John O. Farley

John Farley is a trial lawyer with 25 years’ experience resolving a notably wide range of high-stakes disputes. He focuses his practice on matrimonial and commercial disputes presenting complex valuation, jurisdictional, accounting, corporations law, and fraud issues.

John is lead counsel for clients in New York City, Westchester County, and Silicon Valley, in complex matters with amounts in controversy up to $14 billion.

He uses his years of training and experience as a commercial and securities lawyer to provide incomparable client service.

He represents financial services executives, technology company founders and entrepreneurs, lawyers, and other professionals—and their spouses and children—in family law and commercial disputes.

"He is extremely collegial and a pleasure to work with. He is highly sophisticated but writes well and simplifies brilliantly."

                -- Chambers & Partners: Family Law/High Net Worth (2024)

The overwhelming majority of John’s matters is resolved via settlement.  John endorses the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution and prides himself on finding creative and fair solutions that permit his clients to resolve their disputes amicably and without unnecessary costs. 

But settlement is not always possible, and John is a skilled and experienced trial lawyer who knows how to obtain stellar results at trial.

“John Farley is a tremendous trial lawyer.”

-- Chambers & Partners Family/Matrimonial: High Net Worth (2025)

Indeed, before co-founding RFB+Fisher Potter Hodas, John and partners Dan Rottenstreich, Peter Bronstein, and Meredith Strauss prevailed at trial in the largest contested divorce in New York history.  John was also a senior member of the team that settled on a highly favorable basis one of, if not the, largest hedge fund divorce cases ever to proceed to trial.

Recently, John acted as lead trial counsel in a 21-day binding arbitration where he obtained an extraordinary result for the firm’s client, including a contested ruling that the largest item in controversy was his client’s separate property—a ruling which relied on an appellate victory obtained in 2021 by firm partner, Dan Rottenstreich, with John’s assistance.

John leads an RFB team that has obtained extraordinary results in a hotly contested California divorce action, including an order the trial judge herself called “unprecedented,” directing our client’s ex-husband to post a $1.7 billion personal bond to secure our client’s anticipated post-trial recovery.

John has a proven track record on the appellate level as well, with landmark New York appellate victories on critical issues in matrimonial law, including the provision of counsel fees to less-monied spouses in contested divorces and the categorization of assets for distribution in high net worth divorce actions.

John’s deep understanding of commercial, financial, securities, accounting, and valuation issues – and his ability to argue such issues crisply and persuasively -- is a product of his experience.

"He is great, I really like working with him. He is also commercial and very responsive. He listens and understands more complex matters with respect to valuing assets versus other firms and lawyers."

                -- Chambers & Partners: Family Law/High Net Worth (2024)

“John Farley is a sophisticated lawyer with an exceptional understanding of financial issues . . . .”

“John Farley is excellent and commercial.”

                -- Chambers & Partners Family/Matrimonial: High Net Worth (2025)

He started his career at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, where he represented public companies in significant securities and antitrust matters.  After leaving Cravath, he became an associate and eventually an equity partner at Goodwin Procter.

While a partner at Goodwin, John represented Countrywide Financial Corporation in nationwide class-action litigation concerning more than $300 billion of mortgage-backed securities. He defended a hedge fund portfolio manager in connection with an alleged $275 million insider trading scheme. He represented a private equity fund in connection with an alleged accounting fraud arising from the $550 million sale of a specialty pharmaceutical distributor, the board and certain officers of Lyondell-Basell Industries in the wake of its $21 billion bankruptcy, and CreXus Investment Corporation in a landmark decision in the Maryland courts over “insider”-driven, go-private REIT transactions.  He also served as general outside litigation counsel to a healthcare private equity fund, where he acted as lead counsel in a post-closing dispute that ended in a three-week, 21-witness arbitration and a complete victory for his client—including a multi-million-dollar award of legal and expert witness fees.

John received his JD from New York University School of Law and his BA in English literature and philosophy from the University of Virginia. He lives in Westchester with his daughter, his girlfriend, her son, and a varied assortment of dogs.