About Darin T. Beffa

Phone: 424-262-3332

Fax: 424-217-4716

Harvard Law School
J.D. cum laude, 2006

Duke University
A.B., Public Policy Studies, 2001
Physics and Economics minors

Biography

Darin T. Beffa is the founder and Managing Attorney of Beffa Law. Before opening his own practice, Darin was a trial lawyer for nearly a decade at the international law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP. As a member of Kirkland’s General Litigation and Intellectual Property Litigation groups, he represented clients in some of the largest lawsuits in U.S. history, including In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig “Deepwater Horizon” in the Gulf of Mexico, on April 20, 2010, In re: General Motors LLC Ignition Switch Litigation, and In re: Volkswagen "Clean Diesel" Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation. Darin is able to deftly navigate even the most complex litigation scenarios and works with his clients to apply litigation strategies tailored to the needs of each individual case.

Mr. Beffa brings his first chair trial experience to Beffa Law. He has represented clients in a diverse array of litigation and pre-litigation matters ranging from environmental regulation to patents and from products liability to government contracts. Darin’s clients have included large and multinational companies including Boeing, BP, General Motors, Home Depot, and Volkswagen, as well as smaller companies and individuals.

A graduate cum laude of Harvard Law School, Darin was Executive Editor of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy and performed clinical work for the Berkman Center for Internet & Society. While in school, Darin clerked for the Office of Legal Policy at the U.S. Department of Justice and interned at two prominent law firms in Washington, D.C. Upon graduation, Darin served as law clerk to United States District Judge George H. King in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Darin also spent two years as a Capitol Hill aide to U.S. Representative George R. Nethercutt, Jr.

When not representing his clients, Darin spends his time with his family and by volunteering with community organizations such as Teach Democracy, where he is a Member of the Board of Directors, member of the Executive Committee, and past Board Chair. Darin enjoys refereeing AYSO soccer. He is also a member of the Los Angeles Latino Chamber of Commerce and The Honorable Benjamin Aranda III Inn of Court.

Notable Representations

• Adjudicated a multi-million-dollar international contract dispute as a neutral on a three-arbitrator panel administered by the American Arbitration Association.

• Defended BP in a civil case brought by the U.S. Department of Justice seeking to impose environmental penalties related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

• Secured more than $4 billion in settlement payments for BP from claims against joint operators of the well drilled by the Deepwater Horizon rig.

• Represented an international manufacturing client during a civil investigation by the California Department of Justice.

• Won a motion for judgment in favor of The Boeing Company at the close of plaintiff Northrup Grumman’s case during the arbitration of a contract dispute concerning the pricing of F/A-18 aircraft.

• Advised a large manufacturing client during restructuring of document retention and electronic discovery policies.

• Won a full defense summary judgment in favor of Greenwich Capital Financial Products (now RBS Financial Products) in bankruptcy adversary proceeding alleging more than $100 million in damages for fraud and breach of fiduciary duty related to a debtor-in-possession loan to a subprime mortgage lender.

• Secured favorable settlement for an RFID tag manufacturer in a patent and antitrust lawsuit against a competitor.

• Obtained a dismissal with prejudice for The Home Depot in a putative class action alleging breach of contract, unfair business practices, and violations of the California Consumers Legal Remedies Act. The dismissal order was published and later affirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

• Represented Digeo in a patent and antitrust lawsuit related to interactive programming guide technology and licensing practices. The case settled favorably after Digeo filed for summary judgment.

Scholarship

• Litigating and Judging Business Entity Governance Disputes in California (LexisNexis 2019)
  — Co-author