Faruki PLL

Faruki PLL is a premier business litigation firm with offices in Dayton and Cincinnati, Ohio.   

Faruki's diverse commercial litigation practice is unusual for a firm its size. The firm's reputation is based in part on the successful representation of Fortune 500 companies and large privately-held businesses in state and federal courts all over the United States.  Attention to detail and understanding that clients demand responsiveness, reliability, and cost effectiveness are leading contributors to its success.  Results and an ability to think creatively about disputes and their resolution drive the firm's reputation -- leading many clients throughout the country to seek out the firm's services -- and return when another problem confronts them.

"Faruki is a heartland gem:  expertise, value, empathy and loyalty."  U.S. News Best Law Firms.  Benchmark Litigation identifies the firm as highly recommended among Ohio firms and lists it as a peer among much larger firms for its litigation capabilities.  Chambers USA, another peer-reviewing company, rates Faruki among the leading firms in Ohio.  International consulting group, BTI, recognizes the firm for its unparalleled client relationships, naming Faruki to the Annual BTI Power ranks for Best Client Relationships.  Each of the firm's partners has represented clients in major litigation including antitrust, securities, class actions, intellectual property, and competitive business disputes. 

Jeff Ireland, the firm's Managing Partner is a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers and the Litigation Counsel of America.  His practice is highlighted by large, multi-count class action defense and competition-based trials, and he has significant experience with environmental disputes, business torts and complex commercial cases.  He is a member of the Board of Governors of the Ohio State Bar Association's Antitrust Section.  He has been recognized each year since its inception as an Ohio Super Lawyer, a statewide recognition, has been recognized annually as one of the Best of the Bar by the Dayton Business Journal.  Jeff is listed in Chambers USA:  America's Leading Lawyers for Business.  He is also recognized as a Litigation Star by Benchmark, and by Best Lawyers in America where he was named a "Lawyer of the Year" in the category of "Bet-the-Company Litigation" for 2019.  A highly-regarded community leader, Jeff is on the Board of Advisors at the University of Dayton School of Law, among his many professional and community engagements.

Jeff Cox represents clients in a wide array of matters, including contract and business torts, technology, privacy and data security, products liability cases, class actions, and professional malpractice claims.  He is a Senior Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and a Life Fellow of the Federal Bar Association, and the American Bar.  Jeff has been recognized as an Ohio Super Lawyer, a peer-based recognition of the top 5% of Ohio's lawyers, every year of the selection, has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America and in America's Top 100 High Stakes Litigators.  Jeff has handled complex litigation matters in courts across the United States, in matters before the American Arbitration Association, and in investigations by the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice and other federal agencies, and various state Attorneys General.  Jeff has practiced before numerous federal circuit courts of appeals and is a member of the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States.  Jeff serves on the FBA's Federal Litigation Section Board of Directors, and is Editor of the FBA's federal litigation newsletter, SideBAR.  He also serves on the FBA's national Government Relations Committee. 

Erin Rhinehart's litigation practice focuses on class action defense, media and communications law (First Amendment, defamation, privacy, public records, advertising, social media, trademark, and copyright litigation), breach of contract and tortious interference, and environmental litigation matters.  Erin has significant trial experience in federal and state courts across the country.  She has first-chair jury trial experience, and has argued before various appellate courts in Ohio.  Erin has been repeatedly recognized as an Ohio Super Lawyers Rising Star, and selected for the 2016 and 2017 editions of the Benchmark Litigation Under 40 Hot List, a list of the nation's top litigation partners 40 years of age and younger.  Recently, Erin was recognized by The Business Journals' listing of 2019 "Influencers:  Law" as one of 100 attorneys across the United States who are "having an impact on business and law" in their communities.  In 2017, Erin was named Corporate Vision's 2017 Ohio Attorney of the Year.  Erin is Vice President of the Ohio Women's Bar Association and is a member of the Editorial Board for the ABA's Litigation journal, the premier trial practice publication in the U.S., and a member of the Law360 Media & Entertainment Law Editorial Board.  She has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Dayton School of Law.  In 2008, Erin received the Community Service Award from the Ohio State Bar Foundation.

Brian Wright returned to the Faruki partnership in 2019 after departing the firm in 2016 to serve as General Counsel for Henny Penny, a global supplier of innovative food service solutions.  Brian continues to serve as outside General Counsel for Henny Penny to complement his busy litigation practice.  He routinely litigates in Ohio and across the United States dealing with individual and class action disputes involving business torts, trade secrets, restrictive covenants, products liability, false advertising, contract and warranty disputes, securities and intellectual property matters.  Brian also brings his considerable in-house experience to bear in assisting clients needing general counsel services and strategic legal guidance.  Recognized by Benchmark as a Litigation Future Star, Brian also has repeatedly been recognized as a Super Lawyer Rising Star.   

Steve Weigand is a successful trial attorney and counselor on complex legal issues and commercial disputes, representing companies in diverse industry and business sectors.  He has litigated contract and products liability disputes as well as intellectual property, data protection matters, and class actions.  Admitted to practice in state and federal courts in Ohio, as well as the Eastern District of Michigan and before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, Steve is an officer of the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.  He also serves as Treasurer of the Litigation Section of the Ohio State Bar Association.  An Eagle Scout, Steve recently served on the Ohio Civil Justice Reform Task Force. 

Jeff Sharkey is a trial attorney skilled in antitrust, contract and business tort disputes, utility and regulatory matters, professional liability, as well as intellectual property and false advertising disputes.  Jeff clerked for the Honorable Thomas Meskill of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and graduated summa cum laude from The Ohio State University College of Law.  Jeff is a member of the Antitrust Section of the American Bar Association, and has represented firm clients in response to antitrust investigations by the Department of Justice.   

To complement the experience of Faruki's partners and senior lawyers many of whom are profiled above, the firm actively recruits law students in the top 10% of their class and with Law Journal experience, as well as judicial clerkship experience.  The result of this effort is a strong group of exceptional, diverse, top-caliber associates at Faruki.