Education
- J.D., Harvard Law School
- B.S., Electrical Engineering,
summa cum laude,
University of Texas at El Paso
Experience
- Senior Advisor for HIPAA,
U.S. Dep’t of Health and Human Services - Senior Advisor for Conscience and Religious Freedom,
U.S. Dep’t of Health and Human Services - Deputy General Counsel,
First Liberty Institute
Biography
Justin Butterfield is co-founder of Butterfield & Patterson. He previously served as Senior Advisor for HIPAA and Senior Advisor for Conscience and Religious Freedom in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He also worked for First Liberty Institute for thirteen years, chairing two of its practice groups and becoming Deputy General Counsel. Justin’s breadth of experience gives him an understanding of the behind-the-scenes of policy and enforcement in federal agencies and the hurdles facing both individuals and organizations in dealing with each other and with the government. While he has successfully litigated matters across the United States, Justin prefers to work with clients before there is a problem so that litigation can ultimately be avoided.
When not advising and representing clients, Justin has a wide variety of hobbies and interests. He served as the bagpiper for the U.S. Army’s memorial services at Fort Bliss, Texas. Justin also enjoys most things nerdy: from watching Star Trek reruns to writing interactive fiction and from playing board games to building his own computer. He has started his three children down this path as well with family game time and bedtime readings of favorite fantasy books like the Chronicles of Narnia. Justin also collects pop-up books and enjoys reverse-engineering them to design his own.
Justin received his law degree from Harvard Law School. Prior to that, he received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at El Paso (where he is originally from), graduating summa cum laude and University Banner Bearer (the highest honor UTEP bestows upon a student during Commencement).
Bar Admissions
- State Bar of Texas
- United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
Publications
- Justin E. Butterfield and Stephanie N. Taub, “The Jurisprudence of the Body: Conscience Rights in the Use of the Sword, Scalpel, and Syringe,” Texas Review of Law and Politics, Vol. 21, No. 3 (Sept. 20, 2017)
- Justin E. Butterfield, “Religion in Public Schools,” Religion and Law in Public Schools 65–76, Education Law Association, Steve Permuth, editor (Feb. 1, 2017)
- Justin Butterfield, Hiram Sasser, and Reed Smith, “The Parsonage Exemption Deserves Broad Protection,” Texas Review of Law and Politics, Vol. 16, No. 2 (Sept. 13, 2016)
- Kelly Shackelford and Justin Butterfield, “The Light of Accountability: Why Partisan Elections are the Best Method of Judicial Selection,” The Advocate (Winter 2010)
Education
- J.D., Harvard Law School
- B.S., Electrical Engineering,
summa cum laude,
University of Texas at El Paso
Experience
- Senior Advisor for HIPAA,
U.S. Dep’t of Health and Human Services - Senior Advisor for Conscience and Religious Freedom,
U.S. Dep’t of Health and Human Services - Deputy General Counsel,
First Liberty Institute
Education
- J.D., University of Virginia
- B.S., Political Science,
summa cum laude,
Texas Christian University
Experience
- Clerk for the Hon. Raymond W. Gruender,
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit - Senior Counsel and Practice Group Chair,
First Liberty Institute - Executive Editor,
Virginia Law Review
Biography
Lea Patterson is co-founder of Butterfield & Patterson. After graduating from the University of Virginia School of Law, Lea clerked for the Honorable Raymond W. Gruender of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in St. Louis, Missouri.
Prior to co-founding Butterfield & Patterson, Lea served as Senior Counsel and Practice Group Chair at First Liberty Institute. There, she focused on religious liberty litigation, handling cases ranging from trial court to the Supreme Court. Lea successfully represented the plaintiffs in Carson v. Makin, a landmark Supreme Court case protecting families from religious discrimination in school choice programs. Lea argued before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on behalf of an employee facing religious employment discrimination and successfully challenged the IRS’s denial of tax-exempt status to Christians Engaged, a faith-based voter education organization. She also served as co-counsel to the Arkansas Office of the Attorney General in a case defending the Arkansas Capitol’s Ten Commandments Monument.
Lea received the full tuition Dillard Scholarship at the University of Virginia School of Law, where she served as an executive editor for the Virginia Law Review and as president of the UVA chapter of Advocates for Life, a national association of pro-life law students. She also received multiple awards for excellence in written and oral advocacy. During law school, Lea interned at the Texas Attorney General’s Office and Senator Ted Cruz’s office, focusing on the Judiciary Committee.
Lea graduated summa cum laude from Texas Christian University in 2013 with a Bachelors of Science in Political Science.
In her spare time, Lea enjoys accumulating miscellaneous hobbies. With over twenty years of knitting experience, she can be found knitting in almost any public location, from meetings to movies and car rides to conferences. Lea also enjoys designing and sewing her own clothes, spinning yarn on her traditional Country Craftsman spinning wheel, and painting landscapes. When she’s not crafting, Lea enjoys figure skating, hiking national parks while listening to the Lord of the Rings or the Star Wars Thrawn Trilogy on audiobook, and playing with her cat.
Bar Admissions
- State Bar of Texas
- United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- United States District Court for the District of Colorado
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
- United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
Publications
- Hiram S. Sasser and Lea E. Patterson, “The Religious Liberty Solution to Big Tech Censorship: How the Religious Freedom Restoration Act Limits Section 230,” Texas Review of Law and Politics, Vol. 26, No. 3 (August 10, 2022)
- Lea E. Patterson, “The Mystery of the Vanishing Big Stick: A Game Theoretic Analysis of Modern American Military Intervention,” Pi Sigma Alpha Journal of Political Science, Vol. XIII, No. 1 (Spring 2013)
