Airplanes / Aviation, Crime, Drinking

Former Biglaw Partner Who Got Wasted On Plane And Caused Flight Diversion Charged With Airplane Assault

She lost her Biglaw partnership, and now she may lose her freedom.

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drunk wine womanThis past summer, Sarah E. Buffett, who at the time was a partner at Nelson Mullins, caused such a huge commotion while aboard a business flight to London, England, from Charlotte, North Carolina, that her plane had to be diverted.

Buffett allegedly had a full-on meltdown, as described by PhillyVoice:

Sarah E. Buffett

Sarah E. Buffett

Buffett, seated in first class, allegedly became physically aggressive and was damaging her seat, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday. She allegedly tried to smash the aircraft window with an entertainment system remote before getting out of her seat and acting in a menacing manner in front of the cockpit door.

What could have caused her to behave in such a way? According to Buffett’s lawyer, she had an “unprecedented reaction” to prescription medication she was taking — while drinking heavily on an empty stomach.

Nelson Mullins suspended Buffett after the incident occurred, and six months later, Buffett is no longer employed by the firm. She has since founded Buffett Immigration Law. She may have to put her solo practice on hold for a while, though, as she’s been formally charged with a federal misdemeanor charge for allegedly “assault[ing] and intimidat[ing] US Airways flight crew members and attendants” during her wild ride.

Buffett allegedly violated 49 U.S.C. Section 46504 when she interfered with the plane’s flight crew. Here’s more information from a press release that was published last week by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania:

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Sarah Buffett, 41, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was charged [on January 7] by Information with assaulting another person, while in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The charge arises from the defendant’s unruly conduct on a flight … which inconvenienced hundreds of other passengers.

If convicted, Buffett will face up to one year in prison, one year of supervised release, a possible fine, and a $25 statutory assessment. According to the Legal Intelligencer, Buffett has been trying to resolve her case with the government without going to trial.

Buffett has already lost her Biglaw partnership thanks to this episode, and now she may lose her freedom. If there’s a lesson to be learned here, it’s this: don’t pop pills, drink, and fly, because your case could turn out as bad as Buffett’s — or worse.

(Flip through the following pages to see the criminal complaint that’s been lodged against Sarah E. Buffett, as well as her former Nelson Mullins bio.)

Earlier: Biglaw Partner Gets Wasted On Plane, Causes Mid-Atlantic Flight Diversion

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