Womble Bond Dickinson announced that Derek W. Edwards has joined the firm’s Nashville office as a partner in the Business Litigation Practice Group. Edwards has over 20 years of experience as a trusted advisor to retail banks and equity-backed companies in the financial services and payments industries. His practice spans financial technology, merchant services, and payment processing.

Focusing on high-stakes disputes involving wrongful solicitation, indemnification, tortious interference, and breaches of fiduciary duties and contracts, Edwards navigates multi-forum, interrelated actions often involving tens of millions of dollars. His client roster includes multinational public companies with legal departments across North and South America and Europe.

“Derek adds meaningful depth as we expand our fintech practice and first-chair litigation experience that bolsters our development of a full-service Nashville office,” said Josh Mullen, Managing Partner of the firm’s Huntsville and Nashville offices. “He’s a great fit for the firm, and we could not be more pleased with his decision to join Womble.”

Edwards is admitted to the State Bars of California and Tennessee but has extensive litigation experience in courtrooms and before panels of arbitrators nationwide. Across these forums, he defends financial services companies from consumer and class-action litigation arising from the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, Regulation E, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, and Telephone Consumer Protection Act. He also works on the plaintiff’s side when companies have suffered competitive injuries, contract interference, and breaches of fiduciary duties, often obtaining multimillion-dollar results.

Edwards is a graduate of Vanderbilt Law School and Duke University. He joins Womble from Holland & Knight. Before starting his legal career, Edwards served as a U.S. Navy Lieutenant on the USS Gettysburg, where he received numerous medals of honor, including the Navy Achievement Medal, National Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, and NATO Medal.