Jeffrey D. Farrow

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Jeffrey D. Farrow

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Partner
Insurance
Internet, Software & Technology
Commercial & Business Litigation

Irvine

Bar & Court Admissions

  • State Bar of California
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern, Central, Eastern and Southern Districts of California

Professional Affiliations

  • Orange County Bar Association (Business Litigation Section)
  •  Republican National Lawyers Association
  •  Surfing Lawyers Association

Community Involvement

  • Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Education

  • Southwestern University School of Law, J.D.
  • University of Madrid, Spain
  • San Diego State University, B.A

Jeffrey Farrow is a partner in M&R’s Orange County office and the firm’s Trade Secrets, Financial Fraud & Executive Disputes Chair.

A renowned courtroom lawyer, Jeff has a remarkable string of victories at both the state and federal level. He handles sophisticated business, commercial and employment matters spanning a range of industries; insurance, software and technology, manufacturing and distribution, among them. In terms of his work in the insurance space, Jeff regularly represents agencies and brokerages in connection with disputes arising from the purchase and sale of product lines and in actions against departing owners for unfair competition and misappropriation of trade secrets. Beyond the insurance sector, he is known for his work advising business professionals – including directors and officers of corporations and trade associations – on risk management practices that minimize the need for litigation.

Jeff is also an experienced appellate lawyer, who has notched several wins on appeal in matters involving director and officer liability, unfair competition and employment law, to name a few. In fact, some of Jeff’s appellate cases have become published opinions.

Breach of Contract Claims: Filed a lawsuit on behalf of a buyer misled into purchasing commercial real property located on a closed landfill, information that was purposefully omitted from detailed disclosures by the seller and a report by a geotechnical company. Subsequently obtained evidence that the seller knowingly made false statements about the location of the landfill, and that the geotechnical company misread the testing data which, if interpreted correctly, would have disclosed the existence of the landfill. After successfully opposing two summary judgment motions, the defendants paid the buyer a multi-million dollar settlement.
Computer Trade Secrets: Filed a lawsuit on behalf of a young entrepreneur whose “life’s work” was stolen by a large corporation, which claimed the work was owned by the company. After a four-year legal battle involving some of the largest national law firms, obtained a multi-million dollar verdict in favor of the entrepreneur, representing one of the largest awards in the United States for the misappropriation of computer trade secrets.
False Advertising: After discovering that a client’s competitor was knowingly publishing false testing data about the client’s product, sent a demand to cease letter, which was quickly accepted. The competitor then paid damages to the client caused by the unfair business practice.
Fraud Allegations: After pleading guilty to a long list of federal crimes for bribery and money laundering activities, client faced a civil lawsuit seeking to recover nearly $48 million earned through the criminal activity. Crafted a strategy to obtain dismissal of the civil lawsuit by arguing that, as a matter of law, the acts that gave rise to the federal crimes did not result in any civil liability to the client. As expected, the trial court refused to dismiss the lawsuit by virtue of the client’s admissions of guilt and terms of a lengthy plea agreement in the underlying criminal matter, and an appeal was quickly taken. The court of appeal ordered that the lawsuit be dismissed, and that the client’s fees and costs on appeal be reimbursed.
Injunctive Relief: Defeated an ex parte application and subsequent motion for preliminary injunction filed against the largest supplier of forklift batteries and chargers on the West Coast. The moving party unsuccessfully sought to enjoin the supplier from helping its customers apply for credits under California’s Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) Program (providing incentives to fuel supply engine owners to reduce greenhouse emissions).
Intellectual Property: Represented a small company threatened with legal action by a larger company that wanted to acquire it. It was believed that the threatened litigation was designed to “re-engage” merger discussions. In the wake of the threat, successfully designed and implemented a strategy to increase the purchase price of the acquisition target which, in the end, was acquired at a 20 percent premium. No legal action was ultimately filed.
Unfair Competition Claim: Filed a lawsuit and obtained an injunction and judgment forever barring a defendant’s use of a client’s trademarked name after it was discovered that the defendant had set up a company with the trademarked name and was trying to “take over” the client’s identity and clients.
Unfair Competition: A mid-sized insurance agency learned that a former employee had stolen its customer list and taken it to a large competitor. After a significant number of clients moved to the larger company based on faulty information that it had acquired the smaller agency, issued a cease and desist demand on the mid-sized agency’s behalf and gave notice of a hearing for an injunction. The larger company quickly accepted all terms necessary to settle the claim, including disgorgement of all profits earned from the wrongfully solicited business, and agreed to cease all efforts to obtain business from a select group of clients.
Whistleblower Claims: Negotiated a highly favorable settlement on behalf of a whistleblower in an accounting fraud case perpetrated by executives of a publicly-traded company, who were eventually convicted in federal court.
PUBLISHED DECISIONS: Appellate – Klistoff v. Superior Court (City of South Gate) (2007) 157 Cal.App.4th 469: Acted as lead counsel, obtaining positive result for our client in case alleging he could be held civilly liable for crimes that he had pled guilty to in federal court. The case was dismissed on demurrer.
  • Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers Magazine (2016-2024)
  • Recommended by The Legal 500 along with M&R’s Commercial Litigation Practice Group (2018)