Mr. Farnan's practice focuses on patent litigation and consulting particularly with pharmaceutical companies, other complex commercial matters, and Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
Additionally, Mr. Farnan serves as an arbitrator and mediator in complex disputes. For example, Mr. Farnan was first appointed to mediate and then chosen by the parties to arbitrate the dispute between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Major League Baseball, which resulted in the Dodgers being sold for over 2 billion dollars – the largest sum paid to date for a professional sports franchise in North America. Additionally, Mr. Farnan served as the mediator for the Nortel cross-border bankruptcy case which ultimately concluded with an agreement for the allocation of over seven billion dollars in U.S., Canadian, and other foreign courts. Most of the other matters in which Mr. Farnan has served as a mediator or arbitrator are subject to confidentiality provisions.
Mr. Farnan served as a United States District Judge for the District of Delaware from 1985 to 2010. He served as Chief Judge from 1997-2001. During his tenure, Mr. Farnan presided over hundreds of bench and jury trials involving patents and complex commercial disputes. Representative civil cases presided over by Mr. Farnan while on the bench include:
Prior to his appointment to the federal bench, Mr. Farnan was appointed to several positions in government, including United States Attorney for the District of Delaware from 1981 to 1985.