As one of the Founders of Ferruzzo & Ferruzzo, LLP, and now continuing to practice as Of Counsel in the Corporate and Litigation Practices Groups at the Firm, Jim Ferruzzo helped to build a Firm of legal professionals that represents a wide-range of businesses and their owners.
Prior to starting Ferruzzo & Ferruzzo, Jim began his legal career in 1973 with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and from 1977 to 1981 was assigned to the Organized Crime and Narcotics Division and presented cases to the Grand Jury. The LA Times assigned a reporter to a few of his trials and articles ran daily during those trials. Jim also collaborated on a script that was made into a movie (Fallen Angel) of one of his Grand Jury investigations, trial, and conviction. During the investigation of this matter, Jim traveled to London, England and testified as an expert witness during the extradition hearing for one of the defendants later extradited and convicted at the trial in LA.
From January 1974 to March 1981, Jim was a Full Professor of Law at Western State University, Orange County, where he lectured over 3,000 units of evening and weekend classes on Contracts, Uniform Commercial Code, Real Property, Torts, Writs, Legal Research, Criminal Law, and Criminal Procedure. In 1979, he took a four month leave of absence from the DA’s office to run for California State Senator in a special election. Jim ran in a field of eight past and current office holders and received votes placing him third – and just a few hundred votes shy of the top two runoff. He then turned down an invitation from the then Governor of California to run for Assembly with 100% party financial backing.
During his career, Jim also testified in Montreal, Canada as an expert witness in a pre-trial discovery dispute regarding enforceability in Canada of a protective order issued in favor of the Firm’s client by the trial court in Orange County. Canada refused to enforce the protective order and the witness (client’s brother) was incarcerated for contempt of court and held in custody until the trial concluded. Trial commenced without the evidence subpoenaed in Canada and a defense judgement was issued in favor of the client.
Throughout his career, Jim was lead trial attorney in over 160 court and jury trials involving corporate and partnership dissolution, shareholder disputes and business practices, employer wrongful termination defense, sexual harassment defense, real property and landlord disputes, construction defect defense, environmental cleanup and contamination defense, and banking litigation defense. Jim also represented many business clients in binding arbitration as well as administrative hearings regarding Alcohol and Beverage Control Liquor Board licensing, Pharmaceutical Board licensing, Automobile Dealership Department of Motor Vehicle licensing, DMV hearings, Air Quality Management District compliance, Regional Water Quality Control compliance, California Labor Board hearings, Cal OSHA compliance, and Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DEFH) and Equal Employment and Opportunity Commission (EEOC) investigations.
During his career with the Firm, Jim was Team Attorney for the NASCAR McDonalds 96 Car and the Tide 32 Car and traveled all of the country with the team owner negotiating sponsor’ agreements. He was also Team Attorney for the General Motors and the Toyota off road race teams.
Jim attended Loyola University, Los Angeles for his undergraduate studies and received his juris doctor degree, cum laude, from Western State in 1973. In his second year at Western State, he was the sole recipient of all five American Juris Prudence Awards. He was Associate Editor for the very first Law Review published at Western State.
Jim resides in Newport Beach with his wife and they both enjoy traveling and are avid golfers.
