Sarah Buffett, Moore & Van Allen

Position: partner,
Moore & Van Allen

Lives in: SouthPark

Family: husband,
Lamar Wilson

In describing her work as an international, corporate and immigration attorney for Moore & Van Allen, Sarah Buffett tells people she fights Homeland Security for a living.

“But I don’t always win,” she says.

While that sounds pretty challenging, the biggest obstacle in her life is learning to say “no” when asked to pitch in and help people who can’t help themselves, she said.

“I feel guilty when I say ‘no’ and try not to,” she said. “But I know if I already have too much to do, I get overwhelmed. My mother tells me I need to step back and have fun. But my father, who passed away 10 years ago, taught me to use whatever I have to give back.”

More often than not, it’s Buffett asking others to help with projects she has initiated. For example, she wanted the North Carolina Bar to duplicate what the bars in Georgia and Virginia had done: sponsor a food drive called Legal Food Fight, in which the attorney donating the most food to local food banks is named champion.

The logistics couldn’t be worked out, so she convinced the Mecklenburg Bar to sponsor one.

“Everyone in the meeting thought it was a good idea, and then someone asked who would run it,” Buffett said. “Everyone looked at me. I realized if I didn’t take the responsibility, it wouldn’t move forward.”

The 2012 Legal Food Fight ran in April, with all food and monetary donations going to Second Harvest.

It wasn’t the first time Buffett had stepped forward to develop a program to help others.

At Buffet’s urging, Moore & Van Allen – where she has been a partner since 2010 – provides backpacks full of food every Friday to students at its adopted school, Devonshire Elementary. She also provided the leadership to begin Moore & Van Allen’s pro bono program to assist victims of domestic violence.

“I wanted to help women feel the same kind of autonomy I feel,” she said.

While Buffett’s immigration law practice is generally part of her work for corporate clients, she also does pro bono work in that area. She said she helped an elderly woman who came to the U.S. as a child during the Holocaust gain
citizenship, and she also helps soldiers’ families gain permanent legal status.

“I believe in seeking out issues that speak to me,” the 37-year-old South Mecklenburg High School graduate said.

– BEA QUIRK