Persian Gulf, including two transits through the Suez Canal

Professional Activities

• Member, Nashville, Tennessee and American Bar Associations
• Member, ATM Industry Association

Civic and Other Activities

• Member, Veterans of Foreign Wars

Professional Licenses

• California
• Tennessee

Court Admissions

• United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth and Ninth Circuits
• United States District Court for the Eastern and Central Districts of California
• United States District Courts for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Tennessee