JAMES J. FERRUZZO served as the Managing Partner of Ferruzzo & Ferruzzo, LLP since August 1981 though May 2022. He attended Loyola University for undergraduate work, received his Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from Western State in 1973, and was admitted to the California State Bar in 1973. From January 1974 - March 1981 he was a Prosecuting Attorney for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office; from 1977 to 1981 assigned to Organize Crime Prosecutor Unit and Grand Jury. From January 1974 to March 1981 he was a Full Professor of Law at Western State University, Orange County; lecturing over 3,000 units of night time classes on Contracts, Uniform Commercial Code, Real Property, Torts, Writs, Legal Research, Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure. Mr. Ferruzzo has also a Martindale-Hubbell AV© Rated Attorney for the past 20 years. He formed Ferruzzo & Ferruzzo, LLP with his brother Tom in August, 1981.
Mr. Ferruzzo has been lead trial attorney in over 160 court and jury trials. He has tried disputes to successful conclusions in complex state and federal civil litigation 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. He has also represented many business clients at 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.
Jim Ferruzzo resides in Orange County with his wife, Elena. They have two sons, Gregory, who is a Partner at FERRUZZO; and Jeffrey, who is a graduate of the New York University Film School and owns and operates Arcade Edit, New York. Jim and Elena enjoy traveling and are avid golfers.
Areas of Practice
- Complex Litigation
- Business & Commercial Law
- Employment Law
- Employer Defense
Bar Admissions
- State Bar of California, 1973
- U.S. District Court Central District of California, 1973
Education
Western State University College of Law
Fullerton, California, 1973 Juris Doctor
Honors: Cum Laude
Law Review: Associate Editor, Western State Law Review, 1971 - 1972
Western State University
Fullerton, California
B.S. in Law Honors: Cum Laude
Loyola University, Los Angeles, California - 1961-1962
Published Works
Employment and Labor Law, Co-author with Steven Moran, Esq.,
Lorman Education Services, Inc., 1995
Treatise on Cross-Examination, Trials - Techniques Compendium, NCDA,
National College of District Attorneys, 1978
Search Warrant Manual on Obscenity Cases, Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office,
National College of District Attorneys
Treatise on Jury Instructions, Colorado and Kansas District Attorney's Advisory Councils and the National College of District Attorneys
Videotaped Reenactment of a Cross-examination,
National College of District Attorneys, 1980
Videotaped Presentation on Trial Techniques for Public Television
Professional Associations and Memberships
- Associate Member of American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
- Board Member of UC Irvine's Paul Merage School of Business
- Past Judge Orange County Pro-Tem
- Past Neutral Arbitrator - Commercial Panel - American Arbitration Association
- Past President - Peter Elliot Inn of Court
- Past California State Bar Referee by appointment
- Past Probation Monitor, Investigation Department of the State Bar Court